Feed Enhancement for Ethiopian Development (FEED) III

Background Narrative

Ninety percent of crop production is dependent on draft animals. Despite the scale of the livestock industry in Ethiopia, it is constrained by a lack of quality feed. The FEED program, in its third iteration, aims to increase the incomes of Ethiopian smallholder livestock producers by improving access to, and use of, consistent, affordable, high-quality animal feed that can support greater livestock productivity and efficiency. The current program builds on FEED I, which piloted our approach to feed sector development, and FEED II, which scaled up those efforts and greatly increased feed and forage production capacity. FEED III scaled out dramatically to reach even more households. It did so by creating an extensive primary cooperative-based sales and distribution network that provided access to feed resources for livestock-dependent households

Project Objectives

Deepen capacity of agricultural enterprises to participate at scale in the livestock value chain and strengthen sustainability through greater integration with the private sector
Expand trade of agricultural products in the livestock and poultry sectors by enabling growth of feed, forage, fattening, poultry, and dairy enterprises and expanding market opportunities for their products
Contribute to increased resilience of livestock-owning households
Build institutional capacity of private and public stakeholders by supporting improved feed policies and regulations

Project Activities and Approaches

Build capacity and grow feed sector enterprises through sales and marketing training to cooperative unions, increasing access to finance, and expanding sales and distribution networks
Develop sustainable forage production systems through a video training pilot, trade shows, and business-to-business events
Help feed manufacturers adapt feed formulations including alternative ingredients: molasses, brewers’ grains, fish meal, and fruit waste
Partner with ILRI to build a national feed resource database and improve legal and regulatory environment

Project Results

Increased income of dairy farmers by 36 percent and of poultry farmers by 51 percent
Increased unit productivity of poultry by 148 percent and of milk by 87 percent
Increased the number of farmers selling dairy milk by 65 percent
Increased quantity of milk sold per household from 611 liters to 931 liters or 50 percent
Increased engagement of women feeding cows from 23 percent to 85 percent
Increased farmers’ ownership of different breeds of chicken by 2.2 chickens on average, net
Increased the number of forage growing households from 9 percent to 30 percent
Over 29,000 farmers have applied improved farm management practices
Established 103 new feed value chain groups/enterprises