This survey explored the situation of different feed resources for ruminant livestock in two zones (central and eastern) in Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. These two zones account for the region’s 12% of the total land mass, 23% of the human population, 28% of the cattle population, and 56% of the small ruminant population.

Farmers feed their livestock a variety of feed resources that range from crop residues to non-conventional feeds.The overall contribution of crop residues exceeds 50% of the livestock feeds currently used by smallholder farmers, and this reflects the level of integration between crop and livestock farming.

Wheat residue is by far the most dominant and accounted for about 41% of the total residue. About 66% of the 146,890 qts pulse residue produced in the two zones is from the eastern zone districts, with faba bean dominating all pulses across the seven districts. Storage conditions for hay are generally poor. Most farmers store it in open fields which leads to rapid deterioration in the feeding quality.

Cultivated forage crops growing in the study districts are sesbania, leucaena, Napier grass, alfalfa, tree lucerne, vetch, cowpea, lablab and pigeon pea. Of these species sesbania, leucaena, and Napier grass are frequently used for feeding livestock. Forage productivity is generally low, on average about 430 kg/ha, and this contribution is less than 25%. About 39% of the surveyed peasant associations (PAs), 11 out of 28, used improved forages for feeding dairy cows and fattening of oxen and small ruminants. Lack of access to forage planting materials, land and water shortages are among the main problems hindering forage development.

The availability of agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) as feed supplement varies across districts. According to the
respondents, AIBPs were more available in the eastern zone than in the central zone. The most pervasive AIBP is wheat bran. About 63% of the discussants in the eastern zone rated it as medium. Non-conventional feed resources used in both zones include atella, vegetable leftovers and cactus. Urea treatment of crop residues, silage making, and UMMNB as a source of protein and energy supplements are not usually used by farmers. Lack of finance, limited knowledge and stable supply of molasses were mentioned as reasons for not widely using such technologies.

Overall, the management and utilization of crop residues with particular attention to collection and
transportation is constrained by factors such as labour shortage, distance from harvesting field to animals and delayed harvest in the project districts. Grazing land management and improvement is seldom considered by farmers or the extension system. Acute shortages of AIBPs supply from the sources and high price fluctuation in the main towns of the districts are discouraging smallholder dairy and small ruminant farmers from using them on a regular basis. The contribution of improved forage plants is not as expected and forage genetic material multiplication sites are operating with insufficient budget and manpower, and not supported by proper research. The overall feed supply to demand ratio in four districts in the eastern zone is not enough to cover the annual maintenance requirements of the present stock.

Download the working paper:

Tesfay, Y., Gebrelibanos, A., Woldemariam, D. and Tilahun, H. 2016. Feed resources availability, utilization and marketing in central and eastern Tigray, northern Ethiopia. LIVES Working Paper 11. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

This paper reviews the animal health services in rural areas in the highlands of Ethiopia, particularly those areas of
intervention by ILRI’s LIVES Project in Oromia, Tigray, Amhara, and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’
(SNNP) regional states.

Ethiopia has established animal health services by both the national and regional governments, and private service providers, some of which are supported by non-government organizations. The numbers of veterinarians seem large, there is evidence of professional capacity, and the country was a leader in the national and international program of eradication of bovine rinderpest. However, many authors quote the inadequacy of animal health services.

Recommendations to improve service delivery would include more budget (re)allocation across departments, reasonable treatment of clinicians, increased liaison and activity between regional veterinary laboratories and field livestock agency/departmental staff, review into the effectiveness of regional veterinary laboratories, effort to increase
the accuracy of diagnoses by clinicians and effectiveness of some vaccines, and the liberalization of the provision of animal health services.

Download the working paper:

Hooper, P. 2016. Review of animal health service delivery in the mixed crop-livestock system in Ethiopia. LIVES Working Paper 18. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

This study focused on the impact of motor pump-based smallholder irrigation in input use and production as compared to rain-fed production systems and investigated the financial viability of such investments.

Data used in this study came from the baseline and motor pump surveys of the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project conducted in five districts of four LIVES intervention zones conducted in 2014, but in reference to the 2012/2013 production season.

Results showed that as compared to rain-fed agriculture, the use of motor pump-based smallholder irrigation leads to significantly higher and financially viable input use and production.

Based on different scenarios, the estimated net present values (NPV) computed at 8.5%; 13.9%; 25.9%; 28% and 30% interest rates showed investment in motor pump-based smallholder irrigation is financially viable and robust even at high interest rate and volatile market conditions. The data also suggested that an increase in irrigated land leads to a higher profit margin/ha as a result of lower cost/ha and higher gross production values/ha.

Despite over-abstraction of water and use of agro-chemicals perhaps resulting in land degradation and reduced marginal benefits due to loss of micro nutrients and genetic diversity of crop varieties, our analyses failed to capture such external costs.

Download the working paper:

Gebregziabher, G., Hagos, F., Haileslassie, A., Getnet, K., Hoekstra, D., Gebremedhin, B., Bogale, A. and Getahun, G. 2016. Does investment in motor pump-based smallholder irrigation lead to financially viable input intensification and production? An economic assessment. LIVES Working Paper 13. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

This study used a nationwide dataset of 5000 households from four regions in Ethiopia to identify important determinants of market orientation, market participation and market outlet choices.

