A ready reference feed dataset for the Ethiopian

Livestock Feed ProjectAdugna Tolera

Ethiopian Livestock Feed Project Synthesis workshop, Addis Ababa, 28-29 May 2012

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

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

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

Pre-requisites for ration balancing

Nutrient requirement of

animals

Nutrient content of feeds

Price of feds

Efforts made so far to avail information on nutritive value of feedsInstitutions 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

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