Dry Matter Yield and Nutritional Composition of Natural Pasture in East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region

Abstract

Next to crop production, rearing livestock in Ethiopia is essential for the community’s food and nutrition security. However, a major obstacle to global livestock production, particularly in Ethiopia, is a shortage of high-quality and sufficient livestock feed. Designing development plans and intervention options for both improving natural pasture and rearing livestock would require an evaluation of the natural pasture yield and nutritional composition. As a result, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutrient content and dry matter yield of natural pasture in the study areas. The study area was divided into highland, midland, and lowland agroecologies, and from each agroecology, protected and communal grazing areas were selected randomly. The results showed that the average dry matter yield, crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of natural pasture varied across agroecologies and between grazing sites. The average dry matter yields of natural pasture in highland, midland, and lowland agroecologies were about 1.60, 3.02, and 1.96 t/ha, respectively. The average dry matter yield in protected and communal grazing areas of natural pasture was about 2.70 and 1.69 t/ha, respectively. The crude protein content of the natural pasture was 7.12, 7.63, and 6.90% in the highlands, midlands, and lowlands, respectively. The crude protein content of the natural pasture in protected and communal grazing areas was 6.69 and 7.73%, respectively. In general, the dry matter yield and crude protein contents of natural pasture were low, which would have an effect on livestock productivity, and the overall NDF content of natural pasture was 65.9%, which is classified as low-quality feed and thus would have an impact on feed intake, digestibility, and livestock productivity.