Market-orientation was affected by productive capacity, oxen, total land area, irrigated land area, access to irrigation, and access to market information.

Market participation was affected by market oriented production, productive capacity and the availability of market information.

With respect to outlet choices, the important role of market access conditions (mainly roads and storage facilities) and services (extension services and access to micro credit) were found to be important.

Expanding the necessary infrastructure for irrigation development or creating the conditions for household
adoption of different irrigation technologies is important for market production and participation and outlet choice
decisions of households.

Provision of adequate and timely marketing information is also another entry point totransform agriculture.

Download the working paper:

Hagos, F., Haileselassie, A., Getnet, K., Gebregziabher, G., Bogale, A. and Getahun, Y. 2016. Marketing patterns of rainfed and irrigated systems: Do they differ? LIVES Working Paper 14. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

By Dirk Hoekstra

The Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project and the Improving the Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian Farmers (IPMS) project that preceded LIVES have used the impact-oriented research for development approach ‘demanded’ by the donor community and beneficiaries.

Different implementation models can be used under this approach. The most common one is research supporting a project led by a development partner. In this model one does not have to worry about funds for implementation and impact, but its use may restrict innovations in case the development partner does not have funds to pilot new interventions and/or is mostly interested in scaling out ‘known’ interventions. Since IPMS and LIVES were moving into new territory using a value chain approach to create impact, we opted for a project design in which freedom to innovate was the focus. The implication of this choice was that the donor (the Canadian government), also allocated considerable funds for piloting and initiating the scaling out of successful interventions.

Transitioning from IPMS to LIVES, we continued using the value chain approach, but put more emphasis on technological and institutional interventions for a selected number of commodities. Based on internet searches and individual knowledge and contacts we managed to come up with several new interventions as compared to the IPMS phase. Over time we learned that using these advanced technological interventions is not only needed for market-oriented smallholder development but is also useful in attracting educated youth to engage in the agriculture value chain development. It is interesting to note that the government of Ethiopia and many development partners are now putting emphasis on youth involvement in agriculture as value chain actors or public or private service providers. This new beneficiary focus will require new interventions especially high-tech diagnostic tests, labour saving techniques, information technology (IT)-based credit and payment arrangements and IT-based knowledge sharing.

During LIVES we moved up the commercial ladder which brought a number of new issues to the forefront of the research and development agenda i.e. (i) national regional policy/strategies accommodating the transition from subsistence to (semi-) commercial smallholder and (ii) customer demand for quality inputs and food outputs. First steps were made to address these emerging issues during LIVES, but future projects should explore this further.

An interesting question is the role of research in projects like LIVES and IPMS. Most of our research was focused on actions (diagnosis, effect/efficiency and impact). Due to the nature of our project funding, we had limited feedback to controlled research, which could have generated information to design/improve interventions. To address this issue, future research and development projects may include funding for experimental research and/or linkages should be established with projects and organizations in a position to conduct such research.  At the same time, a future research for development project could also play a supporting role in knowledge sharing and capacity development to separately a funded development program based on well-tested approaches and interventions.

All in all, plenty of opportunities exist to assist in the development of a commercial smallholder sector in Ethiopia and beyond. However, unlike a decade ago, when we started our value chain work, there are now many more actors who are trying to do the same and we clearly have to establish our comparative advantage in tackling the emerging and future research challenges.

By Mamusha Lemma and Beamlak Tesfaye

Tigist Gebrekidan shares her experience on the use and management of a knowledge centre with knowledge centre managers (photo credit:ILRI\Beamlak Tesfaye).

In Ethiopia, agricultural experts and development agents have limited access to up-to-date information and knowledge on agriculture. They also have limited skills to use information and communications technology (ICT) tools to access information and knowledge. Tigist Gebrekidan has been working as a secretary in Bahir Dar Zuria District in West Gojjam Zone of Amhara region in Ethiopia. After the establishment of an agricultural knowledge centre in the district by the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project, Tigist was appointed as an  ICT expert of Bahir Dar Zuria district Office of Agriculture.

Initially there was low demand for the knowledge centre services in the district. But Tigist came up with innovative ways to create demand and attract people to use the centre. Most were informal approaches including inviting some of her close colleagues to visit the centre. She supported them to create email and Facebook accounts. ‘Many were surprised to see photos of former acquaintances, said Tigist. This raised their interest to know more about using the internet and IT-based services. She continued to interact with them and help them explore the information they were interested in. Gradually, they became comfortable in using the internet, and developed computer skills.

Tigist also uses the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony to promote the knowledge centre and attract users. She sets up a sendel to burn fragrant aroma and offers free coffee to users in the knowledge centre. The coffee ceremony creates the opportunity for interaction during which she shares important messages about the use of the knowledge centre.

She also shares information on current issues and social affairs to create curiosity among staff as a way of encouraging them to find out more by using the resources in the centre. As a result of her efforts, more experts now come to the knowledge centre to use the internet, or read materials and do their work.

