Pre-Extension Demonstration of Improved Fodder oat Varieties in Selected Districts of Western Oromia, Ethiopia

The pre-extension demonstration of fodder oat technology with its full agronomic practices was done to demonstrate and popularize the newly released oat variety and thereby create awareness for farmers and agricultural extension agents. Two improved fodder oat varieties (Bate and Bonsa) were demonstrated on purposely selected AGP II districts namely; Boneya Boshe, Wayu Tuqa, Guto Gida, Diga, and Horro districts of East and Horro Guduru Wollega zones, respectively. One peasant association (PA) was selected purposely from each district based on forage production potential and compatibility with AGP II criteria. The experiment was demonstrated on a simple plot with a size of 10 x 10 m. Forage dry matter and grain yield data, and farmer perceptions and preferences were collected and analyzed by simple descriptive statistics and pair-wise ranking technique. The varieties showed remarkable variation in their dry matter and grain yield potential across the testing areas. The average dry matter yield performance of the Bate (4.67 t/ha) variety obtained from the farmer's field was relatively higher than Bonsa (4.19 t/ha) variety used as a standard check. Similarly, the average grain yield performance recorded for Bate (31.24 qt ha -1 ) variety was also higher as compared to Bonsa (25.02 qt ha -1 ) variety. Based on the procedure of variety evaluation and selection criteria, farmers set their criteria to evaluate, rank, and select the best variety following the real situation existing. Thus, against each of the criteria and weight attached, Bate variety was selected and ranked first for its high dry matter and grain yield, tolerance to disease and lodging, and leafiness as compared to Bonsa variety. Therefore; it is important to scale up this variety on a larger scale to improve the availability of quality feed and boost the production and productivity of livestock in the area.