Assessment of Feed Intervention in Lemu Bilbilo District, Arsi Highlands, Ethiopia by M. Yami, T. T.haimanot, E. Lemma, B. Begna and T. Etana Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center EIAR Africa-RISING Quick Feed Project Synthesis Workshop, Addis Ababa, 3-4 September 2012

Site Description A survey was conducted in Lemu- Bilibilo district, located in Arsi zone, Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Lemu-Bilbilo district is located about 235 km South - East of the capital Addis Ababa on the highway towards Bale zone The area receives an annual rainfall of around 1100mm, of which more than 85% is during the main rainy season (June to November). And the average annual temperature ranges from 6 to 26C.

Criteria for Site Selection Lemu-Bilbilo was purposively selected based on its dairy potential in consultation with District Agricultural Experts Bekoji Negesso kebele was selected from 27 kebeles in the district based on: accessibility dairy production potential

in Lemu-Bilbilo District, Arsi Highlands, Ethiopia FEAST Characterization of the Farming and Livestock Production Systems and the Potential of Feed-based Interventions for Enhancing Productivity through Improved Feeding in Lemu-Bilbilo District, Arsi Highlands, Ethiopia Objectives To gain an understanding of the overall farming and livestock production systems, and To identify key areas of the feeding strategy that could improve livestock productivity

Methodology Three villages (Cheffa, Mirti laman and Tulu-Negeso) were randomly selected from the Bekoji Negeso PA A total of 36 farmers were purposively selected on the basis of SLF results from the villages And the selected farmers were categorized into three groups; above average, average and below average. Then, 9 farmers each from the above average and 9 the below average were selected for individual interviews using semi-structured questionnaires.

Overview of the farming system Contribution of household income

Livestock production system (a) (b)

Feeds and feeding: Seasonality (a) Both roups

Feeds Quality – Dry Matter a. Above averages b. Below averages

Feeds Quality – Metaboilze Energy a. Above averages b. Below averages

Feeds Quality – Crude Protein a. Above averages b. Below averages

Problems and constraints Problems in order of importance Problem identified by farmers in both groups Proposed solution by farmers in both groups 1 Feed shortage Improved forage development and decrease livestock number 2 Lack of water Natural water resource development and installation of tap water 3 Lack of credit/cash Increase accessibility to credit service 4 Shortage of VET. and AI. service Training of farmers in AI service and increase number of vet. Technicians. 5 Awareness and communication gap (in below average group only) Frequent capacity building training on general welfares of livelihood, create close communication habit with livestock production experts through training

Opportunities Opportunities that contribute to the improvement of the sector do exist in the area. These opportunities are: Accessibility of all-weather road in the district as well to the PA Good agro-ecology with favorable climate The emphasis given to livestock production by the government The existence of high demand for livestock products due to population pressure The possibility to obtain more benefits on smaller plots of land

Awareness creation trainings on: Areas of intervention   Awareness creation trainings on: the utilization of improved technologies (improved forages and feeding techniques) particularly to the farmers in the below average group. how to get credit, about the repayment periods and amount of credit offered. Accessessing the farmers with credit or cash with reasonable amount or loan repayment periods Assigning numbers of well-trained effective AI and Vet technicians at the reasonable sites in the district. Development of herbaceous forage legumes and fodder trees species which can mitigate the constraints of feed scarcity.

Techfit

Prioritization of Feed Technologies using TechFit Background Shortage and poor quality of feed is the major constraint. National and international research programs in the past have generated a range of improved forage and feed technologies. One of the reasons for lack of adoption could be absence of means of selecting feed technologies fit to a specific location. Objective: To rank and prioritize suitable feed technologies for Bekoji Negeso kebele of Lemu-Bilbilo Wereda using tech fit.

Methodology Pre-filter of technologies context relevance and impact potential scores (to screen technologies that are not fit to the area. Main filter of technologies – Based on Technology attributes scores (1-5) by experts. Context attributes scores (1-5) by farmers. Scope for improvement Cost benefit analysis Comparison of estimated cost and benefit of each technology based on assumption.

Result and Discussions Pre-filter of technologies Based on impact potential and context relevance from 48 technology options the major 12 technologies were dropped regarding their relevance to the study area. Reason for technology dropping:- Unavailability of the technology to the area. less adaptable to the area. unaffordable to small scale farmers Main filter technologies Among them supplement with home produce local breweries, feeding of home grown legumes, use of weed cut grass and tree leaf, refreshing and mixing of CRs before storage and feeding were accordingly favored by the tool and got higher rank as compared to other technologies. These technologies were further subjected for cost benefit analysis.

