By Harinder P.S. Makkar¹, Paul Opio², Joseph Matere³, Jay Angerer⁴, Luca Innocente⁵, Wamalwa Kinyanjui⁶, Cyril Ferrand² and S. Munyua⁶

Seasonal feed shortages and inefficient feed use by pastoralist and agropastoralist communities are the major challenges affecting livestock productivity in East African countries. Studies have shown that the early actions provide high returns on investment. However, the early actions can only be taken with sound and timely information. A National Animal Feed Security System (NAFSS) that monitors animal feed and water availability, can play a vital role in alerting decision makers of the right time to implement early actions. It would also enhance efficiency of livestock production and make the livestock sector more resilient. A NAFSS is a complete set of an array of components, namely tools; and of procedures, facilities, skills, infrastructure, personnel, organizations, and institutions required to implement them. This article illustrates the components of such a system and the manner in which FAO and IGAD intend to operationalise it in East African countries.

By Harinder Makkar, Lemma Gizachew, Adugna Tolera, Antonello Salis, Alemu Yami, Alberto Giani, AbdoulKarim Bah and Shukri Ahmed

Livestock sector is vital for food security in Africa as it provides a number of essential nutrients to millions of people. Recent repeated droughts, however, had devastating effects on pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods, mainly due to feed and water shortages. This short paper provides information on the availability of biomass for use as animal feed and the feed balance in terms of dry matter (DM), metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) for each of the 10 regions of Ethiopia and for the nation. These sets of data are prerequisite for putting in place strategic interventions to meet the feed demand at times of scarcity as well as for making informed decisions for sustainable development of the livestock sector in Ethiopia.