An Assessment of Industrial Customers’ Satisfaction at Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation: A Case of South Addis Ababa Region

The survival of any organization in a highly competitive environment depends on its ability to provide the best service quality to its existing customers as the quality of service is a key factor in the success of any organization. Though a stable supply of enough energy is a must for industrialization, Ethiopia’s growing industrial sector has come with an unprecedented rise in power demand. Despite the introduction of quality improvement programs and several customer care packages in the past, service quality gaps are still enduring in EEPCo.The study has the objective of assessing industrial customers’ satisfaction on service quality using SERVQUAL model. It also addresses the problems of quality gaps through the survey done at EEPCo, South Addis Ababa Region Industrial customers. The study was conducted using a descriptive survey method where the respondents were industrial customers and frontline managers. The sample size was 333 industrial customers and these were selected using simple random sampling technique. Front line managers were selected through purposive sampling. Moreover, structured questionnaires and interviews are tools used to gather relevant information and statistical tools like percentage, tables and charts are used to analyze the data. The study shows performance of EEPCo in providing quality service to its industrial customers is not in a situation to meet their expectations. In all dimensions of the SERVQUAL; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, empathy, and assurance, it’s found that there is a negative gap between service expectations and service perceptions.Therefore, the Corporation should come up with an appropriate service delivery standards, proper complaint handling mechanisms, relevant training for its employees, and strengthening decision making power of employees. Decision makers also have to exert maximum effort in quality improvement programs so that the corporation ensures industrial customers satisfaction

Registration of Ilani and Oda Durum Wheat Varieties for Highlands of Bale

Two durum wheat (Triticum durum desf.) varieties: Ilani (DZ 2234) and Oda (DZ 2227) developed by Sinana Agricultural Research Centers were released for production in highlands of Bale similar agro ecologies. These varieties were selected and evaluated at Sinana on-station and three onfarms in highlands of Bale for three consecutive years and they were proved to have stable, high yield and superior industrial qualities. They were also proved to have resistance to stem, yellow and leaf rusts. Multilocation testing in the regional variety trial confirmed their productivity with above-average yield performance in all environments and demonstrated their yield stability compared to the commercial durum wheat cultivars Foka, Cocorit-71 and Ingiliz. East African Journal of Sciences Vol. 1 (1) 2007: pp. 88-8

Investigation into the Nutritional Content and Microbiological Property of Abyssinian Donkey’s Milk

A study was carried out on donkey milk in Ada’a District of central Ethiopia to investigate the nutritional and microbiological properties of Abyssinian donkey’s milk. The study utilized primary data that were collected from 24 jennies in the study area. The physicochemical composition such as fat, total protein, lactose, minerals, vitamin C, pH, density, total solid and freezing points; and microbiological characteristics were analyzed. Results indicated that the Abyssinian donkey milk has close similarity with milk of other donkeys previously investigated elsewhere for most of the compositions. More importantly, the present findings confirmed that Abyssinian donkey milk has a very close similarity with human breast milk in its protein, lactose, vitamin C, pH, density, and zinc contents whereas, the concentrations of calcium, iron and magnesium were higher than those of human breast milk. Other unique properties of Abyssinian donkey milk were lack of fermentation and lower microbial load in contrast to cow’s milk. In conclusion, the findings of this preliminary study showed the existence of similarity between Abyssinian donkey’s milk and human breast milk in their physicochemical composition and thus could suggest that the Abyssinian donkey’s milk can serve as an alternative supplement for human breast milk despite differences in some aspects of the microbiological and sensory properties. However, Abyssinian donkey’s milk should be tested for its safety to human being before it is recommended for human consumption.Key words: donkey milk, Ethiopia, human breast milk, physicochemical propert

Moving Ethiopian smallholder dairy along a sustainable commercialization path: missing links in the innovation systems

Ethiopian needs to achieve accelerated agricultural development along a sustainable commercialization path to alleviate poverty and ensure overall national development. In this regard, sustainable commercial of smallholder dairying provides a viable and growing opportunity; with deliberate, appropriate and sustained policy support. A recent empirical analysis concludes however, that Ethiopian smallholder dairy sub-sector has not been able to take-off despite decades of development interventions. The current paper looks into this paradox of Ethiopian smallholder dairy development; identifies and discusses the implications of emerging opportunities and challenges for the sub-sector development; and explores strategic options for the sub-sector take-off. This paper argues that the impact of the decades of efforts for the sub-sector developments have been hampered, among others, by disconnects in the dairy innovation systems. There are missing/weak linkages between diverse knowledge sources, technological and non-technological innovations, development interventions and local context, production and market, R&D services and development challenges, public and private efforts, and between policymaking and development practice. Some strategic options are identified along with implementation modalities. The recommendations forwarded to get Ethiopian smallholder dairying moving along a sustainable commercialization path encompass: improving economic incentives to encourage innovation; organizing dairy producers and linking them with vertically coordinated value chain; pursuing holistic approach to achieving sustainable technological innovation to increase supply response; supporting private sector development and promoting public-private partnership, creatively using the expanding ICT infrastructure as a means for facilitating multi-stakeholder interaction and knowledge management; formulating appropriate and adaptive policy for the sub-sector development; along with complementary national strategy capable of providing clear roadmap; guiding spatially targeted investment and intervention decisions; and defining principles for pragmatic participation, inter-organizational interaction and coordination. Finally, strengthening commodity-based local - woreda/milkshed- innovation systems capacity with value chain perspective is underlined. The later provides a practical option to stimulating process-driven collective experiential learning for achievement of better impact through continuous incremental improvement/innovation, and facilitates scaling up and-out of successful experiences to achieve wider socio-economic impact and inform policymaking

