Alemayehu Mengistu and Alan Robertson
Fourth Livestock Development Project
Ministry of Agriculture, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Introduction
Factors in determining the strategies
The strategies
Seed production
FLDP research needs
References
Abstract
The Fourth Livestock Development Project will be promoting a range of strategies for forage development, namely: establishment of forage strips including bund-planted forages and tree legumes in alley cropping systems; backyard forage development; improvement of stock exclusion areas through the introduction of legumes; the use of forage legumes in undersowing/relay cropping systems; oversowing of grazing areas; and establishment of perennial mixed pastures and annual fodder crops. This paper details the strategies ranks them in terms of the potential impact within the project area and outlines the perceived priority research programmes required to support these strategies.
The approach to establishing a large forage seed production capacity and the research needs to support this programme are discussed.
The various strategies described have different labour requirements, and the monitoring of labour inputs would be a significant part of the applied research programme.
The Fourth Livestock Development Project (FLDP) is a five-year phased programme designed to build an efficient national animal health service and simultaneously improve animal nutrition in the peasant sector. The primary objective is to improve livestock and agricultural production through increasing the efficiency of resource utilisation at the farm level in both the government and peasant sector cooperative support services. Increasing foreign exchange earnings and decreasing potential ecological damage through increasing live animal and hide and skins exports and through import substitution (dairy produce) is also an important objective. Institution-building within the Ministry of Agriculture represents a major project objective.
The project consists of six main components:
1. Animal health development,
2. Animal feed and nutrition development,
3. Southern rangeland pilot development,
4. Agricultural credit,
5. Institutional development,
6. Live animal trade development study.
The major objectives of the animal feed and nutrition development component of the Fourth Livestock Development Project (FLDP) are:
a) To increase the supply of forage for ruminant livestock in the peasant sector,
b) To conserve soil on arable land and catchment areas,
c) By increasing the quality and quantity of feed; increase livestock meat and milk production,
d) Increase manure production,
e) Increase draft power for cropping,
f) Increase fuel wood and timber supplies.
This paper details with the various Fourth Livestock Development Project strategies and research needs for forage development which will be directed at improving forage production, management and utilisation at farm level.
Long-term sustainable production of livestock and cropping is dependent on dramatic changes in livestock management systems. The key components of these changes are a shift towards more intensive feeding systems, with more emphasis on cut-and-carry feeding, and a gradual shift away from uncontrolled grazing, particularly on sloping areas.
The strategies would be integrated closely with cropping practices, and in almost all cases, would avoid displacement of arable crops; in fact, the strategies would generally be complementary to arable cropping. There would be emphasis on the high potential areas, partly because those areas have the greatest potential for increased forage production under the kinds of strategies promoted, and also because most extension staff are being deployed in the high potential cropping areas.
Strong links will be maintained with soil conservation programmes: physical soil conservation works can be substantially improved through the incorporation of improved forages; also, some forage development strategies can have a direct benefit in terms of erosion control, even in the absence of physical soil works. However, strategies would not be dependent on "food for work programmes" as this is not feasible in a programme of the size envisaged, and it would also reduce the likelihood of widespread rapid and spontaneous adoption of some strategies.
There should be strong links with animal health programmes because of the mutual synergism not only in physical production terms, but also in the extension context. The interface between health and nutrition programmes would occur at the service cooperative, which is the major unit for extension.
There would also be close links with the beef fattening and dairy programmes; the widespread success of both these programmes will be largely dependent on the incorporation of sound forage development, and there is also a reverse benefit in that the Project's forage development proposals would be more readily adopted within the peasant sector if they are linked with such programmes, thus offering the opportunity for conspicuous cash benefits.
Legumes would be heavily emphasised because of their dual roles in both animal nutrition and in the maintenance or improvement of soil fertility and hence crop production.
It is imperative that most strategies have a low financial cost if they are to be adopted within the peasant sector; in this context the heavy use of fertilizers would generally be avoided, and beef fattening and dairying programmes should not be dependent on the construction of expensive animal housing or on conventional post-and-wire fencing.
Some strategies at least should have sufficiently conspicuous benefits to facilitate spontaneous and widespread adoption. For instance, the use of tree legumes in some strategies could fit into this category.
It is feasible to initiate a development programme immediately with existing technologies; however, there would be a need for continued adjustment in terms of genetic material and of strategies in the light of newly gained experience from both within the Project and other related institutions. It is imperative that the Project maintain a maximum of flexibility to accommodate these improvements.
