Abstract

The study was conducted with the objective of assessing available livestock feed resources from mixed farming system (MF) and shifting cultivation (SC) in Abobo woreda, Gambella Regional State. The study was done using a formal survey, focus group discussion, secondary data and field observations. Purposive sampling was employed to select 180 respondents (90 from each farming system) that have at least one livestock for the survey data collection. The number of cattle from MF was higher (p<0.05) than that of SC, while the number of goats and chicken from SC were higher (p<0.05) than MF. Natural pasture was the dominant feed resources during the wet season. Crop residue and browse forage species play a significant role during the dry season. The major livestock production constraints in the study area were disease and parasite (67%) followed by feed shortage (50%) and water scarcity (46%). From this study it was concluded that seasonal feed shortage and inefficient utilization are the major problems affecting livestock productivity. Poor conservation practices and lack of knowledge are among the critical constraints for inefficient utilization of available feed resources. In the short term strengthening extension, demonstration and training on effective utilization of available feed resources could play an important role in the improvement of livestock productivity in the area. Follow up evaluation of available feed resources including limiting anti-nutritional factors and animal performance on promising browse and grass species are priority areas of future research.