Adie, Aberra

Bezabih, Melkamu

Mekonnen, Kindu

Thorne, Peter J.

English

CGSpace

Feed and forage development and scaling in the Ethiopian highlandsAberra Adie, Melkamu Bezabih, Kindu Mekonnen and Peter ThorneInternational Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), EthiopiaIntroductionAvailability of nutritionally rich feed resources is highly limited inthe mixed crop-livestock farming systems. Increasing on-farmproduced feeds by introducing well-adapted, good quality andhigh yielding fodder crops and efficient utilization practices arevery critical to improve livestock productivity.Results/AchievementsMethod/Approaches▪ Forage seed sourcing from known seed suppliers.▪ Identification and elective engagement of volunteer farmers forR4D and scaling activities.▪ Capacity building of farmers, extension experts and other localpartners.▪ Early, mid and end season performance evaluation.▪ Data on germination, growth, biomass and seed production.▪ Lab analysis for nutritional quality and on-farm animal responseobservations.▪ Production and circulation of research products.▪ Beneficiary tracking of the feed and forage scaling initiatives.▪ High biomass yield (t DM ha-1) of good nutritional qualityobtained under farmers’ fields and management: oat-vetchmixture (15±3.1); Lablab (3.4±0.75), vetch-desho intercropping(5.5±1.22), sweet lupine (2.9±0.89), alfalfa (15.3±4.55), andfodder beet (20.2±5.26).▪ Potentials for use of Phalaris gass (P. aquatica) and Brachiaria(B. Mutica and hybrids) with NRM.▪ Preliminary results showed considerable improvement on milkyield improvement as a result of supplementation: oat-vetch>50%; fodder beet supplementation up to 33%.▪ A potential increase in income by more than 35% due toincreased milk yield production.▪ Scaling of oat-vetch and tree lucerne constitute the largestshare in Africa RISING operational areas and beyond (Table 1).▪ Local capacity strengthened through training of trainers, fielddays and visits, graduate student supports,▪ Communication materials including posters, leaflets andfactsheets produced; journal articles and blogs published.• Introduction and validation of more cultivatedforages.• Facilitate scaling of validated forage speciesand reach more kebeles and woredas inAmhara, Tigray, Oromia and SNNP regions.• Organize more field visits, trainings, and attachpostgraduate students.• Produce more research products and share tothe end users.Plan for 2019▪ Shortage of quality seeds of different forage speciesfor scaling to cover wider areas and benefit morefarmers.▪ A need for further data acquisition and analysis toestablish the impact of cultivated forages on the fiveSI domains.The Africa Research In Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative. Through action research and development partnerships, Africa RISING will create opportunities for smallholder farm households to move out of hunger and poverty through sustainably intensified farming systems that improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for women and children, and conserve or enhance the natural resource base.The three projects are led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (in West Africa and East and Southern Africa) and the International Livestock Research Institute (in the Ethiopian Highlands). The International Food Policy Research Institute leads an associated project on monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment.www.africa-rising.net Key challenges and lessonsWe thank farmers, site coordinators, local partners in Africa RISING sites and ILRI for their contributions to this research. Wealso thank USAID for its financial support through the Feed the Future Initiative.AcknowledgementTable 1. Beneficiary and area covered from scaling of feed and forage interventions in  2017 and 2018.RegionMaleHHs Female HHs Total HHs Areas (ha)Amhara 15183 1576 16759 221Tigray 5451 1259 6710 418Oromia 6955 1066 8021 896SNNPR 408 61 469 15Total 27997 3962 31959 1550Fodder beet tuber (left) and alfalfa, tree lucerne and other forage spp (right) on farmers fields.

Feed and forage development and scaling in the Ethiopian highlands

https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/10568/101965/1/ar_forages.pdf

Feed and forage development and scaling in the Ethiopian highlands

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