Mixed Crop-livestock Production Systems Research Articles

Assessment on rural poultry production and marketing system of Horro chicken ecotypes in Western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess production and marketing system of Horro chicken ecotypes, and to determine poultry health and marketing constraints across different agro-ecologies of western Ethiopia. A total of 360 householders were interviewed for the survey in Horro area (western Ethiopia) where the Horro chicken ecotypes are mainly found; the sample size was determined using proportionate sampling technique. Household characteristics studied indicated that 87.45% household heads were males and about 90.32% of householders’ age group were between 20 and 60 years. Household heads whose ages lie below 20 and above 60 yrs were very small (9.68%). The low proportion of these age group might be because of the age category below 20 yrs and above 60 yrs are age groups before marriage and after retirement, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the family size of the study area was 6.19±2.16; where a mixed crop-livestock production system was the main stay in the area. Agricultural landholding ranges between 0 and 10 hectares and per-household landholding was 1.68±1.50. The mean per household landholding in the highland agro-ecology is 2.36 ±1.59; however, the mean chicken flock size was the least. The large per household landholding at highland matches the largest mean cattle herd size (10.64 ± 4.93) as opposed to chicken flock size. This might be because of the use of cattle for cropland preparation. About 90.85% producers rear chickens for sale, which was for an immediate income generation and savings. Horro chickens in addition to low productive performance were constrained with poor housing (where only 7% of producers had separate poultry houses), insufficient feed supplement and poor health management. Chickens were exclusively scavenging for feed and about 83.82% of poultry producers interviewed responded that they were not satisfied with veterinary services delivery. Key words: Agro-ecology, chicken-ecotypes, Ethiopia, Horro chicken, traditional-management.

Determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’

The study assessed determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’ through identifying the constraints and opportunity to livestock production developments. The study adopted cross sectional survey design. The district was randomly selected from zones. A total of 99 respondents were selected from the kebele where by ten were female headed and 89 were male headed households. Descriptive statistics result showed that opportunities of livestock production development in the study area, availability of water, availability of market information, supply of improved breed, feed availability, credit services, veterinary services and mixed crop-livestock production system. Multiple linear regression analysis has been carried out to find out determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that from a total of ten explanatory variables were included in the model, of which availability of grazing land, extension services, artificial insemination and veterinary service, availability of market information and education level were found to be statistically significant to livestock production development at 1%, and 5% significant level respectively.Keywords: Determinants, Livestock Production Development, Multiple Linear regressions Model

Determinants of Livestock Production Development of Smallholder Farmers’: The Case of Bedele District, Bunno Bedele Zone, Western Ethiopia

Livestock production is undertaken both in highland and lowland of Ethiopia. The study assessed determinants of livestock production development through identifying the constraints and opportunity to production developments. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design. The district was randomly selected from zones. To undertake the assessment three kebele were selected for the same cases from these districts. Using proportionate sampling technique a total of 99 respondents was selected from the kebele where by ten were female headed and 89 were male headed households. Descriptive statistics like mean and percentage was used to describe the socio-economic data of respondents. Some opportunities available for livestock production development in the study area are availability of water, supply of improved breed, feed availability, credit services, veterinary supply and mixed crop-livestock production system. Econometric model a multiple linear regression analysis has been carried out to find the factors influence livestock production development of smallholder farmers’. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that from a total of ten explanatory variables were included in the model, of which education level , extension services , availability of market information, availability of grazing land, Artificial insemination and veterinary service were found to be statistically significant to livestock production development. The multiple linear regression result show that livestock production development in the study area is determined by availability of grazing land, extension services, artificial insemination and veterinary service, availability of market information education level at 1%, and 5% significant level respectively. Keywords: Determinants, Smallholder farmers, Livestock Production development, multiple linear regression models DOI : 10.7176/JEES/9-8-03 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