The success of various Project interventions will be markedly dependent on the agroecological zone and on other factors including cropping patterns and prior experience with more intensive feeding systems. Whilst the Project would initiate some activities in some of the more difficult areas or systems, it is important that emphasis initially be placed on those areas or production systems affording the best chances of success. Typically these areas would be in the low to medium altitude areas i.e. below 2400 m.
The development strategies to be promoted by the project are:
a) Strip establishment of forages,
b) Backyard forages,
c) Improved forages in stock exclusion areas,
d) Legumes undersown in crops,
e) Legumes oversown on grazing areas,
f) Perennial mixed grass/legume pastures,
g) Annual fodder crops.
These strategies would generally be associated with an extension programme to improve the utilisation of the forage.
Improved grazing management would be extremely difficult to incorporate into common practice and would generally require substantial reduction in stock numbers to be effective. It will therefore play only a minor role in the development programme.
A significant reduction in livestock numbers could dramatically affect livestock production and land degradation; its potential economic impact is therefore large. However, within current production systems, such a reduction in numbers will not occur in the foreseeable future.
Table 1 illustrates the perceived significance of the various strategies. The potential economic impact, with a score of five representing the maximum impact, is assessed on a basis of increased forage production and benefits in terms of fuelwood supply, erosion control and contributions to the maintenance of soil fertility. The technical possibilities are assessed for low and high altitudes (say, below and above 2200 m), with an indication of acceptance of the strategy amongst farmers or cooperatives. Major research needs in support of the strategies are listed. These are discussed in more detail later.
Table 1. FLDP forage development strategies.
|
Strategy |
Potential economic impact |
Technical possibilities |
Farmer acceptance |
Research needs |
Comments |
|
|
Low alt |
High alt |
|||||
|
Forage strips (bunds, alleys, etc.) |
5 |
Good |
Good |
Variable |
Species, Mgmt labour |
Stock control, erosion control |
|
Backyard forage |
3 |
Good |
Good |
Good |
Labour |
Supplementation |
|
Undersown legumes |
2-4 |
Good |
? |
Variable |
Species timing |
Maize/sorghum |
|
Oversown legumes |
0-1 |
Fair |
Low |
Good |
Species |
To 2000 m no control |
|
Exclusion area improvement |
4 |
Good |
- |
Good |
Species |
Cut & carry fattening link |
|
Conventional pastures |
<1 |
Good |
Good |
Low |
- |
Dairy only |
|
Fodder crops |
<1 |
Good |
Good |
Fair |
- |
Dairy, fattening |
|
Grazing management |
2? |
Good |
Good |
V. low |
- |
- |
|
Reduced numbers (current systems) |
5?? |
- |
- |
V. low |
- |
- |
Strip Establishment of Forages
The strip establishment of forages includes:
a) Forages planted on physical soil structures including bunds and terrace walls within arable and stock exclusion areas, but with primary emphasis on the arable areas.b) Forages planted on contour strips within arable areas, without physical soil structures.
c) Tree or shrub legumes established in parallel strips within crop areas (i.e. in "alley cropping" systems).
d) Forages established in strips around crop plots as shelter belts.
The forage strips would have multiple roles, including the provision of forage for cut-and-carry management, fuelwood supply, soil erosion control and stabilisation of associated crop yields through contributions of organic matter and nitrogen, and through the shelter belt effects.
Tree legumes would form the basis of the forage strips. At higher altitudes grasses (particularly Phalaris spp.) would initially predominate in the bund plantings until more reliable tree legumes are available. However, where grasses are used in arable areas, it is important that they are not creeping types to avoid invasion of adjacent crop areas; herbaceous legumes would be incorporated with the grasses where no suitable tree legume is available.
Close spacing of the tree legumes is important for erosion control, but is feasible only with the use of either cuttings or direct seeding; seedlings are too expensive to be used at higher densities. Even at the spacing of 0.5-1.0 metre between plants, costs are substantial, and techniques for improved direct seeding establishment demand immediate investigation.
Management, and particularly the close control of stock access, is crucial to the success of the strategy. Wherever possible, the strips should be reserved for cut-and-carry utilisation; this would greatly enhance persistence and productivity, and the programme should, therefore, be restricted initially to areas where such control is assured. Excess leguminous forage from the strips would be used as a mulch on adjacent crop areas.
The strategy will play an extremely important role in the longer term, but successful demonstration is central to its widespread adoption; initial sites should therefore be selected with good prospects of success.
