WP14_Cover.pdf 2/12/2009 2:21:51 PM www.ipms-ethiopia.org Working Paper No. 14 Transhumance cattle production system in North Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: Is it sustainable? C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Transhumance cattle production system in North Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: Is it sustainable? Azage Tegegne,* Tesfaye Mengistie, Tesfaye Desalew, Worku Teka and Eshete Dejen Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian Farmers Project, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia * Corresponding author: [email protected] Authors’ affiliations Azage Tegegne, Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian Farmers Project, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tesfaye Mengistie, Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia Tesfaye Desalew, Kutaber woreda Office of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kutaber, South Wello Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia Worku Teka, Research and Development Officer, Metema, Amhara Region, Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian Farmers Project, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Eshete Dejen, Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), P.O. Box 527, Bahir Dar, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia © 2009 ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). All rights reserved. Parts of this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial use provided that such reproduction shall be subject to acknowledgement of ILRI as holder of copyright. Editing, design and layout—ILRI Publications Unit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Correct citation: Azage Tegegne, Tesfaye Mengistie, Tesfaye Desalew, Worku Teka and Eshete Dejen. 2009. Transhumance cattle production system in North Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: Is it sustainable? IPMS (Improving Productivity and Market Success) of Ethiopian Farmers Project. Working Paper No. 14. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. 73 pp. Table of Contents List of Tables iv List of Figures vi List of abbreviations vii Acknowledgements ix Abstract x 1 Background 1 2 Literature review 4 2.1 Major livestock production systems 4 2.2 Feed resources in Ethiopia 9 2.3 Conflict and risk managements 11 2.4 Transhumance routes 13 2.5 Marketing of milk and milk products 14 2.6 Smallholder milk processing 15 2.7 Constraints and opportunities of mobility 16 3 Methodology 18 3.1 Description of the study area 18 3.2 Sampling procedure 20 3.3 Data collection techniques 21 3.4 Types of data collected 21 3.5 Data analysis 22 4 Results and discussion 23 4.1 Socio-economic characteristics of inhabitants in the highland woredas 23 4.2 Livestock production systems 28 4.3 Constraints to cattle production 49 5 Summary and conclusion 54 References 58 iii List of Tables Table 1. Land area and human population in the study area 18 Table 2. Livestock population (heads) in the study area 20 Table 3. Sex, education, religion and ethnic group of respondents in the study area 23 Table 4. Mean (+SE) age and family size of respondents in the study area 25 Table 5. Land holdings and land use patterns of respondents in the study area 25 Table 6. Cattle holding and herd structure of the respondents in the study area 26 Table 7. Lactation status of dairy cows during the study 27 Table 8. Objectives of cattle rearing in the highland districts and prioritized according to their importance 27 Table 9. Major income sources used by the highlanders and prioritized according to their rank 28 Table 10. Places of herding cattle during the dry season in the study area 29 Table 11. Major reasons for not going any where during the dry season 29 Table 12. Locations of cattle herding during the wet season in the study area 30 Table 13. Major reasons for not going any where during the wet season 30 Table 14. Location for transhumance cattle production during the wet season 31 Table 15. Major reasons forwarded for the selection of transhumance districts during the wet season 31 Table 16. Major reasons for cattle mobility to the lowlands 31 Table 17. Secondary benefits collected by the highlanders in the lowlands during the rainy season 32 Table 18. Perception of farmers in the highlands on trends of transhumance production system 33 Table 19. Major reasons forwarded by the highlanders for the increasing trend in transhumance cattle production system 33 Table 20. Commencement of cattle movement and the major reasons for the selection of specific months to trek cattle to the lowlands 34 Table 21. Months of cattle mobility and major reasons for mobility back to the highlands 36 Table 22. Preferable rural kebeles used by transhumant in Metema district 37 iv Table 23. Types and size of cattle trekked to the lowlands during the rainy season 38 Table 24. Herding and make groupings in the lowlands by the highlanders 39 Table 25. Relationships of highlanders with the lowlanders 40 Table 26. Major feed sources and its ranking by the highlanders at its home places 42 Table 