Cattle milk production, processing and marketing situations of smallholder farmers in Telo district, Keffa zone, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Telo district of Keffa zone, SNNP Regional State with the aim of assessing milk production and milk use pattern. Cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from randomly sampled 156 households using survey questioner, farm visit and focus group discussion. Female headed farms were more frequent in urban. The average family size per household was 7 persons. 58.3% of HH were illiterate, mean cattle number was 7, higher (P<0.05) cattle number was found in rural than in urban. Cows are the only animals used for milk production. Milk from small ruminants was not consumed due to cultural taboo. Local indigenous cow contributes 99% of total milk production in the study area. The estimated average daily milk yield of local and cross breed cows was 1.4 and 7.28 L with an estimated lactation length of 8.47 and 9.92 months, respectively. In both urban and rural mixed crop-livestock production system frequency of milking was twice per day (morning and evening). There was no practice of milking in cases of stillbirth or death of calves. Calves were allowed to suckle prior to milking. All milk producers in the study area wash their hand before milking. Some 15% of the urban smallholders even wash udder and teat before milking. The milking utensils, commonly used in both production systems, were plastic materials. Nearly half (45%) of the respondents indicated that they wash milking utensil both before and after milking. The majority (93.7%) of rural (mixed crop-livestock production system) farm households process milk to butter. Only few (6.3%) households do not convert milk to butter but consume it as fermented milk “ergo”. There was no practice of selling fresh milk in the rural area. Overall percentage of raw milk sold in the study area was 19.2%, with price of 15 to 20 ETB/L, indicating high demand and low supply of milk in the area. Key words: Cattle, milk, production, processing, Telo.

Sheep Production Systems and Breeding Practices for Selected Zones of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

A study was undertaken to identify the production system, breeding practices and major production constraints of common Tigray highland sheep in 16 rural kebelles from eight districts of Tigray Regional State. A total of 480 households (30 households for each rural kebelle) were selected purposively to collect data through personal observations and a detailed structured questionnaire. Mixed crop-livestock production system was the dominant farming system in all the study districts. The farmers kept a variety of livestock species including sheep, goats, cattle, chickens horse, donkeys and bee colony. Sheep, principally as source of income, meat for home consumption, production of manure and for socio cultural purposes, are commonly herded with other species in the open grazing fields by young boys in a family. Mating was generally uncontrolled. Body size, growth rate and adaptability were the major traits in selecting rams, whereas ewes were selected based on body size, twining ability and lambing interval. Majority of sheep across all districts are housed in structures known as Gebella which is built from stone and mud wall and tree/corrugated iron sheet roofing separated from the main family house. The major constraints hampering sheep production in the study areas were feed shortage (0.25), lack of capital (0.24), insufficient veterinary services (0.2), limited grazing land (0.2), water scarcity (0.06) and predators (0.05) with index value indicated in parenthesis. In order to improve the productivity of sheep, it is important to involve farmers and other stockholders in addressing these constraints and designing breed improvement interventions, considering the overall farming and breeding practice of smallholders.

English

The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of small-scale livestock production systems in some communal areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The parameters surveyed include sex, age, educational and marital status of the farmers, types of livestock raised and production system practiced. The study revealed that mixed crop-livestock production systems were dominant in the study area. Majority of the respondents (72.4%) were male and approximately 59% of the older male farmers were more than 70 years old with the highest mean flock size of 86. A total of 62% of these farmers had basic education and a mean family size of 5.9±3.0. Most of the sheep farmers (70.9%) bought their foundation stock, but 6.5% of them obtained theirs through bride price (lobola). Generally, livestock species owned by the respondents were sheep (71.8%), poultry (12.9%), cattle (7.7%), goats (4.4%), dogs (1.3%), pigs (0.6%) and others (1.3%). Family labour is mostly used for animal management and herding, being done by men (65%) and boys (30%), respectively. The natural veld provides highest feed resource base for the animals and almost all the respondents provide night shelter for their sheep, in the kraal that is adjacent to the main family house. The prevalence of gall sickness was ranked the highest (22.1%) among the diseases and parasites affecting sheep. While 80% of the respondents treated their animals with stock remedies, a very low proportion of them (3.4%) adopts an integrated approach of using commercial drugs and local herbs or call animal health technicians to treat sick animals. Key words: Gall-sickness, herd size, characteristics, sheep farming.