Farmers have demonstrated fair interest in the strategy primarily on the basis of increased forage supply; reservations included possible competition effects with adjacent crops and increased difficulty of subsequent cultivation. The latter concern is valid, and the importance of establishing parallel rows wherever possible should be stressed. The importance of establishing a significant visual impact in the first season was clearly demonstrated. Producer cooperatives were shown to be generally much more receptive to the strategy and, where possible, should be used to provide the initial focus for such development.
Backyard Forages
Backyard forage development involves the establishment of plots or hedges of forage in the immediate vicinity of the house. Typically, plots would comprise perennial grass with herbaceous legumes included where possible, or with the grasses interplanted with tree legumes; hedges around the house plots would be of tree legumes or occasionally of tall growing grasses. The inherently higher soil fertility and good control of livestock adjacent to the house enables the establishment of highly productive species with close to maximal yields.
The backyard areas would be used solely for the production of high quality forage for the supplementation of lower quality forage for the supplementation of lower quality feedstuffs including crop residues, particularly in backyard fattening or dairying operations; hence, even small areas of 50-100 m² can be significant.
Backyard areas also provide a very convenient point of entry for new species or species types prior to their subsequent use on a wider scale e.g. within the various forage strip programmes. Under the close control offered, farmers can gain an appreciation of both the production potential and of the management requirements of the various species.
Backyard forage is the most readily accepted of all strategies and could be very cost-effective in that it requires relatively little material or extension input. The strategy has already proved to be acceptable and logistically simple in all project areas.
Improved Forages in Stock Exclusion Areas
This strategy involves the establishment of a range of forage species within stock exclusion areas to improve both the productivity of the areas and the feeding value of the forages on offer. Such improvements would greatly enhance the acceptance of the exclusion strategy locally. Major emphasis would be on the herbaceous legumes, because of their contribution to forage quality and to total production, in some cases even under low soil fertility, and because of their relative ease of establishment even on unprepared seedbeds. The grasses typically require much better seedbed preparation for successful establishment, and their use would be largely restricted to sites with recent soil disturbance (e.g. where soil bunds have been constructed within the exclusion areas). Also, the productivity of most exotic grasses would initially be very low in such severely degraded environments; substantial fertility accretion would be expected after several years of active legume growth, whereupon improved grasses could be gradually introduced. The tree legumes would generally have only a minor role within the exclusion areas unless they are encompassed in a broader tree planting programme. The low soil fertility prevalent in such areas is inadequate to support high growth rates of more productive tree legumes such as Leucaena sp.
At higher altitudes there are commonly a number of well adapted native legumes present, and currently there is a lack of very useful exotic material for this niche. The programme would be restricted mostly to the low to medium altitudes, where there is often a dearth of useful herbaceous native legumes and for which there are a number of exotic legumes available which are readily established and capable of relatively high productivity even under low soil fertility.
The legumes introduced would include Macroptilium atropurpureum and the freer seeding Stylosanthes species, with Desmodium species also on more favourable sites. The use of grasses would generally be restricted to hardier species such as Cenchrus ciliaris and Paspalum plicatulum.
In general the forage improvement should be concentrated on peripheral areas of the exclusion zone adjacent to settlement to afford most efficient utilisation by cut-and-carry, and in such cases moderate seeding rates could be used. In more remote parts of the zone, either very low seeding rates or strip planting should be employed to allow a gradual improvement of the sward with increasing proportion of the legume component over several years.
It will be desirable to improve the area as soon as possible after preventing stock access to increase acceptance amongst local users. Areas could be used for cut-and-carry immediately after stock exclusion without seriously reducing the erosion control benefits, and this could also be a significant factor in increasing local acceptance of the strategy. There is an urgent need to define a policy for utilising the woody regrowth on stock exclusion areas; allowing utilization of these woody species would maintain the forage producing potential of the area for a longer period and through meeting another community need could be a key factor in the long-term viability of the exclusion areas.
