Abstract: Twenty five yearling male Begait sheep with initial body weight (BW) of 28.02± 1.49 (mean ± SD) were used to evaluate the effect of supplementation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculat) hay (CPH), wheat bran (WB) and their mixtures to sheep fed grass hay (GH) on feed intake, digestibility, average daily gain (ADG), carcass characteristics, skin quality and economic feasibility. Experimental sheep were blocked in to five blocks based on initial body weight and randomly assigned to the five...
Abstract: The objective of the study was to assess the cureent status on utilization practices of cereal straws, followed by development and evaluation of straw-based densified complete feed blocks (DCFBs) for enhancing the use of wheat straw as feed for dairy cattle. The study assessed the current status of cereal crop residue, management, utilization practices, challenges, and opportunities, and evaluated the effect of DCFBs on feed intake, digestibility, and productive performance of cros...
Abstract: This study analyzed production efficiency, post-harvest loss and marketing of sesame in Kafta Humera district of Tigray region, Ethiopia. It was specifically aimed to address the research gaps by measuring technical, allocative and economic efficiencies and their determinants, measuring post-harvest loss and analyzing its determinants and market performance of sesame in Kafta Humera District. For addressing these objectives the study used primary and secondary data obtained from fi...
Abstract: Dairy enterprises are one of the most important sources of economic growth. This makes enterprises a major area of concern for government and nongovernment organizations with varieties of development objectives. However, studies in both academic and policymaking circles on the production efficiency, financial performance and impact of dairy enterprises on employment creation and income generation were limited. This study sought findings on production efficiency, financial performan...
Abstract: This study was aimed at analyzing beef cattle value chain in Bora and Dugda districts, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The specific objectives of the study were to:- identify major beef cattle value chain actors and their roles in beef cattle value chain in the study areas; Identify the major constraints and opportunities in beef cattle value chain; analyzing the determinants of smallholders farmers' market participation decision and quantity of beef cattle supplied to the market ...
Abstract: As market exchange increases, there should be institutional set-ups that facilitate transaction of products especially products like milk and milk products that need immediate exchange due to their nature of being easily exposed to spoilage. Despite this importance of institutional environments and arrangements in dairy marketing, studies focusing on institutional analysis of dairy marketing have not been done in the study area. Thus, the study was conducted in Bahir Dar milk shed ...
Abstract: In Ethiopia, teff (Eragrostis tef) is an important cereal crop, particularly in Shashamane district as source of food and cash income for majority of the smallholder farmers. However, the supply of teff in the study area still cannot satisfy the existing market demand and also efforts to enhance smallholders’ participation in cereal market in general and teff in particular, through surplus production have been made, but there is dearth of information on the status of market parti...
Abstract: Food insecurity is a recurrent phenomenon in Ethiopia. To reverse this phenomena investment on variety development and dissemination of improved teff varieties to farmers have been made by regional and national agricultural research institutes. Even though efforts on disseminating improve teff varieties have been made in the area, there is no empirical evidence those varieties that brings on food security. Moreover, previous studies employ propensity score matching which could not ...
Abstract: Climate change is causing the greatest environmental, social and economic threats across the globe. Its impact has been increasing especially on agricultural activities in developing countries. It depresses crop yields through temperature increase and reductions of precipitation. Climate change mainly affected low-income countries where their adaptive capacities are perceived to be low, due to weak institutional capacity, limited engagement in environmental and adaptation issues an...
Abstract: Ethiopia is known to be one of the food insecure countries in the world. One way of solving the food insecurity problem is through enhancement of efficiency in agricultural production in general and in wheat production in particular. This study was conducted with the general objective; of assessing the economic efficiency of smallholder wheat producers in the Robe District of Arsi zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this stud...
Abstract: Milk is an important dairy product, particularly in Yabello district and generally in the pastoral area of Ethiopia. It is a source of food and cash income for the majority of the smallholder milk producers. Especially for poor households, transforming the subsistence-oriented production system into a market-oriented production system serves as a way to increase the smallholder farmer’s income and reduce rural poverty. This needs a deliberate improvement in smallholder commercial...
Abstract: The sub optimal fertilizer use and unbalanced fertilizer applications has led to a decline in soil productivity and low response of tef to N and P fertilizers, which might be due to insufficiency of micronutrients in the soil. This study was initiated to investigate and map the status of micronutrients in soil and tef grown on Vertisols of Ada’a district. A total of sixty composite samples for each of soil, tef leaf and grain were collected from twenty georeferenced tef fields of...
Abstract: The importance of agricultural technology in enhancing the welfares of farmers can be realized when yield gain from the technologies results in meaningful income gain. This xv thesis aimed at analyzing adoption and intensity of adoption of improved soybean variety and to assess economic impact of improved soybean (Bellessa-95) variety on income among farm households in Bambasi woreda. In this study a multi-stage stratified sampling technique was employed to select rural kebeles and...
Abstract: Rice is among the most important cereals grown in different parts of Ethiopia as food crop. The country is characterized with immense potentials for growing the crop. This study was aimed at analyzing rice market performance and supply by smallholder farmers in Guraferda District, Southwestern Ethiopia. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. The data were collected from 120 rice producer farmers selected through three stage sampling technique and 35 traders selected pu...
Abstract: Fish provides nutrients that are essential to cognitive and physical development, and an important part of healthy diet. However, fish post-harvest loss, resource tragedy, overfishing, low management and traditional fish harvesting practices are discouraging fish market supply and fishers profitability. Therefore, this study was sought to analyze fish value chain and post-harvest loss of Lake Hawassa. The study used cross-sectional data from representative fishers of 166 and key in...