Management practices and production constraints of central highland goats in Emba Alaje District, Southern Zone, Tigray, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2016 on randomly selected 250 households who reared goats in Emba Alaje District to assess management practices of central highland goats and their major constraints. A pretested and semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Out of the total respondents, 213 (85.2%) were male and 38% of them had a basic education. Almost all 249 (99.6%) of the respondents practiced a mixed crop livestock production system, and majority of them (85.2%) reared goats for an immediate cash source. About 78.8% of the respondents had a separate farming area for their goats. Regarding the feeding management, majority of the respondents, 223 (89.2%) used a communal grazing/browsing area. Provision of supplementary feeds for goats was not common, and the breeding system was almost uncontrolled. Majority of the respondents 154, (61.65%) did not select buck for breeding, and 88 (35.2%) of them did not know the source of the bucks that mated their goats. In the present study, 100% of the respondents complained that, there were diseases that affected the health and production of their goats, of which 33.6% of the respondents complained, pasteurellosis as one of the major goats’ diseases in the study area. Feed shortage (36%) and diseases (33.6%) were among the major constraints raised by the respondents. Therefore, solving the above constraints is of paramount importance to improve the goat production potential and livelihood of the farmers in the study area. Keywords: Central highland goats; Constraints; Emba Alaje; Management; Tigray

Household nutrition and income impacts of using dairy technologies in mixed crop-livestock production systems

Technologies like improved breeds of dairy cows and improved forages have the potential to significantly increase dairy cow productivity and farmers’ profits in developing countries. However, adoption of such technologies has been low in Ethiopia, despite numerous efforts to disseminate the technologies in the past. Some studies argue that adoption of technologies is low because welfare effects of the technologies could be insignificant or negative to certain groups of farmers. This article employed propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting estimator with regression adjustment to examine the difference in household nutrition and income between adopters and nonadopters of dairy technologies in rural Ethiopia. We find that adoption of cross-bred dairy cows and improved forages increases household nutrition and income. The significant household nutrition and income impact for adopters support the notion that many Ethiopian smallholders have not adopted dairy technologies because adopters and nonadopters of dairy technologies have inherent differences in welfare outcome potentials. The results suggest that interventions that enhance access to farm resources and address barriers to input and output value chains could improve adoption of dairy technologies.

Nitrogen flow characteristic and use efficiency in mixed crop-livestock system in North China Plain: Hebei Jinlong Circular Agriculture Farm as an example

Scale and intensive development of mixed crop-livestock agriculture is inevitable in North China Plain (NCP), and nitrogen (N) is one of the key elements that linked the crop and livestock production. Here, we used Hebei Jinlong Circular Agriculture Farm as an example, to analyze the N flow and use efficiency, by using data from literature, on-farm survey and modeling. Further, several on-farm N management improvement practices were proposed and evaluated through scenario analysis, to supply technical support and scientific basis not only for achieving higher N use efficiency and productivity at the farm level, but also providing a new model of circular agriculture in NCP. Our results indicated that manure and purchased fertilizer were the main N input in crop production, which amounted to 674.6 kg N·hm-2·a-1 and accounted for 88.3% of the total N input. Of all the N input in crop production system, only 41.5% ended up in the crop products and around 190.7 kg N·hm-2·a-1 surplus. The excess input of synthetic fertilizer was the main reason for low N use efficiency and high N surplus for crop system. Purchased feed was the main N input pathway in livestock production system, and accounted for 83.2% of the total N input. The annual N excretion rate was 776.6 t N, and around 36.3% of the excreted N was recycled to the crop system. The N use efficiency was 19.7% for livestock production system. The N use efficiency was 40.7% at the whole farm level. The scenarios analysis showed that reducing purchased fertilizer N input by 50% (scenario 1) and increasing the total maize production via adjustment of cropping structure (scenario 2) would increase the N use efficiency in cropping system by 18.7% and 9.8%, respectively. The whole farm use efficiency could be increased by 19.1% through optimizing the feed compositions and regimes (scenario 3). Therefore, reducing purchased fertilizer N input, adjustment of cropping structure and optimizing the feed compositions could increase the N production capacity and achieve an environmental friendly mixed crop-livestock production system simultaneously in NCP.