Undersowing
In this strategy forage species are introduced into an annual crop by sowing after the crop is established. There are several purposes:
1. As a means of establishing a longer term pasture in which case a grass may be included,
2. To improve the grazing value of the crop stubble and of the subsequent fallow,
3. To improve or maintain soil fertility,
4. To provide an additional grain legume for - human consumption, in addition to forage.
Initial emphasis would be on the low to medium altitude areas for reasons similar to those given for the stock exclusion strategy i.e. a relative dearth of legumes in these areas and a range of suitable exotic legumes available. Most work will be undertaken initially on the pasture/forage type legumes. Desirable characteristics for undersown legumes include deep rooting/drought tolerance to enable the legume to continue growth after the annual crop has been harvested: retention of leaf and hence of feeding value during the dry periods, to maintain a higher feeding value of the stubble; ease of establishment and heavy early seeding, to allow adequate regeneration in subsequent cropping cycles; and a proportion of hard seed, so that in subsequent crop cycles there is adequate seed remaining in the soil for establishment after the final weeding of the annual crop.
The maize and sorghum systems provide the best opportunities for the strategy, and development can be initiated in such systems without further evaluation. Promising species include the free seeding Stylosanthes species including S. hamata and the Graham cultivar of S. guianensis; the climbing legumes include Macroptilium atropurpureum, Macrotyloma spp, and Desmodium spp., and the dual purpose types such as Lablab purpureus.
An opportunity also exists in some of the higher altitude areas for the introduction of legumes with a longer growing season than the native species. Trifolium repens and Trifolium subterraneum are likely prospects. The best opportunity appears to be in the berg-grown barley system.
The initial sowing would take place after the final weeding, by which stage it is unlikely that the growth of most legumes would offer substantial competition to the companion crop. Sowing rates would be typically quite low, unless the seed is to be harvested for human food or as a cash crop. The strategy does present opportunities for seed collection for some species including Lablab.
Potentially useful food grain species which will be incorporated in the programme at least for further evaluation include Phaseolus acutifolius, Lablab, and cowpeas. The use of the biennial or short-lived perennial Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea), which could be interplanted with a range of crops in an alley cropping type system, offers similar benefits, and the Project is expected to participate vigorously in the wider promotion of this species.
Undersowing was attempted on a range of sites during the 1986 season. It is evident now that the strategy will be quite well accepted by farmers. The strategy is relevant to both the well managed row planted crops characteristic of Harerge, and also to the very poorly managed, weedy crops e.g. in parts of the Rift Valley. In the former case, attempts would be made to link undersowing to contract seed production where possible, at least initially; in the latter case emphasis would be on hardier, self regenerating species.
Legumes Oversown in Grazing Areas
Grazing areas could be improved if it were possible to introduce more productive or better quality species. Such species would need to be adapted to prevailing grazing pressures and soil fertility and to establishment without any land preparation. Grasses are generally unsuitable because the establishment rates of the oversown grass seed on compacted grazing areas are generally extremely low; legumes are generally more suited to such establishment.
The higher altitude areas are typically served by a wide range of useful native legumes, with the Trifolium and Medicago spp. dominating; other useful species may be identified for this niche, but it is not a priority programme.
At lower altitudes there is a relative dearth of productive herbaceous legumes in the grazing areas, with most of the trailing types having disappeared under the heavy grazing pressures. Also, there are some exotic species which are capable of filling this niche. The genus with the best prospects is Stylosanthes, which is typified by ready establishment on poor seedbeds and very low fertility soils, and in many cases by tolerance of extreme grazing pressure. S. hamata and S. scabra are the most promising species at this stage. Some less palatable climbing species including Calopogonium mucunoides will also be usefully oversown in some higher rainfall areas of the western slopes.
Because of the low productive potential, the strategy must be based on very low inputs; in particular, seeding rates should be extremely low.
A modification of the oversowing strategy is the sowing of seed on road verges. This can be done very quickly, is simply monitored, providing a long transect for evaluation and will often enable maximal spread of seed to surrounding areas.
Because of the relatively low establishment rates from oversowing, even with legumes, the programme would be undertaken only on a pilot scale in the first couple of years. Although in suitable areas it can be highly cost-effective.
Oversowing requires minimal inputs of local labour and no management inputs; therefore, there will be no difficulties in promoting the strategy. During the first two seasons the limited areas sown under the programme would be closely monitored to more closely define the site parameters indicating suitability for oversowing.
Establishment of Mixed Grass/Legume Pastures
This strategy involves the establishment of perennial mixed pastures on prepared seed beds and with management including grazing control and fertilizer inputs as required to maintain high productivity. Good arable soils are required for such productivity, and the strategy typically represents a diversion of land from arable cropping. Hence, there is a considerable opportunity cost. Other costs include fertilizer, seed costs (seed inputs would generally be higher than with most other strategies), stock control costs whether for fencing or additional herding labour and weed control. Also, successful management of mixed pastures for high productivity of grazing stock requires considerable skills. The strategy would generally be confined to the dairy programme, but in some cases could encompass the rehabilitation of crop areas through the use of a moderately long-term pasture phase. There are no serious technical constraints in any altitude zone.
