LIVESTOCK FEED RESOURCE AVAILABILITY, THEIR QUALITY AND UTILIZATION PRACTICE IN SELECTED DISTRICT OF NORTH WOLLO ZONE, ETHIOPIA

The study was carried out in Habru and Meket district of North Wollo Zone, Amhara national Regional State, Ethiopia with the objectives of assessing livestock feed resource availability, their quality and utilization practice. Field observation key informant discussions and structured questionnaire interview were employed to generate data. The study districts were classified into two agro ecology, namely lowland and highland from each agro ecology 192 households were selected and interviewed. Data was analyzed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS). The results of the study showed that crop-livestock production system was the dominant farming system in both agro ecologies. The average livestock holding size per HH was 9.25±0.15TLU; and higher(P<0.01) for lowland than highland, with the TLU 8.34±0.14cattle,8.75±0.06oxen,3.29±0.05bullsof7±0.13cows,3.71±0.06heifers,2.13±0.03calve s,2.13±0.03sheeps,0.13±0.03goats,2.10±0.02 donkeys,1.1±0.03horses and 0.17±0.02mules. Cattle were kept for milk, meat and calve production, draught power, income, and manure for soil fertility. The major feed resources were crop residues 78.18% and grazing resources 14.48%, then fodder trees/shrubs 7.45%, non-conventional feeds 4.58% and cultivated improved forage 6.33%. Natural grazing (15.35%), Crop aftermath (77.96%) and woody land feeding (7.6%) were the major livestock feed utilization practice. The major constraints related to livestock feed were shortage of feed, shortage of grazing land, poor market access, lack of awareness on forage cultivation and poor feeding practices. The productivity is low due to feed shortage. The overall feed balance in terms of DM, total grazing and crop after harvest yield per year to a total TLU value of was found to be 34.22, 78 and 38.84 t/ha respectively. Based on the findings of the present study, low output of livestock in Habru and Meket district is linked with feed shortage. Therefore, adoption of alternative feed production technologies such as integrating improved forage, efficient feed utilization, and urea treatment, also technical and institutional intervention would be very crucial to overcome the prevailing feeds shortage problem. Other finding needed to conduct to support this finding.