Understanding innovation platform effectiveness through experiences from west and central Africa

Innovation platforms (IPs) are a way of organizing multistakeholder interactions, marshalling ideas, people and resources to address challenges and opportunities embedded in complex settings. The approach has its roots in theories of complexity, the concept of innovation systems and practices of participatory action research. IPs have been widely adopted across Africa and beyond in recent years as a “must have” tool in a range of “for development” modes of agricultural research. Our experiences with establishing and facilitating nine IPs in local settings in west and central Africa contribute to understanding factors that impact on their effectiveness.The nine IPs were variously focused on developing dairy, crop and/or meat value chains by strengthening mixed crop-livestock production systems or seed systems. Using case study methods, we identified variables that contribute to explaining the performance of these IPs in relation to six domains of change in the agricultural system and the sustainability of changes. Thematic analysis was guided by a conceptual framework which grouped variables into four categories (context, structure, conduct, and process) that interact to influence IP performance.Stronger market connections and value chains were generated through some of these IPs but the most prevalent changes overall were in farm productivity and technical knowledge of producers. The structures evolved in some IPs, akin to those of producer collectives, suggested they were filling an institutional gap locally. The effect of the IPs on deeper level institutions that influence agricultural systems and food security was modest, constraining prospects for the IPs to generate impact at scale. Impacts from the IPs on research and development organisations were uncommon but had transformative significance.Our conceptual framework did not offer optimal guidance to understanding how the many variables that contributed to performance of these IPs combined and sequenced, but the pattern of interactions was consistent with increased social capital being the prime mediator for change. Achieving greater prospects for transformational change and impact at scale warrants at least equal attention to three other interconnected change pathways: through markets, institutions and innovation capacity. Important factors for increased impact are individuals and organisations with capacity to purposefully build and manage inter-organisational and cross-scale networks, early diagnostic studies of the institutional landscape, and adaptive processes of critical reflection and learning that continue beyond the short term.

Combining Ability and Heterosis of Selected Grain and Forage Dual Purpose Sorghum Genotypes

Sorghum is an important food and feed source in mixed crop-livestock production systems where its dual usage is a preferred option, especially among the resource poor small-scale farmers. Attempts to improve fodder quality traits in maize have been at the expense of grain traits and vice versa, but other studies demonstrated that it was possible to select for high stem biomass without compromising the improvement of grain yields in sorghum. As a follow up to this effort, this study was undertaken to estimate the combining ability of grain and forage sorghum genotypes and determine heterosis for several traits as a criteria for improving dual purpose sorghum cultivars. Four grain and four forage sorghum cultivars were crossed to generate 23 crosses following the half diallel mating design scheme at Makerere University Agricultural Research institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK) in 2013. The crosses were evaluated at three locations in Uganda during two rainy seasons of 2014. Data were taken and analysed on leaf area, leaf-stem ratio, plant height, seed weight, grain yield, and biomass. Results indicated that the gene action for the traits under observation was controlled by both additive and non additive genetic effects. Majority of the parental lines had significant GCA estimates for all traits except line 20 for grain yield, lines 22 and 34 for plant height, line 35 for leaf-stem ratio, and line 22 for days to flowering. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) SCA estimates were prominent in most of the individual parental combinations for all traits except leaf area and leaf-stem ratio indicating the role of dominance gene action. Bakers ratio and heritability coefficients were &gt; 52% for biomass, flowering duration and plant height indicating that genetic gains can be achieved by conventional breeding for the three traits. Heterosis in grain yield and biomass over both the mid and better parents was shown by more than half of the crosses studied. This study suggested that both inter and intra allelic interactions were involved in the expression of the traits.

Begait Goat Production Systems and Breeding Practices in Western Tigray, North Ethiopia

A study was undertaken to characterize production system, breeding practices and production constraints of Begait goat in Kafta humera district, northwestern lowlands of Ethiopia. Personal observations, focus group discussions and a detailed structured questionnaire were used to collect data from 150 respondents (99 small-scale and 51 large-scale farmers). Mixed crop-livestock production system was found to be the dominant farming system in the study district. The farmers kept a variety of livestock species including goats, sheep, cattle, chickens and donkeys. Small ruminants are the most numerous and are of great importance in the area. Goats are herded with sheep in the open fields by the young boys in the family/hired grazers. They have a number of roles though mainly kept as a source of cash income. Breeding was generally uncontrolled. Size, growth rate and libido were the most frequently reported traits in selecting bucks, whereas does were selected based on size, twining ability and milk yield. Effective population size and rate of inbreeding were calculated by considering random mating and flocks were not mixed. The major constraints hampering goat production in the area were water scarcity, feed and grazing land shortages and insufficient veterinary services among the others. Therefore, addressing these constraints is important to design a successful genetic improvement scheme in the area for goat.

