BY ABEBE WOLDE GIORGIS
Ethiopia has abundant livestock resources and yet its contribution to the Growth Domestic Production is insignificant. Among the various factors responsible for this are the low fertility rates of local animals due to genetic makeup as well as lack of sufficient inputs such as medicines, forage and water.
Birhan Feleke is Animals and Fish Input Supply Directorate Director at the Ministry of Agriculture. As to him, to change the traditional type of cattle rearing both in low and high land parts of the country, more investment by private and public sectors is essential. Currently, the productivity rate of animals both in terms of milk and meat is insignificant.
The absence of sufficient inputs and modern management and vaccinations has negative impacts on the sector’s development and the nation still does not obtain the necessary benefit as well.
These days, the government plays a pivotal role in improving the animals’ species through breeding with exogenous animals. There are animal research centers in places such as Kaliti in the capital, Debre Birhan, Amhara State and Adamitutlu, Oromia State.
The new hybrid animals are delivered to farmers but they are very limited in number. There are also private companies which produce forages locally and supply to the market though not sufficient; to balance the deficit, they import.
Better hybrid animals are imported from abroad and genetically mixed up and reproduced with local ones. The traditional feeding in the open grazing land have become impossible because of population pressure and the changing of grazing lands into farming land; therefore, to overcome the problem with a minimum number of animals, farmers rear their cattle in their compounds.
Farmers cultivate maize for human food and its byproducts used for animal feed. But to meet the rising demand additional forage is needed.
Forage is a decisive factor for livestock development; therefore, cultivating best forage grasses locally is essential. If the supply of input is changed for the better, improving the sector will be possible and in such a way its contribution to the economy will also be improved.
According to the recent Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency report, at the household level livestock plays a critical economic and social role in the lives of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and small holder farmers in the central highlands.
It plays a tremendous role in helping people cope up with shocks and accumulate wealth. It also serves as a store of value in the absence of formal function of institutions or when market failure occurs.
On the other hand, in the small holder mixing farming systems livelihoods provide nutritional food, additional emergency and cash income farm outputs and inputs and fuel for cooking food. Livestock is central to support and sustain the livelihood of pastoralists.
Furthermore, research suggests that with economic growth and consumption patterns high value protein food derived from livestock. This implies that given the economic growth in Ethiopia and the region the market demand for livestock and its products will continue to grow.
Dr. Demis Chanyalew is a private consultant on livestock and sedentary farming. As to him, livestock production in Ethiopia is organized in two broad ways: the sedentary mixed crop livestock production system and the pastoral system in the lowland parts of the country. However, as to him, there are variations and in some areas the mixture of the two systems are practiced.
The total cattle population of the highland accounts about 80 percent or 50 million heads. According to the statistics, highland households on average have two or four cattle and four to five goats or sheep.
The rural population in the highland is around 80 million or about 17 million households and mostly used the oxen for plowing, not for other purposes.
As to Birhan, 98 percent of the cattle population is local type of species and hence, it is very unproductive. Similarly, both 95 percent of local goats and sheep are indigenous with low quality and less in their productivity. Their mutton, hide and skin are less competent in the market.
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture planned a project which is going to be implemented in the coming 10 years. The plan targeted to improve the local species of cows which serve for milk production. In addition, it improves goats and sheep indigenous species.
Improved and hexogen animals will be imported for these purposes. When the livestock population species improve through time, importation of exogenous animals for reproduction will be halted.
According to Demis, there are various factors for the low productivity of livestock and among others the non-availability of high yielding breeds and adoption, lack of access to veterinary services, cultural and social practices of livestock rearing, grazing and feed supply constraints take the highest share. Many of the factors which posed low productivity related with their species and market failure need policy improvement.
Poor availability of feed and grazing which is often communally administered and exhibited a strong seasonality due to weather conditions constrained the adoption of improved breeds.
A recent study suggests that grazing and green fodder is the predominant sources of livestock feed which is dominant in Afar and Somali regions.
On the other hand, the increasing shrink of grazing land because of the expansion of sedentary farming and population pressure resulted in sharp increase in stock feed prices in recent years.
As mentioned above, due to poor quality, lack of access to the market and shortage of feed, the nation is unable to benefit economically from the high population of the livestock; hence, implementing scientific measures that would improve production and productivity of the sector is essential.
The Ethiopian Herald March 23/2021