‘I feel good when users get useful information and develop skills and confidence to use computers and the internet’, says Tigist. She has also made contacts with development experts working in projects in the region who use the knowledge centre to access training and information materials.

The Bahir Dar zuria district knowledge centre is located in what was once a store, with inadequate light. She improved the room by fixing the lighting system.

The knowledge centre is now used by people from different sector offices of the district, and it is mentioned as a good example of a knowledge service in the district. Other government departments such as the health office are now proposing to establish other knowledge centres.

Tigist is a social linker with incredible interpersonal skills. She received appreciation and compliments from knowledge center users. They even encourage her to open her own internet café in town. She is also an active learner. She said that knowledge center users share with her relevant information and skills in ICT tools.

Tigist’s experience shows that though they may take time to catch on among users, knowledge centres can provide services that transcend personal development to include providing extension services. The use of social media in these centres can be an entry point that enables extension staff to become familiar with the use of computers and the internet and gradually use knowledge centre services for personal and community development.

By Yoseph Mekasha, Tesfaye Shewage, Dirk Hoekstra and Azage Tegegne

Indigenous smallholder sheep flock grazing at Bensa District (photo credit:ILRI\Yosepf Mekasha).

Sheep rearing is an important part of livestock production in Ethiopia and sheep milk could offer additional nutritional and income benefits for the country’s smallholder farmers.

Currently, sheep production in Ethiopia generates household income through the sale of live animals, provides meat (animal protein) for families, manure for fertilizing cropping land and meets socio-economic needs. Sheep and sheep products are also exported to provide much needed foreign exchange for the country.But, despite its socio-economic  importance, the role of sheep as a source of milk is not well developed in the country.

On the other hand, some areas of the country are, however,  now paying attention to sheep’s role in providing milk. In the Sidama highlands of southern Ethiopia, sheep not only provide meat but are also being used for milk production. According to farmers in the Gonjebe peasant association of Bensa District, sheep milk is being used by the elderly (when mixed with coffee) and by children. Additionally, women, who play a great role in rural milk processing,  regularly add sheep milk to cow milk to improve butter content. Sheep milk contains higher fat (6.9%), protein (3.3%), lactose (5%) and minerals compared to cow and goats milk.

In Bensa, smallholder farmers supplement sheep  with feeds such as Enset chorm and leaf and allowed their lactating animals to graze in the best pastures to ensure they produce more milk. These measures have improved milk yields for suckling lambs and for home consumption.  Although sheep lambing occurs year-round, farmers prefer lambing to occur in April to September when feed is more readily available compared to other times in the year. The frequency of lambing in Bensa area is mostly once per year but may go up to three times per two  years depending on how the animals are managed.

Feedback from the farmers, who were part of a focus group discussion, also showed that in the area, production averages 500ml of milk per day per ewe and milking is performed once a day in the morning. Moreover, a ewe can produce milk for up to 3 months after lambing. Using this information, if we assume that a given smallholder household has 3 lactating ewes, which produce 1 lamb each/year, we would have 3 lactation periods of 3 months each, totaling 9 months (270 days). Considering maximum yield of 0.5 litres/day, the household could produce up to 135 (270 x 0.5) litres of milk per year. Using the current sheep milk price offered in Daye town in  Bensa (ETB 15 (USD 0.6)/litre), these 3 lactating ewes could generate up to ETB 2025 per year from the sale of milk alone.

However, unlike other commodities, sheep milk is not marketed in the area partly because of cultural reasons. Many in the community believe that consuming sheep milk is an indication of impoverishment. Thus, most smallholder sheep producers are reluctant to disclose that they milk sheep though they consume the milk at home.

The Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project and partners are working to improve sheep productivity and household income through the introduction of improved production techniques. Improved lamb production through oestrus synchronization of ewes with hormones, early pregnancy diagnosis with preg-tone and rebreeding of ewes, improved fodder development and better health service are among the interventions introduced to increase lambing rate, improve milk production and reduce lamb mortality. But further studies can shed light on the potential and socioeconomic importance of sheep milk in the Sidama highlands.

Grazing land fertilization in Tigray region (photo credit:ILRI\Yayneshet Tesfay).

The establishment of enclosures in communal grazing areas has been widely adopted in several sites in the Tigray region of Ethiopia following community-based interventions by the Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) and its predecessor, the Improving Productivity and Market Success of Smallholder farmers (IPMS) project.

The LIVES project is currently supporting the use of urea top dressing technologies for fodder cultivation in enclosures in intervention districts in eastern and central zones of Tigray. Results, after field demonstrations, showed that when enclosures are top dressed with urea at a rate of 150 and 200 kg N/ha, yields increased by 4.7 folds and cutting frequencies tripled compared to unfertilized control plots.

The ‘LIVES  communal grazing area’ in the Dura peasant association (PA) in Laelay Maychew District in central Tigray is about 12 hectares and has 300 users, including 53 female-headed households (FHH).  The technology has been tested successfully in three ha and reviewed by the community. The next step is scaling out to the whole district.

