Livestock Feeds and Nutrition

The livestock feeds and nutrition research program at MARC was established in 2000’s to assess the feed resource bases and improve the productivity of cultivated forage crops in arid and semiarid agro-pastoral and pastoral areas through generation and dissemination of better-performing livestock feeds and nutrition technologies. Since its establishment, the program has assessed feed resource base and management (feed resource assessment, contribution of crop residues and other feeds from croplands, feed deficit management strategies of households, practice of conserving and purchasing feeds and rangeland condition) in the arid and semiarid MARC mandate areas. The feasibility of legume forages sown under different maize and sorghum varieties was assessed and the best compatible combination has been identified. Read More

Feeds and nutrition is the most important components of livestock production systems. The supply of feeds in quality and quantity determines the productivity of the livestock. In Ethiopia, feed supply both in quality and quantity lags behind requirements. Research is being conducted by various institutions and research centers to avail technological options which contribute to improve feed supply. The feeds and nutrition research program at Melkasa Agricultural Research Center(MARC) is one of such formations which came into existence in 2000 with the aim of generating forage crops production technologies for the semiarid dry-land areas of the country. Since then, the program has undertaken several research activities with financial and technical support from the government and other partners. Read More

Ethiopia owing to its diverse and varied agro-ecologies - suitable for different livestock productions systems - has the largest livestock population in Africa. Livestock plays key role for the livelihood of the producers and the national economy at large. At household level, livestock provides farm power, food and generates cash through sale of live animals and livestock products like milk, meat, manure, hide and skin. At a national level, the sector contributes immensely (35-40%) to the agricultural GDP (CSA, 2017). However, the benefits obtained from the sector are far from the potential mainly because of low level of productivity associated with poor feeding, health care and other management problems. Traditionally, the livestock production system of the country is based on grazing natural pasture which is inherently low to meet the feed requirements of farm animals in terms of both quality and quantity. The government of Ethiopia has long understood these adverse trends and launched research and development efforts to increase the availability and access to better quality feeds. Feeds and nutrition research has thus become an integral part of the livestock research from the very beginning of the establishment of the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) in the country. At the time however, few research centers like Holetta, Bako, Melka Werer, and Adamitulu had the feeds and nutrition research programs while the other research centers like Melkassa, Jimma, and Kulumsa lacked livestock research programs including feeds and nutrition research. Read More

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