A Study on Dairy Cattle Production and Associated Constraints in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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2008
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A cross-sectional type of study was carried out to determine the status and major constraints of dairy cattle production in Addis Ababa. The study was undertaken from October 2007 to April 2008. 252 small, medium and large scale dairy owners of equal sample size and 18 participatory appraisal groups were included in the study from six of the ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa. The overall mean age of the respondents was 49.52 (SE=0.756) years with a range of 22 to 95 years. The value for small, medium and large scale producers was 47.74 (SE=1.395), 49.29 (SE=1.069) and 51.79 (SE=1.414), respectively. Both male and female having different occupational and educational status was engaged in dairy cattle keeping and 33.2% of the dairy farms were headed by women. The average household family size was 4.72 persons with a range of 1 to 13. The proportion of males was 52.5% and that of females was 47.5%. 33.8 % of the respondents use only family labor (65.8%, 29.3% and 9.9% for small, medium and large scale households). The overall mean landholding of the households was 0.45ha with a range of 0.01ha to 37ha. On the other hand, the mean landholding for small, medium and large scale households was 0.08ha (SE=139.8), 0.16ha (SE=416.7) and 1.10ha (SE=4938), respectively. About 81.2% of the respondents had their own plot of land and 23.6% respondents were involved in agricultural activities producing different types of vegetables, fruits and cereals. 81.6% of the respondents indicated that they started dairying with purchased stock, 15.2% secured stock from their family and the rest 3.3% of the respondents started with cattle acquired as gift. The over all mean of cattle holding (herd size) was 12.69 heads (SE=1.09). The minimum and maximum herd was 1 and 167 heads, respectively. The mean cattle herd size for small, medium and large scale households was 4.69 (SE=0.17), 8.82 (SE=0.22) and 24.78 (SE=2.75). In all the three production scales, cows dominate (overall mean of 5.26 milking and 2.74 dry and pregnant cows) the cattle herd size. The mean proportion of farm income to the total income of each household was 54.09 %. A range of decision-makers were involved in initiating and managing dairying activities in the city. Husband, wife, children and a combination of these were involved in making decisions on husbandry practices, animal sell/buy and cash utilization. All decisions in 32.1% households were made by the consensus or some form of approval of both partners (husband and wife). Majority of the dairy farms (82.2%) used indoor (Zero grazing) rearing system with varying housing standards depending on the wealth of the owners. Dairy farmers in Addis Ababa follow different waste disposing practices. However, majority of them use the same practice of preparing dung cakes regardless of the scale of production during dry season for sell and/or for house use as fuel. Different types of feed stuffs (conventional and non-conventional) were used to feed the animals. AI was the widely used mating method (86.1%). The mean number of services per conception was 1.72 (SE=0.10) and was significantly different among the breeds, the parity status (P< 0.05) and mating method (p< 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the production scales (p>0.05). The overall means for age at first calving and calving interval were 34.79
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months (SE=0.63) and 457.22 days (13.31), respectively. Age at first calving and calving interval for local breed were significantly longer by about 14 months and 93 days, respectively. The overall means of daily milk yield at early, middle and late lactation were 10.29 liters (SE=0.47), 6.82 liters (SE=0.38) and 3.76 liters (SE=0.22), respectively. There was significant difference (p<0.001) between the three scales of production, breeds and parities in milk yield (p<0.001) at all stages of lactation. Mastitis was the most important disease mentioned by over 60% of the households. About 27.13% of the respondents convert milk into butter, ayib and/or yoghurt mainly when milk was surplus and most of the households use these products for home consumption. Feed problem, poor animal health services and shortage of drugs, poor genetic material, unreliability of AI and shortage of space were the most important constraints mentioned with the highest rank in all the farm scale with out significant difference. It can be concluded that dairying in Addis Ababa is an important sector of urban agriculture in that it provides fresh milk to the community and is the only means of livelihood for some households. However, the sector is constrained by a number of factors which need to be addressed by government and non-governmental development institutions.
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constraint, dairy, Ethiopia, production, urban