1. A ready reference feed dataset for the Ethiopian Livestock Feed Project Adugna Tolera Ethiopian Livestock Feed Project Synthesis workshop, Addis Ababa, 28- 29 May 2012

2. Importance of feed database Provides information on Types of feed resources Nutritive value of the feed resources Indicative price of the feed resources (price trends and variability) Indispensable inputs for ration formulation

3. Livestock production in developing countries (Realities in the past and recent past) Dominated by subsistence oriented smallholder livestock production system Mainly depend on feed produced or available on the farm Aims at making optimal use of available feed resources rather than maximizing productivity Ration formulation (balancing rations with requirements) has not been a major concern

4. Current Scenario Smallholder livestock production Landless livestock production Emerging commercial/market oriented livestock production Urban & peri-urban livestock production Landless rural livestock production Limited /no feed produced or available on the farm 1.Increased dependence on purchased feed 2.Aim at increasing production/productivity Information on feed quality and price For making decision to purchase feed ingredients For formulating balanced diet

5. Pre-requisites for ration balancing Nutrient requirement of animals Nutrient content of feeds Price of feds

6. Efforts made so far to avail information on nutritive value of feeds Institutions engaged EIAR – Two institutional publications on nutritive value of Ethiopian feeds ILRI and Collaborators – SSA Feeds – Ethiopian feed resources SPS-LMM – Manual on feed resources and feeding management – Supported database developed by ILRI ACDI/VOCA – FEED Project – Feed database Limitations Limited number and types of feed s covered – Little information on feeds resources of interest for commercial production – Inadequate description of feed attributes affecting quality Limited number of parameters

10. Conclusion The database provides better organized and more refined information on nutritive value of feeds Can be enriched and updated from existing literature and as new information is generated Price information shows price trends and variability. Current price information must be obtained for use in ration formulation