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In the mixed crop-livestock farming system of Ethiopia, natural pasture production is related to seasonal rainfall distribution which is restricted to only a few months of the year. Livestock owners in this country experience periods of excess forage in the rain season where preserving it through haymaking became tradition as a strategy for the periods of scarcity, particularly the dry season of a year. Forage can also be stored as standing hay, the cheapest way of conserving forage, in a place like pastoral and agro-pastoral production system where a decline in quality can be tolerated. Mixed grass-legume pasture samples from different agro-ecology were collected and portion of the samples were analyzed conventionally to determine their chemical composition (dry matter, ash, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin) and in vitro dry matter digestibility to validate the NIRS calibration. NIRS was evaluated by the coefficient of determination in calibration (R 2), standard error of calibration (SEC), and standard error of cross validation (SECV). The results showed NIRS is extremely useful for predicting nutrient contents as compared to conventional chemical analysis methods which are not difficult to conduct, but they are expensive in terms of time and resources.

The aim of this study was to explore the psychosocial problems and coping strategies of orphan and vulnerable children living in two orphanages, namely Yenege Tesfa and Bridge of Hope Ethiopia orphan and vulnerable children care and support centers in Gondar town, North West Ethiopia. The research primarily used a phenomenological study design of the qualitative method. Qualitative data was collected from 1 March to 31 May, 2014, by using in-depth interview and focus group discussion techniques. The data were analyzed thematically using Nvivo 8 statistical software. A total of 20 indepth interviews and 4 focus group discussion (FGD) sessions were carried out. The study revealed that orphan and vulnerable children in the orphanages accessed all the basic services necessary to sustain their lives. Conversely, the study also revealed that the children suffered from a set of multidimensional and intertwined psychosocial problems that were the least addressed in the orphanages. Thus, interventions to promote the psychosocial wellbeing of the children should focus on addressing psychological problems, advancing socialization skills, organizing extracurricular activities and entertainments, and improving coping strategies.

Dry brewery spent yeast has high protein (43.5% CP) and metabolizable (14.3 MJ/kg DM) contents and it is an effective animal feed. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the chemical composition, invitro digestibility, and in situ degradability of sun-dried brewer’s yeast and wheat straw. Liquid brewer's waste yeast (BSY) and water were mixed at ratios of 1:5 each, respectively. The mixed debris was immersed for 7 hours in a 200-litter plastic bucket. The material was placed in a fixed location and given time to allow the biomass (residues) to settle in the foundation of the materials. Water accumulated above the biomass was easily removed by tilting the container after the BSY had been soaked with water. After washing the floor to get rid of any dust, the biomass was poured over the area to dry. After three days of sun drying, the dried brewery yeast was collected and removed by using a scraper. The dry spent yeast (DY) and wheat straw (WS) was milled (1-2mm) and mixed uniformly. Six treatments were made with different rates (DY0, DY10, DY20, DY30, DY40, and DY50 for DY: WS at 0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60 and 50:50, respectively) on a dry matter (DM) basis. Three cannulated Boran-Friesian steers with average body weight (480 kg) and age(42 months) were used to incubate samples for 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours. The nylon bags were 6.5 by 14 cm and had a 50 µm pore. Ash, crude protein (CP), digestible organic matter in the dry matter, estimated digestible protein, and metabolizable energy contents were increased in proportion to dry yeast inclusion increased, while all fiber fractions were declined (P < 0.01). Chemical composition of wheat straw is improved by the addition of dry yeast (50%) and raising the concentrations of Ca, P, Cu, and Zn (P < 0.01) while lowering the other minerals (K and Fe). As dry yeast inclusion increased, the kinetics of DM, CP, and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) breakdown similarly accelerated (P < 0.01). Therefore, we advise limiting the use of wheat straw can be improved with the inclusion of dry brewery spent yeast. However, feeding experiments are needed to verify the context of animal performances and economic returns.

