Use of Livestock Feed Balance as a Potential Indicator of Sustainability of Tropical Smallholder Mixed Farms–Prevailing Knowledge Gaps: A Case Study from the Harar Highlands of Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The livestock feed balance of small farms in the Harar Highlands of eastern Ethiopia was studied during 1999-2000. The objective of the study was to examine the livestock feed resource and balance at the smallholder farm level, with the expectation that the outcome would also shed light on the possible use of livestock feed balance as a potential indicator to assess sustainability of Ethiopian small farms. Community level information on farm households was collected using semi-structured key informant interviews and field observations. Community level interviews revealed that farmers considered ability to meet livestock feed demand as one of the most important indicators of sustainability of their farms, and stressed that this ability varies with farms. A well-being instrument was developed on the basis of community level data to rank the households into poor (POR), medium (MDM), and well-to-do (WTD) categories. Detailed characterization of the households in the three categories was carried out by an in-depth case study of individual farms followed by a wider scale formal survey. The livestock feed balance was then estimated using dry matter requirement and availability as a proxy indicator. Case study revealed that MDM and WTD did not produce enough feed. Results of the formal survey were similar to the case study. Relative to the requirement, the mean feed balance values varied significantly with well-being categories (P < 0.001), and the mean value of POR (0.39 t DM/year) also differed significantly (P < 0.01) from the mean values of MDM (−1.78t DM/year) and WTD (−4.09t DM/year). POR, MDM and WTD produced on average 132.4%, 50.8% and 44.1% of the estimated dry matter feed requirement, respectively. Feed resources outside the farm appeared marginal to fill in the reported deficit in MDM and WTD. Yet livestock on those farms produce and reproduce with the existing feed supply levels, suggesting that the conventional estimation method used for the study could not reflect the reality, at least in MDM and WTD. Much remains to be known to better account the quantity and quality of feed resources both from and outside small farms, and to accurately determine the nutritional requirement of local breeds. As a result, estimating livestock feed balance of tropical small farms remains challenging and its potential use as a quick indicator of sustainability of smallholder tropical mixed farms appears limited.