After the community approved the fertilization technology by majority vote, the existing randomized grass harvest access system was used for the collective purchase and application of the fertilizers for the 12 hectares. Each member or group contributed according to their access right. This resulted in the 300 members contributing cash for the collective purchase of 12 quintals of fertilizers for the first application after the initial demonstration. It is understood that the by-laws for user access are similar for all districts in the central zone and scaling out could be relatively fast.

In contrast, the users rights for the enclosed areas in eastern Tigray differ. Here individuals have user rights to plots in the communal grazing area and the purchase and application of fertilizers is an individual decision.

The effects on scaling out could be observed in one of the demonstration communal grazing area in Hadush Hiwot PA. In this PA, only 21 of the 580 users purchased fertilizers after the successful demonstration. This low adoption rate may have been influenced by the severe drought situation in eastern Tigray during 2015.

To scale out within the LIVES districts, representatives from PAs and communal grazing areas in the districts, including women and youth, participated in a field day organized by the district office of agriculture. In Laelay Maitchew District, the technology was demonstrated to 15 PAs with a similar grazing area tenure system and so far 2 PAs have applied 43.5 quintals of urea.

The results were also presented in regional events, and the test areas were visited by the regional government officials and representatives from all districts in Tigray. To speed up the scaling out of the fertilizer technology to more districts, the regional bureau of agriculture made demonstration fertilizers available for all interested districts. While this shows the strong commitment of the Tigray regional bureau, the lessons learned suggest that farmers in other districts should also be advised on the organizational intervention based on the tenure system of their communal grazing lands.

By Dirk Hoekstra, Yayneshet Tesfay, Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Haile Tilahun and  Dawit Woldemariam.

By  Ephrem Tesema, Abebe Mamo, Dereje Legesse and Worku Teka

smallholder forage seed farmers being trained near Debrezeit (Photo Credit:ILRI\Dereje Legesse)

About a year ago (August 2015), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)-led Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project in collaboration with the ILRI/GIZ FeedSeed Project organized a training on forage seed production and marketing for 21 female smallholders and five forage experts.

The event, held at ILRI’s seed unit in Debre Zeit, targeted farmers already engaged, or willing to engage, in forage seed production and marketing from Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s (SNNP) regional states were involved in the training. Most of the trainees said that capacity development support was key next to access to land, quality seeds and output market outreach.

The training gave participants practical skills on quality seed identification, agronomic practices and on selection of suitable source seed on the basis of soil types and agro-ecological zones. It also offered business and marketing skills to the women farmers.

After the training, most of the participants allocated parts of their farms to forage seed production and decided to fully engage in the feed seed marketing business and to use the forage they produced to improve the feeding of their animals.

Bringing together these female smallholders, both young and adult, enabled an exchange of lessons from across four LIVES intervention regions-Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP. The experience of these female farmers revealed that there are potential opportunities that can be capitalized on despite the constraints they face in establishing themselves as feed seed suppliers.

Neteru Takele, 32, from Maksegnit Chira Manterno, Gonder Zuria Woreda in North Gonder Zone, was one of the women who already allocated plots and decided to produce high-quality feed seeds after the training. She also decided to share the practical skills she had learned with other smallholders to help them produce feed for their livestock.

Before the training, in June 2014, Neteru had started growing Rhodes grass and Alfalfa mainly to feed her dairy cows. She had two dairy cows (one local and one crossbreed) and two heifers. At the time, she fed her dairy cows locally available feed mostly made up of treated grass traditionally called gefera.

The change in engaging to produce seed feed happened after LIVES project team and extension agents from North Gonder zone were approached her. Then after, she learnt not only to grow livestock seed to feed her own animals but also to produce feed seed to sale for other farmers and to generate income for the household. As a result, in November, 2014, she produced Rhodes grass seed for the first time and bartered the seed with 45 kg of teff[1]. The price of teff was estimated to be about ETB 560(≈ USD 26[2]). However, among 32 male farmers who bought and bartered the Rhodes grass seed from her, only 2 became successful in producing livestock feed.

During the skill training in Debre Zeit, Neteru said that the failure of the seed she sold to other farmers was likely due to seed quality problem or mistakes done by farmers in cultivating the grass such as prematurely harvesting it or harvesting it after it had dried.

A March 2016 review of the farming and business progress of these women farmers, seven months after the training, also evaluated Neteru’s progress. It showed that she was now growing Rhodes and Desho grass on 0.125 hectare of land and she also produced onions on 0.125 hectare giving her an income of ETB 2, 000. She has also started fattening oxen partly using the feed from her plot and concentrate feeds. Recently, she bought oxen with ETB 4,000 and resold it with ETB 8,000.00 after keeping the animal under improved fattening management for three months. She is currently fattening a bull bought at ETB 6,000 which she expects to sell at a profit in a few months. She has also used a cross-bred bull from a neighbour to impregnate her cow and recently got a calf.

Additionally, Neteru has managed to buy a house worth ETB 5,500 of which ETB 1, 500 was generated from the sale of forage harvested from her own plot. She is now preparing an additional 0.125 hectares of land in the backyard of the newly-bought house to expand the production of forages and onions.

