Efforts, Successes and Challenges of Green Feed Production in Ethiopia

Improving the feed supply and digestibility of roughage through green feed supplementation was the aim of forage production in Ethiopia. In spite of the time-consumed efforts made, the success is still low. This review summarizes efforts, challenges, good practices and indicates where the focus of future efforts should be. The efforts made in improve forage production (IFP) includes selection of forage species and development strategies, preparation of extension manual, training of stakeholders, formulation of forage seed production system, and introduction of hydroponic fodder. As a result farmers increased milk production and reduce feed cost by 20% and 40 %, respectively, and fatten ruminants in 2 to 3 cycles per year as a result of improved forage use. However, there is no management model for communal grazing land. IFP constrained by long dry period, scarcity of land, irrigation and the subsistence system of livestock production and the free grazing practice. Consequently, the communal grazing lands are devastatingly overstocked and degraded, livestock become dependent on crop residues, IFP practice remains low and livestock feed deficit is common. Therefore, it is recommended that future efforts should focus on designing communal grazing land tenure model and development package. Green forge production (GFP) should concentrate on livestock excluded areas and tree legumes to produce green feed in the dry period. GFP best practices should be expanded to the areas similar to that the practices found effective. Reduce feed deficit by improving crop production to increase the crop residue and the grain yield. The subsistence system of production should be transformed into market-oriented by introducing a technology package that reduces young stock mortality, increases fertility, calf/ lamb crop and livestock offtake rate. Technical simplicity and cost-effectiveness, of the hydroponic fodder system, should be assessed before implemented in a wider setting.