Paper
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Natural Grazing Lands and Livestock Holding in Sidama Highlands of Southern Ethiopia: Implications for Sustainable Grazing Land Development
- Authors:
- Yoseph Mekasha; Birhanu Biazen; Azage Tegegne; Tesfaye Shewage; Tadiwos Zewdie; Asrat Tera
- Abstract
- Natural grazing land is the major source of feed for livestock in Ethiopia; however, productivity of the grazing land and livestock production is very low. This study evaluated type of land use, grazing system, and the dynamics of grazing lands and livestock holding per household in spatial and temporal perspectives in the Sidama highlands of Southern Ethiopia. Multi-stage stratified sampling was used to select study sites and households. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, questionnaire surveys and field observations were employed for data collection. The size of grazing lands in the study area was affected (p<0.05) by district, agro-climate, production system and wealth. The average total land holding per household was highest (p<0.05) in Arbegona (2.38 ha) and lowest in Bona Zuria (1.68 ha) district. It was also higher in rural areas (p<0.04) compared to peri-urban production systems. Approximately 30% of the total available land was allocated for grazing while 23% was for perennial crops and 23% for annual crops. Although the dominant land tenure system is private (86%), there are also occurrences of land renting (8.7%), which was used primarily for grazing. The size of grazing land holding per household has declined by approximately 50% during the last 20 years, while livestock holding reduced by 44%. The current mean (±s.e.) of livestock herd size per household (9.94±1.17) was affected (p<0.05) by district, agro-climate, production system and wealth. The mean (±s.e.) stocking rate (10.2±0.96 TLU/ha) was high, but not influenced (p>0.05) by the fixed factors. The larger portion of households (77.1%) had more than one plot of grazing land, situated in different locations. Thus, both continuous and seasonal grazing systems were practiced. Shortage and poor productivity of the grazing land, invasion of grazing lands by weeds and encroachment of cereal production was reported as the major challenges limiting grazing land and livestock production. Introduction of improved grazing land management techniques (e.g., weeding and top dressing with nitrogen sources) combined with improved feeding systems (e.g., cut-and-carry and feed conservation) are suggested to improve productivity of the grazing land, and simultaneously improve livestock production and environmental conservation.
- Keywords
- Land Use; Grazing System; Dynamics Of Grazing Lands; Livestock Holding
- StartPage
- 109
- EndPage
- 119
- Doi
- 10.18005/JAEB0303004