Neteru appreciates the improved extension services given by LIVES agents in recent years who used to visit her forage plots. She says that the commitment from the project to supply source seed and to render practical and field-based training has helped improve the lives of her family members. She says farmers like her are now able to run their farm activity in line with market orientation and with cost-benefit assessment.

Neteru’s trajectory shows that capacity development of female smallholder farmers can lead to viable household-based forage seed production and marketing enterprises that improve the livelihoods of farming households in Ethiopia.

[1]  Eragrostis abyssinica – a cereal indigenous to Ethiopia

[2]   1 USD = 21.92 ETB

A motorized chopper introduced by LIVES (Photo Credit:ILRI\Dereje Legesse)

Motorized feed choppers introduced by the Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project are helping the country   ‘s livestock farmers better utilize available feed resources to increase milk production.

Farmers in the Maresege Dairy Cooperative in Tikeldengaye town of Lay Armacheho District, North Gonder Zone were among the first to use the ‘LIVES chopper’ after a demonstration over a year ago. The cooperative members were interested in testing if the chopper could be used to start and sustain a feed production business. The LIVES team linked them with the Austrian-funded ‘Livelihood Improvement through Sustainable Resource Management Program’, which supported them to buy a motorized chopper.

In 2016, after two seasons, all 43 cooperative members (7 female) reportedly make use of the services provided. Also non-members use the chopper services and to accommodate potential users further away, the cooperative introduced a mobile service – i.e. transporting the chopper by cart to the dairy farmers in five (5) neighboring PAs – Kerker Balegzabhir, Tikel Dengay, Shumara Lomeye and Ayquachker PAs.

The machine is mostly used between December and May to chop crop residues and grind grains. According to Defre Alemnhe, the chairman of the dairy cooperative, in its first year, the machine  chopped 16,800 kg of crop residues and 5,775 kg of maize grains at a cost of ETB 1 (USD 0.05)/kg.

Purchased at an initial cost of ETB 35,000 (USD 1,597) and with an estimated salvage value after 10 years of ETB 5,000, the depreciation cost of the chopper is ETB 3,000/year. Even though there were no maintenance costs in the first year, it is expected that, over 10 years, the average maintenance cost will average 5% of the original investment cost. Two hired staff operate the machine and share 50% of the income generated (i.e. ETB 0.5/kg of chopped feed).

Based on observations elsewhere, the mechanized chopper uses about 1 litre of diesel fuel to process 450-500 kg of dry crop residues, up to 900 kg green grass and 200 kg of maize grains depending on the particle size of the powder. , 1 litter of oil is used monthly (at a cost of ETH Birr 55).

Based on this information, a chopper business annual  would look like this:

Based on these calculations, the chopping/grinding service seems a profitable business (even at this modest scale of operation) in Ethiopia. It is therefore not surprising to see several enterprises now using mechanized chopper to engage in small-scale feed businesses. For example, women-headed households in Mecha District have purchased a chopper with support from the AgroBig Project and are providing crop residue chopping / grain grinding service at ETB 70/hour and ETB 0.60/kg respectively.

Similarly, an entrepreneur in Bahir Dar town is using the chopper to run a commercial feed processing and marketing business. The Haik Estifanos monastery has also purchased the same machine to prepare feed for their cattle and poultry farms to save feed-associated costs. In all LIVES intervention Zones, a total of 39-businesses (Individuals, Groups & Cooperatives) showed great interest to purchase the chopper and looking for the money.

Responses from farmers in Amhara Region regarding the use of chopped feed is positive:

• Some farmers started using purchased chopped feed for their dairy cows at a cost of ETB 4.5/kg which is ETB 2.5 above the production cost of  ETB 2/kg, (ETB 1/kg for the residues and ETB 1/kg for services).
• Farmer’s also report less wastage, better intake, and possibilities for mixing concentrates with the chopped fodder to improve rations.

The next step in the further development of the chopper business in Maresege cooperative is the addition of effective microorganisms (EM) to the chopped fodder to increase its digestibility and also to expand the services to more clients.

by Worku Teka, Yigzaw Dessalegn, Dirk Hoekstra, Beamlak Tesfaye and Dereje Legesse

by Mamusha Lemma, Abule Erbo and Addissu Abera

Lomi Kordofa LIVES supported dairy farmer (Photo Credit:ILRI\Addisu Abera).

Lomi Kordofa is a female-headed household. She farms at Illu Aga peasant association in Ejere District, West Shoa Zone. Ten years ago, a local non-governmental organization taught her to keep dairy cows. She started by keeping 14 local-breed cows, which she later sold to buy 5 cross-bred dairy cows.

Lomi says the main challenge in improving her dairy farm is lack of knowledge and skills in dairy production. She has attended training, study tours and has received coaching and mentoring support from the Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project on feed preparation, frequency of feeding and watering, barn design and construction as well as growing fodder crops and conservation of locally available feed resources.

Before the LIVES training, she used to graze her dairy cows in the field, where they lost energy due to mobility. Also, they were not housed properly and were not provided with sufficient water. The cowshed she had did not have a proper floor, and it was not suitable for the cows to stand, let alone sleep. And it is difficult and time-consuming to clean the shed.