The strategy presents an opportunity for occasional seed production, particularly for the grasses, because areas established would generally be of sufficient size to warrant the necessary close supervision of harvest.
Establishment of Short-Term Fodder Crops
The establishment of fodder crops such as alfalfa, oats, vetch and fodder beet will be technically feasible in most altitude zones. The strategy provides a convenient, simple introduction to the concept of actually growing forage for livestock feeding.
Yields may be high in all altitude zones. However, the strategy would not be heavily emphasised in the project for several reasons: The project aims at integrating forage development with erosion control, but excessive use of short-term forage crops may actually aggravate soil erosion through repeated cultivations. Farmers cultivating an area of land would typically establish a subsistence or cash crop and would be reluctant to regularly invest such labour in short-term fodder cropping. The requirement for repeated inputs of seed is a further disincentive. The annual fodder crops may meet short-term needs, but often the perennial species (including some grasses and tree legumes) provide forage over a longer period.
The establishment of short-term forage crops would be confined mostly to the dairy programme. There will be some use of the strategy also in backyard areas, especially with very productive species including alfalfa and fodder beet. Oats could become more widely grown particularly because of its broad adaptation and its dual-purpose nature; it would generally be grown in association with vetch.
General Comments
The seed production programme outlined for the Project is large scale by any standards; by Year 4, the Project will need to produce more than 150 tonnes of herbaceous legume seed annually. Also, the programme encompasses a much wider range of species than is usual within a single project. The forage development programme is entirely dependent on the seed production activities. The strategies for production are crucial, and, clearly, strategies previously employed are entirely inadequate for a programme of this scale. The only feasible approach is to produce seed in contract systems.
A programme has already been initiated to collect seed at contract prices from some areas previously established to various forages, including Leucaena, Sesbania, Lablab, and vetch. Some indication of the suitability of the various contract prices will be afforded by this initial programme. To obviate the need for importation of large quantities of seed, some irrigated seed production areas have been established in collaboration with the Ministry of State Farms, Institute of Agricultural Research, ILCA and various service cooperatives; however, most production would be under rainfed conditions to facilitate cheaper seed.
The Contract Seed Production Programme
The great majority of seed must be produced under contract arrangements (with service cooperatives, producer cooperatives and individual farmers), if the overall programme is to succeed. Contract systems, wherein producers are paid contract rates per quantity of clean seed produced, will result in much greater volumes of seed at significantly lower cost per kg, higher production per unit area, much greater efficiency of production, and after the first couple of years, quite reasonable predictability of total seed output.
The contract prices will be set annually though for many species there will be minimal or no change from one season to the next; these prices must be standardised through the Project area and must be valid for at least one production season. The prices will reflect the seed yield potential, labour requirements and potential returns from alternative crops on the same areas.- The prices should encourage close attention to management and high recovery of available seed. If the scheme is to succeed within the given time frame, the prices will offer substantially higher returns than for most competing crops. However, because of the relatively small area involved to meet the Project's demands, there would be no disruption of crop production. There are essentially three broad systems which might be used within the contract programme.
For Some Grasses
The Fourth Livestock Development Project (FLDP) would assist dairy cooperatives to establish significant units of grass-based pasture with the understanding that a portion of the area would be closed for a period for seed production, with the cooperative providing harvesting labour under supervision and receiving contract prices. The system is convenient because it offers the chance for larger areas to be harvested, thus facilitating the supervision which is necessary for the harvesting of most of the grasses and overcoming the organisational problems associated with the typically lower seed yields of the grasses.
Seed Collection from Stock Exclusion Areas
Some species will seed quite well on relatively poor sites even though their dry-matter production may be quite low. Therefore, the stock exclusion areas provide a good opportunity for collecting substantial quantities of seed from herbaceous and tree legumes. Most labour would be provided by women and children.
Seed Production on Specialised Plots
Species with high yield potential, and those with high labour and management requirements, may often be best grown on specialised seed production plots. Some of these would be small plots operated by individual farmers. Species suited to this general category include Stylosanthes spp., Lablab and other climbing legumes grown in trellis systems.