27. Experience of cultivating improved pasture, feed shortage and feed purchasing at the highland area 43 Table 28. Proportion of households that practice different types of breeding and source of breeding bull in the highland districts 44 Table 29. Productive and reproductive performance of indigenous cows in the study area 45 Table 30. Experience of cattle marketing, types of cattle marketed and reason for selling while transhumant are found in the lowland area 47 Table 31. Experience of milk and milk products marketing and the types of products marketed by the highlanders while in the highlands 48 Table 32. Experience of milk and milk product selling and the types of products provided to the market by the highlanders during their stay in the lowlands 49 Table 33. Major problems as prioritized by respondents of Chilga, Dembia and Gondar Zuria districts while they are in the highlands 50 Table 34. Major problems as prioritized by respondents of Chilga, Dembia and Gondar Zuria districts during their stay in the lowlands 51 Table 35. Conflicts and resolution mechanisms between the highlanders and lowlanders 52 Table 36. Major livestock diseases in the lowlands as identified by highlanders 52 v List of Figures Figure 1. Administrative districts of Amhara Region indicating the study sites— Metema, Chilga, Dembia and Gondar Zuria districts. Inset, Map of Ethiopia showing Amhara Regional State 19 Figure 2. Transhumance lines of routes while they trek their cattle to the lowlands 36 vi List of abbreviations ACBIR Andassa Cattle Breeding and Improvement Ranch CI Calving Interval AFC Age at First Calving AFS Average Family Size AI Artificial Insemination ANOVA Analysis of Variance BOA Bureau of Agriculture CACC Central Agricultural Census Commission CC Calf Crop CI Calving Interval CSA Central Statistics Authority DMY Daily Milk Yield DOARD District Office of Agricultural and Rural Development EJAP Ethiopian Journal of Animal Production ESAP Ethiopian Society of Animal Production ETB Ethiopian birr (USD 1 = ETB 8.75) E.C. Ethiopian calendar FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAOSTAT Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistics FMD Foot-and-Mouth disease GLM General Linear Model Ha Hectare HF Holstein Friesian HHC Household Count HH Household HHs Households vii HU Hawassa University ILCA International Livestock Centre for Africa ILRI International Livestock Research Institute ILDP Integrated Livestock Development Project (North Gondar) LL Lactation Length LSD Lumpy Skin Disease LY Lactation Yield m.a.s.l. metre above sea level MOA Ministry of Agriculture NSC Number of Services per Conception No Number SE Standard Error SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences SSA Sub-Saharan Africa WA Weaning Age viii Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Integrated Livestock Development Project (ILDP) of North Gondar Zone, staff members of Offices of Agriculture and Rural Development in the four Study woredas and the farmers who contributed to the study. ix Abstract The study was carried out in three highland woredas (districts) of Chilga, Dembia and Gondar Zuria in north Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. These woredas were purposively selected because of their long experience in transhumance cattle production system. The objectives of the study were to characterize the transhumance cattle production system, identify the major constraints and forward appropriate developmental interventions for the future. Informal and formal surveys were employed to collect qualitative and quantitative data. From these woredas, a total of 180 representative households from 9 rural kebeles were selected using systematic random sampling methods. Semi-structured questionnaires and topical guidelines (checklists) were used to collect data. The results revealed that livestock production system in the highlands is characterized by mixed crop–livestock production and rainy season transhumance production system. Transhumance production system was practised mainly into the lowland areas. The major reasons why cattle were trekked to the lowlands were availability of feed (99.2%), free land for stocking (92.4%), low disease risk (25.0%) and availability of non-waterlogged areas (0.8%). Preferred locations were Metema (84.0%), Armachiho (9.6%), and Quara (4.0%) woredas, while very low percentages considered Alefa and Chilga woredas (0.8% each). The months when cattle movement started were May (69.5%), June (29.6%) and April (0.8%), and the months of returned home were October (45.8%) and September (35.9%). Three major cattle trekking routes were identified, and the selection of routes depended on distance, availability of forage and non-crop covered areas. The first destination is Agamwuha kebele (Lemlem Terara) in Metema district, irrespective of the routes followed. About 60.3% of the cattle population of the three woredas was trekked to the lowlands during the rainy season. The number of cattle owners and the size of cattle population involved in one group were 4.3 ± 0.18 farmers and 58.8 ± 3.89 heads, respectively.