Now she has learned the importance of proper shelter, the use of hay in the off-season, the need to provide sufficient water for her cows, and the importance of forage crops for dairy feed supplements. As a result of better feeding, watering and housing of her cows, they now produce more milk.

Lomi’s participation in continuous coaching and mentoring has enabled her to set up a custom designed barn for her cows, that includes an improved floor with sleeping mats, improved feeding and watering mangers and a separate space for the calves.

She says it’s now much easier and also takes less time to clean the barn, freeing her to do other activities. The cows are now able to sleep comfortably on the mats, which have also saved her much straw, which was previously used as bedding for the cows.

‘The condition of the cows has also improved because of better housing and feeding,’ she said. She adds that this improvement has resulted in enhanced milk production for her household. Milk production has increased from 8 to 14 litres on average from each of her cross-bred cows. She sells a litre of milk at ETB 12 in the local market. In addition to getting more milk, she also now has well-conditioned heifers, which come into heat relatively early.

After seeing the benefits of proper feeding of cows, Lomi has allocated more land to fodder production. She grows alfalfa and Desho grass using fertigation.

Research has highlighted the crucial importance of the contribution of women to agricultural value chain development and governance in Ethiopia, according to scientists from the Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). As a means of publicizing the importance of genders within farm productivity, the scientists developed a poster highlighting the various techniques used to enhance the involvement of women within community farming strategies. This will enable the reduction of gender equality gaps, whilst improving livestock productivity across various regions within Ethiopia.

Download the poster: Tesema, E. 2016. LIVES gender equality strategy. Poster. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILRI.

Capacity development plays a critical enabling role in facilitating the adoption and scaling out of value chain development interventions and approaches by addressing attitudinal, knowledge and skills gaps in value chain actors, service providers and value chain supporters.

A recent poster by scientists at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) highlights capacity development approaches to market-oriented expansion taken in the Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project. Increasing the skills and knowledge and increasing the sharing of this knowledge will help farmers to receive a greater income. Offering farmers, a pathway to prosperity.

Download the poster: Lemma, M., Hoekstra, D., Gebremedhin, B. and Tegegne, A. 2016. Capacity development for market-oriented agricultural development: Approaches, experiences and lessons learned. Poster. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILRI.

Leveraging private and public sector partners is key to helping smallholder producers establish platforms to exchange knowledge on overcoming bottlenecks in value chain, and create linkages that facilitate new businesses opportunities, such as opening of feed shops.

Download the poster: Legesse, D., Lemma, M. and Tesfaye, B. 2016. Building public-private partnerships: LIVES project approach and experience. Poster. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILRI.

Taking a value chain approach is essential to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, according to scientists working at International Livestock Research Institute project (ILRI). Making smallholder producers more aware of market opportunities will help them make reasonable returns on their investments. Key to this process is the role of market-oriented extension services, facilitating marketing services to smallholder farmers and their enterprises to help improve their incomes.

Download the poster: Legesse, D. 2016. Facilitating market linkages—LIVES project approaches and lessons learned. Poster. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILRI.

 by Yoseph Mekasha, Tesfaye Shewage, Solomon Gizaw and Azage Tegegne

Twin lambs from bonga rams (Photo Credit:ILRI\Yoseph Mekasha)

Despite being an important component of livestock farming, the productivity of sheep in the Sidama Highlands of southern Ethiopia is generally low and gives minimal income to smallholder farmers. One of the main constraints to sheep farming in this area is the low genetic potential for functional traits of the indigenous animals kept by farmers.

Working with local partners, the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chain for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) Project, is carrying out interventions geared towards improving the genetic potential of indigenous sheep in the region.

Terminal cross-breeding of indigenous sheep with selected Bonga rams is taking place in peri-urban areas of Arbegona district of Sidama zone that have access for markets. In this program, cross-bred males are being sold to the market directly when they reach market age/weight or after value addition through fattening.  This approach is expected to minimize the risk of back crossing and contribute to genetic preservation of indigenous stock.

In  November 2015, improved Bonga rams were introduced to the Muchucho peasant association in Arbegona District from Kefa zone in southwestern Ethiopia which has a similar agro-ecology. The Bonga indigenous rams were selected for their fast growth, large body size and twining by community sheep breeders in Kefa zone.

In the lead up to the breed improvement initiative, a suitable breeding strategy and business model was agreed with producers and extension staff in Muchucho. The project also organized skill-based training on breeding ram management, ram sharing, improved feeding and housing, cooperative marketing and breeding methods.

A sheep ‘terminal cross-breeding group’ was also established in the peasant association. The breeding group has 5 mating sub-groups based on the number of rams where each has 20-25 breeding ewes. Ram managers were selected by the members and hand mating breeding method is used. Each breeding ram is expected to serve for a year and rotate to other villages during the other years to avoid inbreeding (mating of closely related population). As per the decision of the breeders group, ram managers are expected to charge  ETB 3 per mating service to cover primarily medication and feed cost.

