Livestock feed resources utilization practices in Tanqua-Abergelle district of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

A study was carried out with the objective to assess the utilization practices of local feed resources. It was implemented in Tanqua-Abergelle district of the Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia. Lemlem and Gera peasant associations (PAs) were selected purposively based on their potentiality in livestock resources and road access for household (HH) interview purpose. Likewise, Sheka-Tekli and Hadinet PAs were chosen for the purpose of focus group discussion (FGD). A total of 60 HHs (30 from each PA) were selected randomly for interview using semi-structured questionnaire. About 16 % of the respondents were female HHs. Two FGDs were held with key informants. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (2013, version 21) statistical software procedures. The study area is characterized by mixed crop-livestock farming system with high interaction between crop and livestock. Livestock are the mainstay for the farm community with many benefits as sources of draught, meat, milk, income, and manures. Cattle are kept primarily for the purpose of draught power with meat and milk as secondary products, whereas shoats are kept mainly for cash income, manure, meat, and milk. The land holding size per HH was 1.44 ha while the herd size was 4.93 tropical livestock unit (TLU). Almost all the land holding (97 %) is allocated for crop cultivation with lesser for forage production (<1 %) indicating poor attention for fodder harvesting. The cattle herd is composed of local breeds (99 %) with less exotic/crossbred (1 %), indicating that the livestock rearing is practiced using local breed. Crop residues, natural pastures, stubble grazing, hay, and browsing are the main feed resources for animals. The availability and contribution of each feed vary with season and areas. Sorghum stover is the main feed source in the area and followed by maize stover, Eragrostis tef straw, and pulse straws. Crop residues are fed as basal diet with no or less supplementation using local concentrates like Attela and mill by-products. Industrial by-products are rarely used in the livestock feeding system for their high price and less availability. Likewise, improved forages are not widely utilized as feed sources.

Socioeconomic effects of water hyacinth (Echhornia Crassipes) in Lake Tana, North Western Ethiopia

“…The dominant types of livestock reared included cattle, sheep, donkeys and poultry. The livestock holding per household was relatively larger as compared to other areas [34,35]. As presented in the Table 3, the holding size was found to be 3.84 TLU.…”

West Africa Dwarf sheep management systems and exposure to potential stressors in the savannah agroecological zone of Ghana

“…Sheep would normally spend much of the daytime grazing to meet their nutrient requirements (Gebremariam and Belay, 2016), but as communal grazing areas have reduced in size due to increasing pressure on land for alternative uses, the semi-intensive system has emerged, as farmers have adopted intensification practices such as feed supplementation with crop residue and agroindustrial by products to augment natural pasture which is inadequate to support productive performance (Baah et al, 2012;Adams, 2015). The farmers who offered supplementary feed did so based on the availability and affordability of feed and not necessarily on the needs of the animal.…”

Morphological Characterization of Goat Populations in Central Zone of Tigray, Ethiopia

“…Around 87.36% of the area is cultivation land in cereals, pulses, and oilseeds and the remained percentage is pasture, fallow, and the others with 1.63 hectares average land per household (CSA, 2001). The main feeding system and feeds are browsing natural pastures and stubble grazing with a little supplementation of crop residues and hay (Tajebe & Kebede, 2011;Gebremariam & Belay, 2016). Kola Tembien (KT) district is adjacent to TA district and 103 km far from Mekelle city.…”