Evaluation of livestock feed balance under mixed crop–livestock production system in the central highlands of Ethiopia

Abstract Background Livestock production under smallholder mixed crop–livestock (MCL) production systems is constrained by feed shortage and scarcity of land on which to grow feed. Livestock feeds are obtained from different sources including crop residues (CR), grazing lands (GL), crop aftermath, fallow land and purchased. But the contribution of these feed resources and the extent of feed balance at farm level are not quantitatively examined. The study was conducted to assess the major feed resources available and evaluate feed balance for the prevailing livestock in MCL system. Methods Feed types and amount available, livestock holding size and feed demand were estimated for 159 smallholder farmers stratified into wealth status, which were selected following a multistage sampling procedure. The feed balance was evaluated as the difference between requirements of livestock (feed demand) and amount of utilizable feed (supply) per year in terms of dry matter (DM), metabolizable energy (ME) and digestible crude protein (DCP). Results Regardless of farmers’ wealth status, CR mainly sourced from cereals, particularly barley, contributed more than half of the annual feed supply, followed by GL. The contribution of CR to total feed supply sourced on-farm and purchased combined was 55%. Significant differences in the supply, demand and balance of livestock feed were observed across wealth group of farmers. The wealthier have higher quantities of feed supply and demand, but suffered more in feed insufficiency. Overall, about 51, 19 and 38% annual feed deficit in DM, ME and DCP were observed, respectively. But when the rate is considered based on feed produced on-farm only, the deficit worsened and goes up to 60, 34 and 52% in DM, ME and DCP, respectively. Conclusions Expansion of grazing land is not a practical option to increase feed supply. Therefore, increasing food-feed crops production per unit area, conservation of surplus forages, strategic feeding based on productivity and traction services of livestock, purchase of feeds, and increasing livestock off-take during time of scarcity would help to correct the observed feed shortage. Moreover, refinement of the feed balance analysis at specific nutrients level would be compulsory for effective strategic interventions