General
Pasture/forage research programmes require substantial modification to adequately meet the demands of FLDP and similar projects. In particular, there could be less emphasis on evaluating species for conventional pasture development, and more emphasis on species and establishment requirements for specific strategies, and for some of the more difficult but very important systems including stock exclusion. The continued analysis of nutritive value of introduced commercial cultivars, and of the material already comprehensively analysed elsewhere, represents a serious misallocation of research resources.
Species Screening
The Project is servicing a very wide range of environments, and information on species performance from just a few sites may be quite misleading.
There is still inadequate information on the agroecological range of the species which would be used initially within the project. In particular, knowledge on the altitude limits is imprecise. The Project will adopt the approach of using the most promising species/cultivars in the development programmes, with continuous monitoring and refinement; additionally, new material will be continually introduced for rapid screening. Evaluation will be introduced for rapid screening. Evaluation will be undertaken on sites representative of target areas. For example, those species expected to be used in the improvement of stock exclusion areas would typically be assessed on degraded soils of low phosphate status.
Persistence of species must become one of the major criteria in selection. Given the scale of the Project, seed production potential should be granted more emphasis.
There is a particular need to define a wider range of tree legumes suited to intensive cut and-carry-management, in particular for use in higher altitude areas where there is a relative dearth of such species.
Site Assessment
It is crucial that field extension staff be in a position to categorise sites according to suitability for various species and strategies. During the first two years of implementation, some 150-200 service cooperatives will be incorporated, covering a very wide agroecological range. By the end of that period, rapid assessment formulae should have been developed, utilising the key determinants of production including altitude, rainfall and soil factors such as drainage, depth, pH and phosphate status.
Fertilizers will definitely not be used extensively for forage production within the peasant sector in the foreseeable future, and currently there is excessive research on the use of fertilizers for forage production. It is more valid to concentrate on defining site criteria which will determine the success strategic of species. Some research is justified on the use of phosphate (and other nutrients) in seed pelleting as an aid to the Project distributed pelleted seed.
Inoculation
Inoculation requirements for the key species demand urgent attention, and the most convenient media for local use should be assessed. Substantial quantities of inoculant will be required for at least 5-10 species, and it must be determined whether a local production capacity is justified.
Seed Production
It is crucial to collect information on production, harvesting and post-harvest handling for commercial quantities of seed. This will be done by close monitoring of the Project's seed production activities rather than in specific research programmes. It is particularly important to determine likely yields and labour inputs to define optimal prices for the contract seed production programmes.
Propagation of Tree Legumes
The development programmes are heavily dependent on the use of tree legumes, particularly for the more intensive cut-and-carry systems. Current propagation techniques within nurseries are excessively expensive, and there is an urgent need to define systems appropriate to the use of direct seeding cuttings and bare root/bare stem seedlings, enabling the use of small backyard nursery plots.
Economic Aspects
There is an urgent need to undertake economic evaluation of the use of fertilizers within various production systems. This can be done immediately with the wealth of nutrient response data already available. After the first couple of years of the Project, there will be sufficient data for a comprehensive economic analysis of the various strategies. This is particularly important in the case of those strategies with high labour inputs, such as backyard forage and alley cropping.
Also, it is crucial to assess the economics of backyard fattening and dairying using various feed inputs. It is expected that labour requirements for forage collection and forage yields will be central to the economic viability of the strategies; FLDP will allocate adequate resources for determining these parameters during the first two years.
Studies should be undertaken immediately on the feasibility of inducing a shift away from grazing and towards more intensive cut-and-carry systems involving total stock control in the context of peasant associations, producer cooperatives, service cooperatives and larger administrative units.
ARDP. 1970-1980. Annual report on crop and pasture research. Arsi Rural Development Project (ex-CADU), Ethiopia.
FAO. 1970-1982. Various reports on livestock study, Ethiopia.
JAR. 1967-1980. Annual reports on livestock range and pasture research. Institute of Agriculture Research, Ethiopia.
ILCA 1981-1985. Various reports from highland programme and Forage Agronomy Group (FLAG), Ethiopia.
Ministry of Agriculture. 1984. Dairy Project, Animal & Fisheries Resources Development, Main Department, Min. Agric., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ministry of Agriculture. 1984. Feed and Forage Project, Animal & Fisheries Resources Development, Main Department, Min. Agric., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ministry of Agriculture. 1984. Livestock Sub-sector Study, Animal & Fisheries Resources Development, Main Department, Min. Agric., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