Prevalence of Bovine Trypanosomosis in Dembecha Woreda Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia

This study was conducted in Dembecha Woreda of Amhara region, Northwest Ethiopia. The study was carried out on 384 indigenous cattle kept in mixed crop-livestock production system to estimate the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis and associated risk factors. The study employed parasitological survey (buffy coat examination) and hematological study (packed cell volume [PCV] and thin blood smear). In the present study, the overall prevalence of trypanosomosis was 8.6% (33/384). Trypanosoma congolense (54.54%) and Trypanosome vivax (45.45%) were the only two species of Trypanosomas encountered in the study area. Among the risk factors, sex and age were found to have no significant association with the prevalence of trypanosomosis (p>0.05), but body condition and coat color of animals were found to have a significant association (p<0.05) with prevalence of trypanosomosis in the studied animals. In this study infected animals were with mean PCV value of 22.94 ± 2.70% which is significantly lower (p<0.05) than that of the non-infected animals (27.24 ± 5.02%). The study concluded that Trypanosomosis being an economically important disease in cattle the 8.6% prevalence entail that more attention should be given to be adapting on integrated disease control strategy including the vector as well as the parasites.

Dairy production systems and the adoption of genetic and breeding technologies in Tanzania, Kenya, India and Nicaragua

SummaryDevelopment of the livestock industry and its role in poverty alleviation in developing countries depends on how adaptive the production systems are to changing global environmental and economic trends. This paper characterizes dairy production systems in India, Tanzania, Kenya and Nicaragua, and describes the genetic and breeding technologies that hold promise for the advancement of global development goals. The dairy value chain has been prioritized for development under the CGIAR research programme on Livestock and Fish in Tanzania (East Africa), India (South Asia) and Nicaragua (Latin America), while ILRI is involved in research on dairy development in Kenya. In all the countries, a large number of smallholder farmers operating mixed crop–livestock production systems play a significant role in dairy production. In Tanzania, Kenya and Nicaragua, milk is predominantly produced by cattle of genotypes that differ both across countries and among production systems within the same country. In India, buffaloes contribute to a larger proportion of the national milk than cattle. Information on productivity per animal and on optimal genotypes to utilize within the smallholder production systems of all the countries is however limited. Crossbreeding and artificial insemination were identified as the most widely utilized breeding and reproductive technologies. Only in Kenya is there a national organization conducting livestock recording and monitoring productivity, however, the proportion of the dairy cattle population enrolled in the recording system is small (&amp;lt;2.5 percent). In all the countries, enhanced and adequately planned use of breeding and reproductive technologies, complemented with the relevant infrastructure, is needed to sustainably increase dairy productivity. The capacities of actors in the dairy value chain need to be developed in order to properly implement and manage improvements.

Brucellosis Seropositivity in Animals and Humans in Ethiopia: A Meta-analysis.

BackgroundThe objectives of this study were to assess the heterogeneities of estimates and to estimate the seroprevalence of brucellosis in animals and humans in Ethiopia.Methods/Principal findingsData from 70 studies covering 75879 animals and 2223 humans were extracted. Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Complement Fixation Test (CFT) in series were the most frequently used serological tests. A random effects model was used to calculate pooled prevalence estimates. The overall True Prevalence of brucellosis seropositivity in goats and sheep were estimated at 5.3% (95%CI = 3.5, 7.5) and 2.7% (95%CI = 1.8, 3.4), respectively, and 2.9% for each of camels and cattle. The prevalence was higher in post-pubertal than in pre-pubertal animals (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 2.6, 3.7) and in the pastoral than in the mixed crop-livestock production system (OR = 2.8, 95%CI = 2.5, 3.2). The incidence rates of brucellosis in humans of pastoral and sedentary system origins were estimated at 160 and 28 per 100 000 person years, respectively.ConclusionsThe seroprevalence of brucellosis is higher in goats than in other species. Its occurrence is evocative of its importance in the country in general and in the pastoral system in particular. Public awareness creation could reduce the transmission of Brucella spp. from animals to humans and the potential of livestock vaccination as a means of control of brucellosis needs to be assessed.

