Poster prepared by Duncan, A.J., Ergano, K., Hailesellassie, A., Muleta, M., Hagos, T., Yehlaeshet, T. and Assefa, T. for the 5th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture and the 18th Annual Meeting of the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production (ESAP), Addis Ababa, October 25-28, 2010.

1. Fodder marketing in Ethiopia: a synthesis of case
studies in Oromiya and Tigray Regions
Duncan A.J.1, Ergano, K.1, Hailesellassie, A.2, Muleta, M.3, Hagos, T., Yehlaeshet T4. & Assefa T.3
1
International Livestock Research Institute, P.O Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2
Tigray Agricultural Research Institute
3
Oromia Agricultural Research Institute
4
Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development
Introduction Results
Livestock are part of a mixed subsistence farming complex in Amounts of fodder being marketed by retail are relatively
the highlands of Ethiopia. Livestock provide: minor e.g.
• Inputs (draught power, transport, manure) • Alamata: 25 tonnes/week
• Saleable outputs (milk, manure, meat, hides and skins, wool, • Atsbi: 20 tonnes/week
hair and eggs) • Wukro: 9 tonnes/week
•
As systems intensify in pockets towards more market- These amounts are a fraction of the estimated 1000 tonnes
oriented production, we would expect to see emergence of a DM/day being consumed by livestock in each woreda.
commercial fodder/feed trade. This study used rapid market Amounts marketed wholesale are more difficult to quantify
appraisal methods to assess the fodder market in case study since transactions take place on farm.
Prices of fodder are increasing (Figure 1)
Methods
• Based on recall, prices have risen dramatically in recent years
• The research was conducted using rapid market appraisal • Straws are fetching 1.5—2 Ethiopian birr per kg
(RMA) methodology • This reflects both feed scarcity and a move to market orien-
• The study was conducted in the Atsbi and Alamata woredas tation
of Tigray and in Ada’a and Mieso woredas of Oromiya
Straw sales at Debre Zeit market appear erratic and opportun-
• A range of participatory data collection techniques such as istic. Prices appear relatively stable and do not relate to sea-
individual interviews, group discussions, focus group inter- son, volume or straw type (Figure 2).
views, key informant interviews, in-office discussions, ob-
servations on farms and in market places
Fig 2 Volume and price of cereal straws in Debre Zeit market during different months.
Conclusions
• The fodder market in case study areas is nascent but shows
signs of growth
• Retail fodder sales are opportunistic
• As market-oriented production increases we expect the fod-
der market to become more prominent.
Fig 1 Indicative prices for different fodder types (ETB/kg) in the study woredas. Prices are ad-
justed for inflation figures published on www.indexmundi.com