AVAILABILITY OF FEED RESOURCES FOR GOATS IN PASTORAL AND AGRO-PASTORAL DISTRICTS OF SOUTH OMO ZONE, ETHIOPIA

A survey was conducted in Hamer and Bena-Tsemay pastoral and agro-pastoral districts of South Omo zone, south western Ethiopia in between January to May 2011 with the objective to describe availability of feed resource for goats. Data were collected from the two districts by informal and formal survey methods using focused group discussion and semi-structured questionnaire administered to 250 households. Natural pastures from rangelands are major feed sources for goats. Higher feed availability is reported in March to April (during the main rainy season). However, availability of feed extends up to October in Bena-Tsemay district due to the higher rainfall in the district. In both districts, the hot dry season (November to February) is the period of feed scarcity and during which high mortality of goats have been reported. Crop residues and some food left over are also available for supplementing animals especially in the agro-pastoral areas. The efficiency of goat production in the studied districts could be increased by optimizing goats breeding season with the availability of feed resources.


Introduction
Feed resources are a major component of economic animal production in various animal enterprises. Feed availability and efficiency of use in specific agro-ecological zones and in smallholder production systems dictate to a very large extent the performance of both ruminants and non-ruminants. In Ethiopia, generally, green fodder (grazing) is the major feed source (about 39 percent) followed by crop residues (3 percent). Hay and by-products are also used as animal feeds which comprising about 12 and 3 percent of the total feeds, respectively. Moreover, very small amount of improved feed (like alfalfa, only about 1 percent) is being used as animal feed and other types of feed account about 12 percent in the country [1].
The major constraints of sheep and goat production related to nutrition and feeding in Ethiopia are inadequate feed supply, mainly due to small land-size and overstocking brought about by the shrinking amount of land reserved for grazing and the low feeding value of available feed resources resulting in low efficiency of utilization. This is aggravated by seasonal availability of forage and crop residues in the highlands and by recurrent and prolonged drought in the lowlands [2]. According to [3] the strategy for feed improvement would incorporate improvement of feed availability and quality. Moreover, matching sheep and goat production systems to available feed resources and more efficient use of agricultural and industrial by-products as sources of feed have been suggested as a strategy for ensuring appropriate nutrition of small ruminants in the country [2]. The objective of the current study is to describe feed resource availability for goats in pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of South Omo zone, south western Ethiopia.

2.1.Descriptions of the Studied Area
The study was conducted in Hamer and Bena-Tsemay pastoral and agro-pastoral districts of South Omo zone. The districts are located between 04° 59.00″ and 05° 58.40″ N and 36° 12.45″ and 37° 30.25″ E in the Southern Nation, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. The climate of the districts is hot to warm semiarid with altitudinal variation of 500 to 1800 meters above sea level. Rainfall in the districts is bimodal, the main rain occurring in March to May and a short rain occurs in September to October ( Fig. 1 and 2).

2.2.Data Collection and Analysis
After selection of the two districts namely; Hamer (representing the pastoral area) and Bena-Tsemay (representing the agro-pastoral area) a two stage sampling technique was used [5]. In the first stage, Kebele's (lowest administrative sub-units) and villages were selected from each district based primarily on distribution of ethnic groups and population of goats. In the second stage, respondent households were selected randomly using systematic sampling procedures from the selected villages (three to five respondents per village). The distribution of households in each district was presented on Table 1. Information on households livelihood sources, major Http://www.granthaalayah.com ©International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH [157] feed source for goats in dry and wet seasons, months of feed shortage or surplus for grazing goats were collected from January to May 2011 through group discussions using structured questionnaire administered to knowledgeable goat producers, community leaders and key informants. Moreover, a secondary data pertinent for the study was collected from relevant district offices. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics [6].  1 Numbers in parentheses represent selected sampling units (households) 2 Lowest administrative sub-units

