Fodder resources provide the principal sources of feeds throughout the humid and sub-humid, arid and semi-arid and Mediterranean regions. They include grasses and legumes, and fibrous crop residues (FCR). Browse is another important source of fodder. The availability and use of the fodder resources is dependent on type of agroecosystem (e.g. humid and sub-humid to arid and semi-arid), cropping patterns and their intensity, type and concentration of animal species, and prevailing animal production systems. The productivity of ruminants is dependent on the potential of a feed to supply, through microbial degradation, balanced nutrients for production; digestible dry matter intake is highly correlated with animal productivity with individual feeds. Nutritive value relates to the capacity of a feed to supply nutrients to meet productive functions, and this is contingent on maximizing voluntary feed intake, potential digestibility, protein:energy (P/E) ratio, and availability of bypass nutrients, particularly proteins. FCR form the main base in feeding systems for ruminants throughout the tropics and the Mediterranean region, and in recent years considerable progress has been achieved in their use. A number of technologies can be applied singly or in combination: treatment with alkalis to increase digestibility, supplementation to improve overall digestion and provide balanced nutrients, use of bypass nutrients, and large scale on-farm application to demonstrate economic profitability. Supplementation is central to effective utilization and includes the use of multi-nutrient block licks (MNBL), non-protein nitrogenous sources, and a variety of leguminous forages like Acacia spp., Gliricidia maculata, Leucaena leucocephala and Prosopis juliflora. Given the advances that have been made on the use of FCR, extending known technologies through on-farm testing and demonstration far outweighs the need for further research on the effects of pre-treatments or supplementation. Such effort must involve strategies for more effective use of the fodder resources, especially in large scale participatory on-farm situations. These need to address efficiency in integrated natural resource use, the totality of production-post-production-consumption systems, and demonstration of more sustainable animal production systems.