Feed resources availability, feeding system and feed balance of sheep in Arba Minch Zuria District of Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was carried to characterize available feed resource, feeding system and feed balance of sheep in Arba Minch Zuria District of Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia. The district was selected based on its high potential for sheep production and urgent need of feed resource assessment for sheep production. Assuming there might be feed and feeding system variability across agro-ecologies (AEZ), the study district was stratified into three distinctive agro-ecologies, namely highland (HL), midland (ML) and lowland (LL). Following probability proportional to size sampling technique, a total of 138 households were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. In addition, a Focus Group Discussion with 12 households was conducted in each agro-ecology. The data obtained through these tools were analyzed using SPSS version 20. One-way variance analysis was used for the continuous data, whereas statistical variations in categorical data were tested using chi-square and t-test, with significantdifferences at P<0.05. The major reported available feed resources for sheep were pasture, crop residue and crop aftermath grazing in both wet and dry seasons. Feeding systems widely practiced in all AEZs were tethering, stall feeding and free grazing system in both dry and wet seasons. The dry matter (DM) production of feed from pasture, crop residues, crop aftermath, foliage of fodder trees and shrubs in the study area was 115,416.5 tons per year. The total feed DM requirement for 129,736.2 TLU was 295,928.27 tons per year. From the total tropical livestock units (TLU) of the district, sheep accounts about 2,925.5 TLU and requires 6673.1 tons of feed annually. The total DM produced per year in the district can only supply the animals for approximately 6 months; in the rest of the year, animals suffer from feed shortage. Therefore, introduction and use of best practices, conservation techniques and alternative feed production technologies are highly recommended.