Background Dry brewer spent yeast (DBSY) has high crude protein (CP) (43.2%) and metabolizable energy (14.3 MJ/kg) contents and it is an alternative animal feed for the improvement of the productive and reproductive performance of the animals. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of DBSY on the chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, and in situ degradability of wheat straw (WS). Methods Liquid brewer spent yeast (BSY) and water was mixed at a ratio of 1:5, respectively. The mixed debris soaked for 7 h in a 200-L plastic bucket. The water accumulated above the biomass was removed by tilting the container after the BSY was soaked in water. After three days of sun drying, DBSY was collected and removed with a scraper. The DBSY and wheat straw (WS) mixed uniformly. Different ratios of DBSY: WS (0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, and 50:50, respectively, on a DM basis) were prepared. Based on these ratios, the experiment was subjected to a completely randomized design with six treatments comprising DBSY0, DBSY10, DBSY20, DBSY30, DBSY40, and DBSY50. Rumen liquor was collected from the three cannulated Boran-Friesian steers (42 months old and weighed 480 kg). The steers were fed natural pasture hay ad libitum supplemented with 2 kg concentrate per day/head. The sample was incubated in a test tube at 39 °C for 48 h with 10 ml of rumen fluid and 50 ml of buffer solution. The enzymatic digestion with acid pepsin solution was continued for another 48 h. Blank and standard samples were also incubated with buffered rumen fluid for correction and precision check-up of in vitro organic matter digestibility. Digestible organic matter in the dry matter (DOMD) was determined after drying and ashing the residues. The sample (3 g and 2 mm sieve size) with nylon bags (6.5 X 14 cm and 50 μm pore size) was entered sequentially and manually pressed deep into the liquid phase of the ventral sac of the rumen and incubated in the rumens (6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h) of three fistulated Boran × Holstein–Friesian steers. After removing the bags from the rumen, it was washed in running water for 20 min. The bags with residues were dried at 55 °C for 72 h in an air-forced oven, hot weighed, and finally, the residues recovered for further CP and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) analysis. Results The highest ash, metabolizable energy, estimated digestible CP, DOMD, CP, Ca, P, Cu, Zn contents and the better DM, NDF, and CP ruminal degradability, and the lowest (P < 0.01) crude fibre, acid detergent fibre, NDF, K & Fe contents were observed in DBSY50 than the other DBSY inclusion level. In DBSY50, the potential degradability (PD) and effective degradability (ED) for DM of WS were improved by 52.22% and 56.17%, respectively. In DBSY50, PD and ED (NDF) in WS were increased by 60.34% and 65%, respectively. Similarly, in DBSY50, PD and ED (CP) of WS also improved by 54.20% and 63%, respectively. Conclusion The inclusion of DBSY can improve the limited utilization of wheat straw, but this study should be verified with a feeding experiment to identify and recommend the most promising, economical and biological inclusion level of DBSY.

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This study is based on secondary data from HICES and WMS 2004/ The study has tried to examine the extent of poverty and vulnerability of households in rural Oromiya. It further looks through the determinants of poverty and vulnerability. Using the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) poverty indices, the descriptive analysis of poverty indices revealed that 38.84% of the sampled households in the region are poor. A measured household poverty is decomposed in majority of the poor are chronically poor. The vulnerability to poverty of households in the region is also found to be high as a substantial share of those currently abo line are highly vulnerable to poverty in the future. The Logit model is used to investigate the determinants of poverty and vulnerability. From the estimation result educational attainment of the head, household size, location of residence in the region, are foun the key determinants of poverty in the region. The results show that poverty is not the same as vulnerability. So in designing policies one should take note of the diverse nature of poverty and vulnerability. For the chronically poor who lack econo should be given to reduction of consumption fluctuations and building up assets through a combination of protective and promotional programmes. On the other hand, the transient poor and high vulnerable non-poor households are most lik of prevention, protection, and promotion which would give them a more secure base to diversify their activity into higher-return, higher risk activities. Therefore ex ante measures to prevent households from becoming poor as already in poverty should be combined in evaluating poverty reduction strategies. the World Development Reports (World Bank, focus on poverty. Further, in the year 2000, leaders from 189 countries endorsed a set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015, one of which was to 'halve' the numb