Commercializing dairy and forage systems in Ethiopia: An innovation systems perspective

This paper presents and discusses the results of the analysis of Ethiopian dairy and forage innovation systems. Two factors triggered the need for understanding the innovation systems: Ethiopian dairy subsector has not been able to take-off despite decades of research and development efforts; and the context for the subsector development is changing. The purpose of the research was to identify organizational, institutional and policy options to facilitate market-driven and knowledge-based smallholder dairy development in the country. Specifically, the analysis looked at contextual factors determining opportunities and necessities for innovation; the key innovation systems actors, pattern of interaction between them; coordination mechanisms; and the subsector development policy and strategy. The investigation was based on a survey of actors and their roles and interactions, review of policy, and project documents and available empirical evidence. The research identified constraints and challenges relating to market, supportive services, interaction of actors, inter-organizational coordination, and gaps in the subsector development policy and strategy. Finally,options are identified that can enhance commercialization and innovation. The options include: strengthening dairy cooperatives with emphasis on their business-orientation, linking them, where appropriate, vertically to processors and input suppliers, and strategically linking dairy development intervention to informal markets through food security/food transfer programs and institutionalized school feeding programs; public support for the development of private service and pluralistic service delivery system, alongside strengthening public capacity for performing regulatory and quality assurance functions effectively; formulating national dairy development policy and strategy to ensure coordinated policy implementation on the ground; encouraging the integration of emerging dairy cooperatives at higher levels and capacity building to enable them to demand service, command accountability, and serve as a mouthpiece of producers; capitalizing on the on-going Business Process Re-engineering for revising the prevailing reward systems in public research and extension to encourage innovation and impactorientation; creating incentive system such as leverage fund and competitive grant to encourage intervention-based public–private innovation partnership; and strengthening dairy platform at woreda and/or milkshed level for achieving of better impact through continuous incremental improvements and to facilitate scaling out and up of successful experience to achieve wider impact and inform higher policymaking

Participatory smallholder dairy value chain development in Fogera woreda, Ethiopia: Experiences from IPMS project interventions

Market-oriented smallholder dairy in Fogera has an opportunity for growth because of growing urban population in the district itself as well as in the wider Bahr Dar–Gondar milkshed. IPMS in 2005 introduced a participatory market-oriented dairy value chain development approach with partner organizations. IPMS together with its partners also identified gaps in the dairy value chain through Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) and also designed interventions involving key value chain actors. This approach included increased use of knowledge capturing and sharing by the extension services. Major production interventions were the development of communal grazing areas through clearance of noxious weed called Hygrophilla auriculata and introduction of area enclosure, backyard fodder development and increased use of rice crop residues. Input service supply interventions included community-based trypanosomosis control and bulls stations. IPMS and its partners also provided the required support for establishment of two milk processing marketing cooperatives. Communal grazing area development is now practised in 16 villages (PAs) and harvested biomass production was estimated at 7 to 11 t of DM/year. As a result of the cut-and-carry system, the proportion of legumes increased, thus improving its nutritive value. The increased availability of the rice straw and bran resulting from rice value chain development in Fogera has also impacted dairy production. Urea treatments of rice straw as well as supplementary feeding with rice bran were demonstrated in 13 PAs. An on-farm experiment conducted by an MSc student indicated doubling of daily milk yields. However, use of straw could be increased further if urea for the treatment of straw could be made available in the dry season. Trypanosomosis control introduced in infested areas has significantly reduced the number of infected animals and the program is now institutionalized by regional, district and NGO partners. The introduction of bull stations resulted in increased number of improved Fogera breed cows and crossbreed with Holstein-Frisians. However, the number of improved dairy cows is still low and the District should consider the recently introduced mass insemination approach with the help of hormones. Marketing and processing of milk in urban and peri-urban areas through formation of small cooperatives has started; however, impact is still limited due to lack of business orientation, and alternative marketing outlets for individual producers. While some linkages were made with the larger Bahr Dar milkshed, more attention needs to be paid to this market once milk production increases. A household survey conducted in 2009, which assessed the combined impact of all interventions, showed significant differences in milk quantities sold by adopter and non-adopter households in the urban areas and doubling of butter production/sales in the rural areas. It is noted that this additional butter sales benefits rural women since they manage the production and sale of butter

Assessment of Feed Resource Availability and Quality in Kedida Gamela District, Southern Ethiopia

Availability of major livestock feed resources, their chemical composition and balance between available feed resources and requirements of existing tropical livestock units (TLU) in Kedida Gamela district (Southern Ethiopia) were assessed. A survey was conducted on 100 sample households (HH) and data collected using group discussions, structured questionnaire and personal observations. Furthermore, chemical composition and in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility (IVDMD) of major feed resources identified (natural pasture and crop residues) were also determined. A total of 28,675 tonnes of DM were produced annually for a total of 40,080 TLU which satisfies only 31.4% of their maintenance requirement. Maize stover and wheat straw contain lowest ash and from agro-industrial by-products noug cake and wheat bran the highest ash content. The highest (p0.05) between the agro-industrial by-products. The highest acid detergent lignin content for roughage feed was recorded from maize stover to natural pasture and the highest from agro-industrial by-products was recorded from wheat bran to noug cake. Differences in IVDMD for major feed resources were not significant (P>0.05). The differences in nutrient composition and IVDMD of the feed resources in midland and highland followed similar trend, although there were slight differences in nutrient content and IVDMD of similar feedstuffs from the two altitudinal zones. In conclusion, the main feed resource is crop residues which are of low quality with high fiber content, low digestibility which may result in reduced livestock productivity and disease resistance. Chopping followed by soaking or ammonaition or urea treatment could be suggested to improve quality of the roughages