Africa RISING/ILSSI-ETHIOPIA

Pilot study on supplemental irrigated fodder production

for fattening sheep at Lemo Africa RISING site

February–August 2014

Melkamu Bezabih, Aberra Adie, Alan Duncan, Kindu Mekonnen, Peter Thorpe, Valentine

Gandhi, Annet A. Mulema and Jane Wamatu

Africa RISING Ethiopia Monthly Update Meeting, Addis Ababa, 30 October 2014

Study sites The trial was conducted in

two neighboring districts (woredas), 240 km south of Addis Ababa

Lemo (AR project research site)

Angacha (another woreda with relatively better experience of SSI)

Introduction

Angacha farmers have a

relatively better irrigation

experience from the shallow

well water at their backyards

However, neither Angacha

nor Lemo farmers had

experience with irrigated

fodder development

The main objectives of the pilot trial:

1. To draw lessons for further intervention on possibilities and modalities of SSI fodder production and income generation through sheep fattening

2. To introduce to farmers the option of producing supplemental green fodder using irrigation to improve the nutrition of their livestock during the dry periods

3. To assess the feasibility of supplemental irrigated fodder production to improve the income of smallholder households

Objectives

• Initial engagements

• Formal and informal discussion with CGIAR and national partners

• FEAST survey

• Assessing water availability for irrigation

• Introduction of water lifting pumps (treadle pumps to Lemo farmers through IWMI)

Methodology

Selection of farmers: Criteria

Farmers with access to irrigation

water (shallow well or stream)

Farmers with irrigation experience

Interest/willingness to try irrigated

fodder production

Readiness to experiment with feeding

irrigated fodder as a supplement for

fattening sheep

A total of 14 farmers (7 from Lemo, 7

from Angacha) were selected

Selection of forage varieties

Information about farmers’ experience with cultivated forages and interest to grow irrigated fodder has been sought

Farmers both in Lemo and Angacha were found to be experienced with Oats (cultivated and volunteer crop)

Oats and Vetch (both annuals) were mixed in a ratio of 3:1 and planted at the rate of 100kg mixture per hectare

Forage was planted in mid February on ≥ 25m2 at the backyard (close to shallow wells) of each farmer

Farmers were guided by experts to plant forages

Experience sharing among

farmers for forage

management

Theoretical and

practical trainings

given to farmers

Sheep acquisition – Dealings

with sheep breed

improvement Coops

Fattening started in Late May

Fattening ration which

includes farmers own feed

resources supplemented with

irrigated forages and grain

mill by products

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Figure: Locally available feeds used for the sheep fattening by participant farmers (n=13)

Bodyweights were recorded regularly

Animal health assistants visited and treated sick animals regularly

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Initial weight Final weight

Figure- Body weight of sheep at the beginning and end of the fattening period

Results

Field day was organized

around established

forages and fattened

sheep to draw lessons

Feedback from farmers through field day discussions

• Farmers demanded a better water lifting technology to expand SSI

• The feed resource they have was not enough to fatten 5 sheep for longer period of time

• Farmers were overwhelmed by the feed consumption of the sheep (comparing 2-3 sheep with that of a bull)

• The labor demand to manage 5 fattening sheep was much higher than their expectation

• Farmers believed the expected profit from 5 fattened sheep is comparable to that of a bull

• The purchase price of sheep from the breederscooperative was expensive, as both the members of thecooperatives and the cooperatives (institutions)themselves were making profit from the sales of thesame sheep

• Farmers believed this would have an impact on their ownprofit

• In the end, two groups of farmers emerged: those whofavor sheep fattening and those who would like to shift tocattle fattening

Market for the fattened sheep

When the pilot project was initiated, the target was to get fattened sheep ready for the Easter holiday market

However, due to a number of reasons, the implementation was delayed and the fattening started just after the Easter holiday.

This made the purchasing price of the sheep to be higher

Gradually, the price of sheep went down towards the Ethiopian New Year and Maskal

The farmers used the new year holiday market (beginning of September) to sell their sheep

Average price of sheep:

43 ETB/kg live weight in April 2014

30 ETB/kg live weight in August/September, 2014

Ethiopian New Year and Meskel holidays both occur in September

Beef is the customary item rather than mutton during these holidays in the area

As a result, the majority of the participant farmers did not profit well from the fattening

The majority of the farmers have limited feed resource base to intensively fatten large number of animals at a time:

one or two animals per cycle appears to be optimal for future intervention

Targeting the right marketing time and place is necessary as there is a high temporal price fluctuation

Creating market links well ahead of time is necessary to enable farmers benefit from the fattening

Lessons and ways forward

Allocation of enough plot of land to grow fodder and improved management of cultivated fodder are necessary to acquire enough feed before embarking on such activities

After the pilot trial, the farmers were convinced and allocated more land for rain-fed oat/vetch fodder production (≥ 100m2 each) this season

It is necessary to entertain individual farmer’s needs on the choice of animals to fatten (sheep or cattle)

Sheep or cattle acquisition has to be with the direct participation of the farmers themselves, not just extension workers and researchers

Compensation mechanism for farmers in case of market or technology failures has to be in place

Intervention engagement has to be entered with farmers who already have their own animals for fattening or dairy but only lacking feed resources

Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation

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