This document summarizes the experiences of the International Livestock Research Institute's (ILRI) Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) program in developing meat and livestock value chains in Ethiopia. It describes diagnostic findings that identified opportunities and limitations, interventions across the value chain including feed development, production, input supply, processing and marketing. Results showed improved forage quality and quantity, profitable ox and small ruminant fattening, increased income and participation. Gender impacts included women's control of income. Environmental benefits included ground cover improvements and gully stabilization. Key lessons included choices in breed improvement and reducing mortality and disease.

1. Meat and live animals value
chain development
IPMS and partners experiences
Gebremedhin Woldewahid
Presented at the 19th Ethiopian Society of Animal
production Annual Conference
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 15-17 December 2011

2. Acknowledgements
Research and Development Partners
 Farmers, decision makers
 MoA/BoARD/OoARD
 Federal and Regional Research
Institutes/Centers
 NGOs
 IPMS-ILRI as facilitator

3. Presentation outline
1. Introduction
2. Main diagnostic findings
3. Main value chain interventions
4. Results
5. Impact across IPMS PLWs
6. Lessons and challenges

4. 1. Introduction
Traditional fattening:
• Traditionally, ruminant fattening common in Ethiopia.
• Sale of oxen after plowing and shoats during holidays and
as sources of cash but with little or no investment.
 Contribution to smallholders income is insignificant, food
insecurity/food aid.
Business oriented fattening: Not very common in Ethiopia
Potentials for fattening of livestock do exist:
 large number of livestock,
 high market demand and
 ecologically suitable

5. 1. Introduction…
IPMS and partners introduced a new intervention approach-
system level to make use of the existing livestock potentials
Health
Breed
Livestock
Fattening
system
Feed

6. 1. Introduction…
The new intervention approach-fattening system
component integrated with value chain.
Marketing
Health Processing
Breed
Livestock Production
Fattening technology
system
Input
Feed
supply/credit

7. 1. Introduction…
The new intervention approach:
Fattening system components/value chain integrated
with knowledge/capacity development.
Skill development
Health
Breed
Capacity
development
Feed Documentation

9. 2. Main diagnostic findings
• Subsistence oriented production system
with little or no use of improved technologies
• High mortality due to disease and feed
shortage
• Inadequate input/service delivery system for
vet services, feed, credit and risk absorption
• Lack of knowledge and linkages with value
chain actors

10. 2. Main diagnostic findings…
Value chain Potentials Limitations
Marketing Local and export Lacks market information
market demand for and linkages
meat and live
Processing Live/meat, No information on what
concentrate/local feed consumers prefer for?
Production Availability of Skills on breed
technologies on breed adaptability vs. FS,
type, feed and health forage development and
vet services limited
Input Large area for forage Wide spread forage
supply/credit development, vet shortage, inadequate vet
service and breed services and breed
supply selection

11. 3. Main value chain interventions
3.1 Extension
 Knowledge
 EAP/WKC/FTCs
 Study tours/field days
 Student thesis
 Skills
 Training participatory market oriented development – gender
balanced
 Involvement of specialized staff from research, regional bureaus,
consultants, farmers
 Linkages
 Woreda Advisory and Learning committees
 Fattening and/or forage platforms
 Business linkages between value chain actors and service
providers

12. 3. Main value chain interventions…
3.2 Production
 Short term commercial fattening of small and large
ruminants (feed lot approach)
 Shelter/housing
 Planted back yard/irrigated fodder grasses & legumes,
 Grazing area improvements (clearance, enclosures, cut
and carry – individual, communal)
 Fodder treatment – crop residues, chopping
 Feeding – supplementary feeding, UMB
 Breeds – Boran for meat/milk, improved local sheep
breeds (Bonga, Washera)
 Health – de-worming at start of fattening period

13. 3. Main value chain interventions…
3.3 Input/service delivery
 Forage seed multiplication–FTCs, farmers/private
 Producers of UMB
 Creating linkages between concentrate suppliers
and producers
 Community breeding schemes for small ruminants
 Controlled breeding in communal and private
herds and bull stations for large ruminants
 Mass insemination of large ruminants
 Community based trips control
 Credit for commercial fattening
 Community based insurance scheme

14. 3. Main value chain interventions…
3.4 Processing/marketing
 Market assessment studies
 Price information collection/delivery system
 Linking producers to terminal markets
 Collective marketing action
 Cattle fairs

15. 4. Results
 Fodder intervention in grazing area successful and
resulted in significant increases in quantity and
quality of feed resources
 Crop residue treatment not well adopted
 Short term fattening of oxen profitable for
smallholders
 Short term fattening of small ruminants profitable
but requires medium scale herds (5-10)
 Credit and community based insurance can work
 Women can benefit from small ruminants fattening
and can graduate to ox fattening/other businesses

16. 4. Results…
4.1 Feed development: Harvest frequency
Jan
June
Sept

17. 4. Results…
4.1 Feed development…Harvesting frequency

18. 4. Results…
4.1 Feed development: Harvest frequency

19. 4. Results…
4.1 Feed development: Starting position (Wo)
Growth II III Improved
rate
I
Wo
Traditional
to
Time (months)

20. 4. Results…
4.1 Feed development…Forage quantity

21. 4. Results…
4.1 Feed development: Quality and diversity
Changes in botanical composition:
• Mix of grasses and legume species.
• The highly palatable forage species emerged

22. 4. Results…
4.2 Fattening uptake and income…LR
Source: Household survey data (2009)
Note: a Cash outlay is expenditure on purchased feed, drug, and veterinary services

23. 4. Results…
4.3 Gender and environment
Gender
 Access to communal resources in forage production
 Use improved feeding (83% )
 Breed selection adopted/adapted (68%) using age, body
size and sex.
 Female farmers roughly doubled the sale of sheep
(4.6 to 9.4 animals/year)
 About 90% of the beneficiary women controlled the
income

24. 4.3 Gender and environment…
Environment: Ground cover, compaction, more diversity

25. 4.3 Gender and environment…
Environment: Flowers for bees

26. 4.3 Gender and environment…
Environment: Gully stabilization, surface/groundwater
development

27. 5. Impact across IPMS PLWs
5.1 Fattening uptake and income: LR

28. 5. Impact across IPMS PLWs…
5.1 Fattened oxen
50000
45000
Fattened oxen/yr
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Years

29. 5. Impact…
5.1 Fattening income…LR
30000000
25000000
Total revenue/yr
20000000
15000000
10000000
50000000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

30. 5. Impact…
5.1 Fattening beneficiaries…LR
25000
22500
Beneficiary HHs/yr
20000
17500
15000
12500
10000
7500
5000
2500
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

31. 5. Impact…
5.2 Fattening uptake and income: SR

32. 5. Impact…
5.2 Fattened shoats
350000
300000
Fattened shoat/yr
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

33. 5. Impact…
5.2 Fattening income of shoats
12000000
10000000
Total revenue/yr
80000000
60000000
40000000
20000000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

34. 4. Impacts…
5.2 Fattening beneficiaries of shoats
Beneficiary HHs/yr 60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

35. 6. Lessons and challenges
 Breed improvement system
 Choice of breeds (local, exotic, cross breed)
 Breeding system – natural, artificial
 Approaches to improve natural and artificial
insemination
 Reduction in mortality through phasing of pregnancy
 Focus on larger scale commercialized fatteners with credit
and insurance
 Reduction in diseases through thermo stable vaccines
 Linking with export market demand

36. 6. Lessons and challenges…
Knowledge
Health management
Breed
Livestock Capacity
development
Fattening
system Commodity
development
Feed
Research
(scaling out/up)

37. Thank you!