Assessment of Livestock Production System and Feed Resources Availability at Melka Watershed of Nile Basin, Jeldu District, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

A rapid assessment on the livestock feed resource availability and livestock production system was undertaken to identify main livestock production constraints and come up with possible intervention strategies in the Melka watershed area of the Nile basin. The watershed was chosen for its strategic representation and accessibility. Three villages (Abeyi, Bore’a and Dini) were selected for the study from Melka watershed area of Jeldu district. A total of 45 participants were selected from the three villages for the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and individual interviews. The FEAST excel macro program (www.ilri.org/feast) was used for data summary and analysis. Livestock production in the study area is mainly based on production of indigenous livestock breeds, with the exception of Bore’a village, where some farmers keep crossbred dairy cattle. Livestock serve as sources of draught power and manure for crop production, and sources of meat, milk and eggs and as sources of cash income. However, the productivity level of the livestock resources was indicated to be very low. The respondents from the different villages identified different constraints that affect productivity of their animals, among which shortage of feed was ranked as the most important constraint in all the three villages. Natural pastures and crop residues are the main feed resources and their availability varies from season to season. The availability and use of improved forages and concentrate feeds is almost nil. Thus it would be necessary to alleviate the prevailing livestock production constraints in order to enhance the productivity and contribution of the livestock resources to the livelihood of the households in the study village as well as the district.