Incidence and economic impact of rabies in the cattle population of Ethiopia

Rabies is a viral disease that can cause fatal encephalomyelitis both in animals and humans. Although incidences of the disease in cattle have been reported, insight in the economic impact of the disease in livestock remains limited. By affecting cattle in subsistence systems, rabies may have extensive economic impacts at household and country levels, in addition to the effects on human health. This study presents estimates of the direct economic impact of rabies at herd level in two representative subsistence cattle-farming systems in Ethiopia, the mixed crop-livestock and pastoral production systems. The economic impacts were assessed by a structured questionnaire administered to 532 cattle-owning households. These households were selected from four districts within two administrative zones; each zone representing a cattle production system. Rabies incidence rates of 21% and 11% at herd level were calculated for the mixed crop-livestock and pastoral production systems, respectively. The incidence rate at cattle level was the same in both systems., i.e. 2%. Herd-level incidence rates were higher in the mixed crop-livestock system than in the pastoral system (P<0.05). Average economic losses per herd due to rabies were estimated at 49 USD per year for the mixed-crop livestock system, and at 52 USD per year for the pastoral system; whereas in affected herds the average losses per year were 228 USD (range 48–1016 USD) in the mixed crop-livestock system, and 477 USD (range 173–1140 USD) in the pastoral system. The average herd-level economic losses were not significantly different between the farming systems; however once the herd was affected, the losses were significantly higher for the pastoral system than for the mixed crop-livestock system (P<0.01). The losses due to rabies in cattle are relatively high for pastoral households, due to their complete dependency on livestock for their livelihoods. Although the current estimates only account for the direct losses resulting from cattle mortality, the estimates already indicate the potential economic gains from a rabies intervention in the dog population, of which the benefits can be shared by the public health sector.

English

Evaluation of existing and potential feed resources was conducted in Orodora district in the Southern region of Burkina Faso using Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST). The assessment was carried out through focus group discussions and individual interviews in Mahon and Sayaga communities in Orodara district. The study sites were characterized by mixed crop-livestock production systems. Seventy-percent of cropping activities were focused on fruit tree cultivation while food crop production accounted for the rest. Livestock species (predominantly local breeds) in the area included cattle sheep, goat, pig, poultry and donkey which are kept for different purposes. The main source of household income is crop production while livestock production contributed 35 and 45% to the household income in Mahon and Sayaga, respectively. In both study sites, natural grazing contributes highest (49 and 64% respectively) to the dry matter (DM) content of the total diet. Cultivated fodder contributed 1% of dry matter (DM), metabolizable energy and crude protein to the total diet of the existing feed resource in Mahon, while farmers in Sayaga depended more on purchased feed than in Mahon. Constraints to livestock production in the study sites included shortage of water in the dry season, insufficient quantity and quality of feed in the late dry season of the year and high cost of veterinary drugs and services. To mitigate these constraints farmers suggested an integrated approach to improve livestock production through: construction of small reservoir to provide water for human and animal consumption; training on the integration of forage legume into both tree and arable cropping, and efficient utilization of available feed resources; establishment of a veterinary service and drug centre in the village; better management of the existing water resources. Key words: Animal nutrition, livestock productivity, feed resources, feed scarcity.