The breeders group has developed by-laws on use and management of breeding rams, ram rotation, mating service charge, role and responsibilities of breeders’ group members and ram managers. The LIVES project has coached and mentored this group alongside training offered by the offices of the district cooperative, and livestock and fisheries departments.

Up until the end of May 2016, the number of ewes served by Bonga rams across the 5 mating groups were 135 (on average, about 27 ewes per ram), of which 23 ewes have lambed recently.  Further, out of the total number of ewes delivered, 11 lambed twins, leading to a sum of 34 lambs born from 23 ewes.

Although early, initial results show that the twinning rate (47.8%) observed was higher than the 17% reported for local Arsi-Bale breeds. More lambs are expected from the remaining pregnant ewes in this rainy season and mating with Bonga rams has continued in the area. There is an increasing interest in the program by producers who say that cross-bred lambs grow fast and have larger body frames within four weeks after birth compared to local breeds. Consequently, non-member producers have started using the Bonga rams service at higher price than the amount charged by members. The total number of ewes mated by non-member users is 25.

These initial results are encouraging but the average number of ewes served per ram during the last six months (27 ewes/ram) was low.  This could be attributed to the shortage of fodder supply since breeding has occurred during the dry season. These results show the importance of matching the sheep mating period with fodder availability to improve the efficiency of rams and conception rates. In future, this will be explored through oestrus synchronization with hormones, which is underway through LIVES and its partners.

The LIVES project is also working with partners on community-based sheep and goat selective breeding in Bensa District of Sidama and Mirababaya District of Gamogofa zones.

by Mamusha Lemma, Abule Erbo and Addissu Abera

Fufa Keneni lives in Reji Mekoda peasant association (PA) of Ada’a Berga District of Oromia region. He is engaged in apiculture and dairy production. His apiculture experience dates back to some 15 years.

A former soldier in the Derg regime, Fufa started to operate a small shop with ETB 500 capital, after the fall of that regime. But, his business did not break even. He then decided to venture into apiculture starting  with two traditional beehives. The Office of Agriculture of the district supported him to buy some 20 modern beehives but his hives suffered a high rate of bee colony absconding, which can lead to losses of up to 50 colonies a year.

A course on improved beehive management offered by the Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project at the Holeta Agricultural Research Center turned his life around. ‘It healed my pain’, says Fufa. Using a mixed group training approach, the course targeted development agents, producers and local carpenters from various PAs.

After the training in 2014,  Fufa bought 200 modern, 4 transitional and 86 traditional more beehives leading to harvests of 30kg of honey from the modern beehives, 20 kg from transitional beehives and 5kg from traditional beehives. In 2015 alone, he harvested 3 tonnes of honey, which he sold at ETB 120/kg.

He uses the traditional beehives mainly for wax production saving up to ETB 14,000 on wax purchases. Now he produces enough amount of foundation wax to construct honey combs. He is now planning to start selling wax for ETB 300/kg in his community.

With the income from the apiculture, Fufa has expanded his small shop, which now includes a small café and a boutique. He says that his experience has inspired many farmers, who have now realized that they could also improve their incomes  through apiculture business.

Fufa is now a local resource person who is regularly consulted by fellow farmers and development agents. Many of them have visited him to learn about his practices. Over the past six months, more than 70 farmers have personally visited or consulted him on telephone particularly on bee feeding during dearth periods. In addition to the learning, visiting farmers have also accessed inputs, such as bee forage seeds from him.

When Fufa started apiculture, there were only 2-3 farmers engaged in apiculture in the local PA but more than 50 farmers are now engaged in apiculture.

In addition to creating employment opportunities for five young people. Fufa has transferred practical knowledge and skills to many of his employees some of whom have started their own apiculture businesses. Two of his former employees have started apiculture production in Ada’a Berga and Meta Robi districts, which are LIVES intervention districts. These young farmers own 35 beehives. Another young farmer, who formerly worked for him, owns 18 modern beehives in Kuyu PA, Gebre Guracha district.

Fufa also influenced his friends and relatives to start bee keeping. His friend Tibebu Kumsa, who works at Muger Cement factory started apiculture business and Fufa has mentored in apiculture farming. Tibebu now has more than 40 modern beehives.

After gaining more experience and also earning more money, Fufa expanded his activities into a dairy farming where he keeps nine crossbred dairy cows which cost ETB 35,000 (USD 1600) each. He says his motivation is to help others; otherwise, his shop alone would be enough to earn a modest living.

The LIVES team has also supported his dairy farming by training him in improved housing and feeding of his dairy cows using molasses and wheat bran,which has increased milk yield from 12-18 liters of milk a day from each of his crossbred cows.

He has now expanded his dairy farm to 10 dairy cows and 16 calves (9 heifers). He has also started baling hay with his own bailing machine and has also bought a  feed chopper worth ETB 40,000. He sells a litre of milk for ETB 15 mainly to workers at the Muger Cement factory and in his village. The remaining milk is used for home consumption, turning it into cheese and butter. Fufa also provides bull service for his neighbours. He is now hoping to open a concentrate feed shop and to provide baling services to the community.

