Identification of potential untapped herbaceous flora in the mid rift valley of Ethiopia and their nutritive value

This study was conducted with the objective to identify untapped herbaceous flora that were used as livestock feed and to determine their chemical composition in wet season. Twelve peasant associations (PAs) and a total of 120 households were selected for the study. Key informants were also used for vernacular name identification and utilization. Samples were also taken from their edible parts for analysis of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), total ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose and lignin. A total of 17 different herbs and forbs were identified which have a feed value for different livestock species. The CP values of species ranged between 10.9 to 27.86% with the highest value being recorded in Sida ovata Forssk. while the lowest value was recorded in Gutenbergia rueppellii Sch.Bip. The NDF value ranged from 26.1 to 53.16%. The highest NDF value was recorded in G. rueppellii Sch.Bip. and the lowest was recorded in Achyranthus aspera L. Generally, the differences within species and among different species in terms of chemical composition of these browses was significant. Some of them contain crude protein content of more than 190 g/kg DM, which has a capacity of supplementing poor quality roughages.http://www.academicjournals.org/AJARnf201

Impacts of crossbreed dairy cow adoption on women dietary diversity in southwestern Ethiopia

Most of agricultural technology increases women's labor burdens without associated benefits. This paper envisages one of the dairy technology types “crossbreed dairy cow” adoption and its impacts on women's nutrition security in Southwestern Ethiopia. The quasi experimental research design was applied by using the quantitative and qualitative cross sectional data. To get specific study area and the study respondents (266 women) we applied a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data was collected through interview schedule; focused group discussion and key informant interview. Descriptive statistics, Binary logit and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) were used to analyze the data. The study results showed that crossbreed dairy cow adoption was found to be affected by age, education level, livestock size, training participation, mobile phone ownership, and cooperative membership significantly and positively. Meanwhile, dairy production experience and market distance affected negatively. About 58.6% of women reached minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) and the mean of women's dietary diversity score (WDDS) is 6.1 ± 2. The result of PSM indicated that the adoption of crossbreed dairy cows has increased the dietary diversity of women by 15.6%. In general, crossbreed dairy cow adoption have a positive and significant influence on women's nutrition security. Therefore, scaling up of crossbreed cows should be strengthened in the study area. The paper can add empirical evidence to the adoption of dairy technology for the improvement of women's nutrition security