Results
The households in study districts raised cattle and goats followed by sheep. The average goats holding per household was 66.7±54.2 and 41.8±31.2, in Hamer and Bena-Tsemay districts, respectively. In both districts, sale of livestock is the main source of income. Sale of livestock products such as milk, butter and honey in Hamer and sale of crops such as sorghum, maize, millet, barley, wheat and tef in Bena-Tsemay are the second greatest source of income for the respondents. In both districts, goats are the greatest income source from livestock types followed by cattle. However, the proportion of households ranking goats as the first income source was significantly higher in Hamer district than Bena-Tsemay.
In Hamer and Bena-Tsemay districts, 83 and 80% of households, respectively, stated that natural pastures from rangelands (pasture grasses, legumes, fodder tree and shrubs) are major feed sources for livestock (Table 2). Some agro-pastoral households in the studied districts also use crop residues mainly from maize and sorghum harvests and graze their livestock on stubbles after crop harvests. Grazing lands are mainly communal and the households have different grazing sites with varying distances. Riverside grazing and enclosures that are owned either communal or private are used for grazing especially during the dry season.
Rainfall is the main factor which determines availability of grazing in the studied districts. Higher feed availability in the studied districts is during the main rainy season (March to April). The hot dry season (November to February) is the period of feed scarcity in both districts (Fig.  3). In Bena-Tsemay district, availability of feed is higher (extends up to October) since the rainfall in the district is relatively higher and longer compared to Hamer district. Feed shortage and high mortality of kids and adult goats in both districts have been reported during the hot dry season (November to February).

Discussions
The two districts possess 60% of the goat population of the pastoral and agro-pastoral districts of South Omo zone [7]. It has been reported that livestock production and cultivation are the basis for economic culture for the pastoral and agro-pastoral ethnic groups in both districts [8,9]. However, the higher percentage of households ranking goats as the first income source in Hamer than Bena-Tsemay district may indicate a higher economic dependence of pastoral households in Hamer district on goats than the agro-pastorals in Bena-Tsemay district. In the pastoral/ extensive systems, the greater role of goats in income generation compared with the crop dominated smallholder system has been reported [10].
The present study showed that rangeland is the major feed source for the households. It has been reported that the rangelands of south Omo zone are dominated by varying densities of Acacia, Grewia and Solanum woody and herbaceous species of grasses and legumes [11]. Available information also indicate that more than 48% of the total land area of the districts is used for grazing and/or browsing by cattle, sheep and goats [12]. Sorghum, maize, millet, barley, wheat, and tef are also the main crops grown in the districts [12]. Availability of feed resources is  dependent on the pattern of rainfall in the two districts. Similar feed sources and grazing pattern exists in Borana rangelands of south Ethiopia [13].
However, a decrease in rangeland and change in vegetation composition due to frequent droughts, overgrazing, and expansion of cultivation is posing a serious threat to livestock production in South Omo rangelands [14,11]. Reports also indicate that availability and quality of grazing and browse resources in the pastoral areas of Ethiopia vary with altitude, rainfall, soil type and cropping intensity and the pastoral zones are characterized by dense thorn bush with a low carrying capacity [3]. Moreover, it has been reported that poor management of rangelands, inappropriate grazing management, rangeland fires and droughts limit the availability of fodder to ruminants in the country [15,16,17].

Conclusion and Recommendations
Natural pastures from rangelands are major feed sources for goats. Higher feed availability is reported in March to April (during the main rainy season). However, availability of feed extends up to October in Bena-Tsemay district due to the higher rainfall in the district. In both districts, the hot dry season (November to February) is the period of feed scarcity and during which high mortality of goats has been reported. Crop residues and some food left over are also available for supplementing goats especially in the agro-pastoral areas. To sustain goat production in the districts efficient utilization of grazing resources through proper rangeland measures is required. Moreover, the efficiency of goat production could be increased by optimizing the breeding season of goats with the availability of feed resources.