Fodder and feed as a key opportunity for driving sustainable intensification of crop livestock

systems in Ethiopia

“Quick Feeds”

Alan DuncanAfrica RISING Planning Meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 17-18 September 2012

Purpose, objectives, planned outputs:

The project aimed to support more effective use of feed by crop-livestock farmers (including supply and quality, impacts on livestock production and product appeal and links to markets). The project’s specific objectives were:– To characterize the nature of crop-livestock interactions based on

feed and identify opportunities for strengthening these through improved production, quality or augmentation with purchased inputs.

– To assess the broad potential implications of improved crop-livestock integration / intensification for sustainable feed supply in the target sites.

– To assess the state of feed value chains in facilitating improved feed use on crop-livestock farms.

– To use the above information to allow future trends to be predicted and to support interventions to enhance smallholder-based feed supply and trade.

Which locations?

Sheep

Dairy

Which tools?

Value chain analysis (VCA)Feed assessment tool (FEAST)Feed technology prioritization (Techfit)SLATE – for livelihood scoring

Name From GenderInception

workshop: 7-8 May

Training course:

18-21 Jun

Field work: Livlihood

Field work: VCA

Field work: FEAST

Field work: TechFit

Writeshop:13-16 Aug

Sythesis workshop:

3-4 Sep

Dawit Abate Sinana ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Teklu Wegi Sinana ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1Sisay Belete Sinana ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1Sultan Usman Sinana ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Aliye Kedu Sinana ARC m 1 1 1Gemeda Duguma Bako ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Worku Temesgen Bako ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1Kifle Degefa Bako ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Temesgen Jembere Bako ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1Alemayehu Kumsa Bako ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1Mesay Yami Kulumsa ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Teklemedhin Thaimanof Kulumsa ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Tarekegn Etana Kulumsa ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Eshetu Lemma Kulumsa ARC m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Alemayehu Kumsa Kulumsa ARC m 1 1 1 1Gerba Leta ILRI/IWMI m 1Abate Tedla Consultant m 1Aynalem Haile ICARDA m 1 1 1Tadelle Dessie ILRI 1Peter Ballantyne ILRI m 1 1Adugna Tolera University of

Awassam 1 1 1 1 1

Jane Wamatu ICARDA f 1 1 1 1 1Getachew Legesse Consultant m 1 1 1 1 1Alan Duncan ILRI m 1 1 1Amare Haileslassie ILRI m 1 1 1Peter Thorne ILRI m 1 1 1Werner Stur Consultant m 1 1Barbara Rischowski ICARDA f 1Christopher Legg IFPRI m 1

Partner engagement

OutputsAn understanding of feed issues and

options within 3 farming systems in Ethiopia

Ideas for entry points for livestock intensification

An appreciation of the wider implications of potential feed interventions for other system components

What do the tools do?

SLATE – develop understanding of livelihood endowments of different household to help targeting of feed interventions

FEAST – a quick understanding of feed issues in a locality – how they fit into the overall farming system, what constraints to improvement are and some suggestions for intervention routes

Techfit – prioritization of potential feed interventions from a basket of options

VCA – understanding of the bottlenecks to improved livelihoods at different points in the value chain – to help work out the most promising avenues for intervention at a VC level

Sample output from FEAST

Contributors to HH income

%of income in Gitlo (Horro)

LivestockCrops Labour

Seasonal feed calendars

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Concentrates Crop residues Grazing Green forage

Legume residues Others Rainfall Pattern

Feed

ava

ilab

lity

(%)

Rai

nfal

l pat

tern

(1-5

sc

ale)

Sinana - Selka

Horro - Gitlo

•CR based•Strong seasonality

•Almost nil concentrates

•V little legume

•Grazing based

•Some seasonality

•Almost nil concentrates

•V little CR

Seasonality of sheep prices

ET

B p

er s

heep

Easter

Meskel

C’mas

Constraints and opportunities

Identified problems

Ranks of problems in:

Suggested solutions for the identified problems  

Gitlo

Lakku

Oda Buluq

Knowledge 1 1 1 Awareness raising of farmers through training on improved animal husbandry practices in general and market-oriented animal production in particular

Feeds 2 3 2 Improved forage production, conservation of crop residues, establishment of backyard forage production and reduction of number of animals owned by focusing on productivity

Health 3 2 3 Equipping veterinary clinics with necessary equipment, drugs and skilled technicians, and proper feeding and housing managements to animals

Market 5 - - Cultivation of high value horticultural crops, animal fattening, undertaking off-farm activities and devising mechanisms to access credit on an individual basis

Finance 4 - 4 Market oriented animals’ production and organizing farmers into cooperatives

Summary of what emerged in the sheep system

On the demand side, there is strong demand for young, fat, heavy sheep from export and domestic urban markets which the current sheep production systems cannot produce reliably.

Demand for sheep is seasonal and this presents both a problem in terms of production continuity and an opportunity to capitalize on high prices during periods of peak demand.

There is a strong opportunity to assist smallholder farmers in producing fatter sheep for sale and developing efficient sheep fattening operations. This requires investments in improving feed supply, animal breeding, animal health and marketing support.