Major Animal Health Constraints of Market Oriented Livestock Development in Sidama Dale District Southern Region Ethiopia

Background: Knowing the status of major problems that constrain livestock development no doubt contributes to initiating projects that can help improve productivity and market success of Ethiopian farmers; aiming at contributing to reduction in poverty of the rural poor through market oriented agricultural development. The objective of this study is to characterize the livestock production system and investigating the major livestock health problems in the area. Methodology: Purposive sampling method was used to select 60 households from four peasant association (PA). A structured questionnaire was prepared and the heads of selected households were interviewed to collect data on production system characteristics and the importance of livestock health problems. Focus group discussion was also made with key respondents from each PA and the participants described the major husbandry problems in their area. Results: The results revealed that mixed crop-livestock production system is the predominant system and animals are kept in very limited grazing land. The livestock herd was dominated by poultry (36.4%), goat (19.51%), sheep (19.13%) and cattle (18.94%) while the cattle herd was dominated by cows (39.27%) and oxen (12.87%). The main roles of poultry in the area are for egg production (43.79%), sale (29.76%) and meat production (26.43%). The main role of cattle in the farming system is as a source of traction power (41.7%) for crop production while small ruminants as source of income (100%). Equines were used as pack and transport animals. The livestock feeding was mainly based on natural pasture (100%). In cattle; blackleg, mastitis, Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) and calf diarrhea were the most important diseases. Ectoparasite and GIT parasitosis were the most important diseases in small ruminants. Colic and respiratory problems were considered important in equine. In poultry, Newcastle disease was the most devastating disease. Most of the respondents complained that animal feed followed by water shortage is serious problem in the livestock sector. Modern veterinary medicaments (95%) were known and used by most of the farmers, but traditional medicines were also used to a considerable extent (5%). Conclusion: Emphasis should be given in the animal health delivery to maximize health service coverage of the area and Detail epidemiological studies on major economically important diseases of livestock is recommended to be under taken.

Forage Legumes in Crop-Livestock Mixed Farming Systems - A Review

The future animal agriculture in the country suggests that the greatest opportunity for sustainable increases in agricultural productivity lie in agricultural intensification through the development of mixed crop-livestock farming systems. The linkage in mixed crop-livestock production systems through feed resources particularly legumes which fix N, and provide high quality feed, can enhance both the level and rate of nutrient cycling in the system, leading to increased soil fertility, improve animal nutrition, and increase the overall production and protect the environment, especially where land resource is limited. Forage legumes integration with cereals by intercropping generally results in higher fodder protein yield than that in cereals alone. Intercropped forage legumes have been reported to have significantly higher crude protein and lower fiber contents than their respective sole cereal residues and this could improve their voluntary intake and digestibility by livestock. There are various methods of integrating forage legumes into crop-livestock farming systems. The type of forage crops, food crops grown in the area, the soil type, the rainfall pattern and other social and economic factors determine the method of integration used for a specific farming system and locality. Forage legumes generally can be integrated into crop-livestock production systems by growing the herbaceous species in natural pastures, on arable land, crop rotation with cereals, sequential cropping, intercropping/ under sowing and relay cropping. Generally, the role of forage legumes in the farming system requires studying economic importance as related to farmers benefit, animal performance and the management of natural resource in a multidisciplinary approach.

Assessing the relative importance of dairy products to family nutrition in mixed crop-livestock production systems of Ethiopia

Livestock forms an integral part and contributes in multiple ways to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the crop-livestock systems of Ethiopia. This study presents empirical evidence of the relative importance of the consumption of dairy products to family nutrition and factors underlying differences among farm households. Cattle owning households (n = 270) and their under-5-year-old children (n = 225) were sampled for this study. Multiple approaches were applied for data collection, including a cross-sectional survey, in-depth household monitoring, a dietary diversity survey and anthropometric measurements of children. Household dietary diversity scores were low (4.6 ± 1.3), mainly comprising maize, Enset, green kales and milk products. The consumption of non-dairy Animal Source Foods (ASF: beef, mutton, chicken meat, eggs and fish) was low, intermittent and peaked during major religious or social festivities. Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) revealed substantial associations between anthropometric indices of children and socio-economic status of their parents. Specifically, predictors assigned the greatest weights, in descending order, were per capita farmland size, family size, access to clean water, crop diversity, dependency ratio, livestock holding, cash income, literacy of household head, distance to public health centres, and volume of milk available in the households. Although cow milk was identified as an important food item for children, their nutritional status was influenced by manifold factors that affect their dietary quality, health and care. Therefore, holistic approaches that embrace effective coordination among different economic sectors - notably agriculture, public health education and provision of clean water are required to achieve food and nutritional security among farming households.