Feed technologies selected using the Tech Fit tool Total score Rank List of feed technologies Remarks 49 1 home produce local breweries Mostly used by home made alcohols producers . feeding of home grown legumes Common to the area 45 3 . use of weed cut grass and tree leaf Mainly practiced during crop growing period 43 4 Re-threshing and mixing of crop residues before storage and feeding easily applicable without demand for resources

Home produce local breweries Benefit cost analysis of the best bet technologies/cow/day in Ethiopian Birr at Bekoji Negesso Kebele Technology rank Feed technologies Total cost Gross benefit Net benefit BCR 1 Home produce local breweries 3.00 4.55 1.50 0.50 2 Feeding of home grown legumes 2.00 2.60 0.60 0.30 3 Use of weed cut grass and tree leaf 3.50 5.20 1.70 0.48 Re-threshing and mixing of crop residues before storage and feeding 2.40 3.25 .85 0.35

cont. The result showed that technology which stood first Home produce local breweries was found economically best profitable by giving economical advantage of 0.50 CBR while Feeding of home grown legumes stood least by 0.30 CBR

Challenges/Limitations Estimation of cost benefit analysis of the best bet technologies was based on assumption. The feed technology options were more dependent on availability of attributes regardless of potential to the area.

Lessons learned Generate ideas for feed interventions depending on the existing farming system It was helpful to guide thinking and ensuring that the suggestions for feed improvement take into account system constraints such as land, labor, credit and input delivery The tool tries to match context scores like availability of land, labor, etc. with list of candidates of feed technologies to come up with short list of promising options. Tech fit helps to guide thinking of researchers and development workers on feed technology prioritization.

VCA

Assessment of Dairy Value Chain in Arsi Highlands :The Case of Lemu-Bilbilo District   The main objective of the study was to undertake an assessment of the dairy value chain actors of the study area. The following specific objectives of the study are: Carrying out analysis of the commercial viability of smallholder dairy farming and margin analysis for different milk marketing channels;   To Identify the key constraints and opportunities of milk and milk products marketing; To propose simple and practical intervention areas, which helps to facilitate milk and milk products marketing that brings sustainable change.

Methods of data collection and data sources Value Chain Analysis approach (VCA) was used. Review of literature Secondary data from different sources, Primary data collected using focused group discussion , key informants & personal observations. 41 farmers from three villages were used for FGD Discussed with Experts in Livestock Agency, Cooperatives promotion office, Vet drug vendors , Trade promotion office, KII with cooperatives, cheese & butter traders, milk collectors & processor.

Results of Dairy Value Chain Analysis

Figure 2: Raw and skimmed milk marketing routes

Figure 3 : Butter marketing routes

Figure 3: Cheese marketing route

Marketing channels Figure 4: Dairy marketing channels

Three main market channels for raw milk produced in Limu-Bilbilo district with which it reaches to final consumers. The final consumers’ in the study area is pre-urban and urban individual consumers, hotels and cafeterias. Channel 1- Milk consumed by pre-urban individual consumers in the study area Channel 2 – Milk consumed by Urban Individual consumers in the study area Channel 3 – Milk consumed by Hotels and cafeteria

Margins and Value addition Raw milk Channel Marketing margin Net margin Share of value added (%) Producers' share of final price (%) 1. Pre-urban consumers 1.80 1.77 56.5 78 2. Urban individual consumers 3.10 2 49 55 3. Hotels/cafeterias 8.50 5.50 83 43

Major constraints Constraints at Input supply Stage Production stage Inadequate availability and skills of AI technicians Low quality and poor timeliness of AI and animal health service Information gap on credit services Unavailability of demonstration sites on improved forage production in Farmers Training Centers (FTC) Absence of bull and heifers distribution centers Production stage Feed shortage Very high price of industrial by - products Lack of knowledge regarding improved feed formulation Non market oriented production Processing and marketing Stage Insufficient capacity of processing machines Lack of cooling facilities

Legal and Institutional Constraints Weak coordination between union, primary cooperatives and farmers Existence of too many unlicensed traders No vertical linkage b/n cooperatives and others Market infrastructure Sanitation Problem of milk products Support service providers Capacity gap among extension agents and agricultural experts in provision of training on feed formulation techniques

Prioritized constraints Feed shortage Low quality and poor timeliness of AI and animal health service Inadequate availability and skills of AI technicians Lack of knowledge regarding improved feed formulation Information gap on credit services

Opportunities available Recently connected to major urban centers with good asphalt roads. Favorable climate and weather conditions with relatively abundant pasture land for expanding the smallholder dairy productions. Availability of progressive farmers who have adopted the practice of keeping improved dairy cows.

Conclusions Demand for milk & milk products increases with the increase in population urbanization, and recent connections of the area with good asphalt roads. However, milk supply is below the expected level and could not able to meet this growing demands due to; Shortage of feed High price of industrial –by products Low genetic make up of available animals Inadequate & inefficient AI services Absence of institutions in the supply of improved bull and heifers Lack of knowledge regarding improved feed formulation Information gap on credit services

Recommendations Encourage the development of improved forage. Trainings on improved forage developments and feed conservations in the form of hay or silage. Trainings of farmers on improved feed formulation techniques Improve AI service In-service training of local service providers: To enhance the technical skills and knowledge of AI technicians’ short term trainings and refresher courses on relevant areas of dairy management will be the right direction. Training on community bull selections Training of farmers on AI services, especially heat detections and reporting

Create regular stakeholder forum This initiative will enable them to discuss common problems, find solutions to them and strengthens networking between dairy value chain players. Sensitization training on credit service terms and condition Micro-finance institutions need to create a platform for organizing training in credit service terms and condition for both dairy producer farmers and dairy cooperatives.

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