Fufa is planning to set up a honey refinery plant to produce quality honey for export. He sees that the production volume of honey in his district and beyond is increasing due to improved apiculture production practices. He has already applied for an investment license in apiculture, dairy and fattening, and LIVES staff have advised him and facilitated the licensing process.

Fufa’s story demonstrated that farmer-to-farmer dissemination of improved technologies and management practices is successfully taking LIVES value chain development interventions to scale.

By Ephrem Tesema

Participants at a training (photo credit:ILRI\LIVES).

Ethiopia recently rolled out its second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) which, among other goals seeks to increase livestock and fisheries production, productivity and increase market access for livestock and livestock products in targeted areas with increased participation of women and youth.

The process of increasing women and youth participation in the livestock value chain will require institutional innovation and the development of new skills and capacities at different levels in the country.

The Women and Youth Directorate of the Ethiopian Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoLF) recently (3-5 August 2016) held a training in Adama on ‘gender in livestock value chain development for 48  of which 15 female participants drawn from the ministry, regional coordinators from the bureau of livestock and fisheries, veterinarians and focal persons from women and youth affairs offices.

The training provided new skills on the methods and approaches of developing market-oriented women and youth-inclusive livestock and fisheries value chains to participants who are expected to cascaded skills gained to extension and development agents located at different (lower) levels.

The trainees visited the Livestock and Irrigation Value chain for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project intervention sites in Lume District of East Shoa Zone in Oromia to learn about the practical use of livestock technologies adopted by smallholders (including young women) engaged in improved dairying, large ruminant fattening, poultry, livestock feed production and marketing.

In his closing remarks, H.E. Ato Sileshi Getahun, Minister for Livestock and Fisheries said that women and youth inclusive livestock value chain development is now a government priority in line with GTP II. He said the government is looking to partner with projects such as LIVES in implementing the national development plan.

The three-day training was facilitated by a team from the LIVES, MoLF and Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

For the full training report click here

by Yoseph Mekasha, Tesfaye Dubale, Dirk Hoekstra and Azage Tegegne

Samuel, LIVES supported smallholder farmer, sharing his experience with other neighbouring smallholders (Photo Credit:ILRI\Tesfaye Dubale)

Samuel Alemu household is one of those supported by the Livestock and Irrigation Value chain for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project in Genta Kanchama peasant administration (PA) of Arba Minch Zuria District in Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Samuel was a crop farmer but he occasionally keeps cattle for fattening as a sideline activity. He previously relied on traditional approaches in cattle fattening including long distance movement for grazing in communal areas supplemented by crop residue upon their return.

The animals would take a long time to fatten (up to 8 months) and he targeted to sell them during Easter holidays when demand for beef is high. But this approach limited him to just one fattening cycle in a year. Like most farmers in his community, Samuel relied on the cattle to provide draught animal power for farming after which he fattened them for sale.

A 2014 LIVES study tour to central Ethiopia changed Samuel’s approach to farming after he and other farmers learned they could improve and shorten cattle fattening cycles and sell more animals with a better price.

He used this knowledge to start cattle fattening as a business. He bought 1ha of land with the money he had earned from selling some of his crops (banana) to start the business.

He now has more than 20 cattle that are kept in a modern, well-built (with concrete and wood), and well ventilated barn. His cattle fattening business started with five oxen which he bought using his own money which was the first time he invested in animals instead of cultivation.

Among the practices he now uses in the business is selecting animals for fattening based on market need, using anthelmintics for deworming, stall feeding instead of open grazing,  use of concentrate feeding, improved housing & short cycle multiple fattening. His animals are fed on crop residues, mainly maize stover, from his farm as a basal diet which is supplemented with formulated commercial concentrate for short durations (3-4 months).

Samuel has continued to benefit from the coaching/mentoring service from LIVES and its partners and is now  an active member of district level livestock commodity platform established by LIVES.

In 2015, Samuel fattened 17 cattle in 3 cycles (5 in cycle 1 and 6 in each of the other 2 cycles) and generated gross revenue of ETB 176,250. He bought the animals for fattening at ETB 87, 750 ETB (purchasing price ranges from ETB 4000 to 6800 per head) and incurred costs for feeding concentrate of ETB 8000 ETB and medicine (ETB 500). After accounting for variable costs his gross margin was 80,000 ETB.

The 3 cycles target the major Ethiopian holidays (Easter in April, ‘Meskel’ in September, and Christmas in December) when the demand for beef is high. He now plans to increase the scale of production with the income he is making. According to him, beef has high demand and his being close to the local market in Arba Minch town means he can access the market easily.

Contributing to about 12-18% of the total GDP, 35-49% of agricultural GDP and 23% of export earnings, livestock production is an integral component of agriculture in Ethiopia.

In Gamo Gofa zone, southern Ethiopia, cattle fattening is a major source of livelihoods for many people. But the fattening system is traditional low-input-low-output and producers are not benefiting much from the sector.

This poster, produced for the Tropentag 2016 conference, shares key results of a study that evaluated the challenges and constraints, and cattle fattening innovations introduced through stakeholders participation in the region.