Farmers’ utilization practice, yield and chemical composition of selected improved forages grown in natural resource management areas of Farta District, South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of the study area.

Table 1. Demographic characteristic of the respondents

Household variables	Agro-ecology		Total N = 100	Chi-square value
	Highland	Midland
Sex	N = 50	N = 50	N = 100
Male	83%	87%	85%
Female	17%	13%	15%
Educational status	N = 50	N = 50	N = 100	0.014**
Illiterate			64%
Literate (1–4)			23.7%
Literate (5–8)			9.7%
Junior secondary education (9–12)			2.6%

N = number of respondents, % = percent of respondents and * and **, shows significant at 5% and 1% level, respectively.

Table 2. Average landholdings per household and land-use systems (ha)

Land use type	Agro-ecology		Total N = 100	X^2
	Highland N = 50	Midland N = 50
	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD
Total land owned	1.2 ± 0.02	1.33 ± 0.02	1.26 ± 0.04
Land for crop cultivation	1.03 ± 0.02	1.14 ± 0.02	1.1 ± 0.04
Land for-private grazing	0.22 ± 0.001	0.24 ± 0.02	0.23 ± 0.04	0.067†
Land for improved forages	0.96 ± 0.02	0.87 ± 0.01	0.92 ± 0.04	0.048**

SD = standard deviation; N = number of respondents and*: significant at 5% level; † significant at 10% level.

Figure 2. Utilization systems of improved forages in area closures.

Table 3. Types of improved forages cultivated in area closures

Types of forages	Scientific name	Level of abundance		Plantation place
		Highland	Midland
Sesbania sesban	Sesbania sesban	High*	High	ACs
Tree Lucerne	Chamaecytisus Palmensis	High	Mid	ACs
Elephant grass	Pennisetum purpureum	Low	Low	AC
Alfalfa	Medicago sativa	Mid**	Mid	With AC
Desho	Pennisetum pedicellatum	Low	Low	AC
Rhodes	Chloris gayana	Mid	Mid	With AC
Vetch	Vicia dasycarpa	Low***	Low	With AC
Cowpea	Vigna unguiculata	Low	Low	With AC
Green L. desmodium	Desmodium intortum	Low	Low	With AC
Tagasaste	Chamaecytisus palmensis	Mid	Mid	AC

ACs: Area closures; AC: Annual crop; Area closures are prepared for eroded lands.

*highland = altitude between 1800 m and 2400 m above sea level; **midland = altitude range 1200–2000 m above sea level; ***low land = altitude below 1200 m above sea level.

Table 4. Selected improved forages and their Management activity in the study area

Activities	Agro ecology		Average	Chi-square value
Types of improved forages	Highland (%)	Midland (%)
Tree Lucerne	92	80	86
Elephant grass	56	21	38.5
Sesbania sesban	93	60	76.5
Desho grass	24	18	21
Alfalfa	16	11	13.5
Management activity				0.008***
Yes	9	12	11.5
No	91	88	89.5

*** Significant at 0.1% level

Table 5. Major constraints for improved forage development in the study area No of respondents by rank Weight Index Rank

Major constraints 1st		2nd	3rd	4th
Free grazing production system	94	72	40	17	689	0.491 1st
Lack of appropriate forage technologies	52	28	20	6	322	0.229 2^nd
Lack of awareness	28	17	8	7	201	0.143 3^rd
Land shortage	24	26	4	6	190	0.135 4^th
Total	198	143	72	36	1402	1

Index = sum [(number of respondents of the 1^st rank X 4) + (number of respondents of the 2^nd rank X 3) + (number of respondents of the 3^rd rank X 2) + (number of respondents of the 4^st rank X 1)]/Total weight

Table 6. Feed resources availability in different seasons

Feed source	Months
	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Natural pasture
Crop related
Weed from crops
Hay
Concentrate
Improved Forage

Sep: September; Oct: October; Nov: November; Dec: December; Jan: January; Feb: February; Mar: March; Apr: April; May: May; Jun: June; Jul: July; Aug: August.

Table 7. Biomass yield of sample forages in the study area

Feed stuffs	Biomass yield in agro-ecology (t/ha)
	Highland				Midland
	S1	S2	S3	Average	S1	S2	S3	Average
Sesbania sesban	7.7	7.2	7.93	7.8	7.4	7.8	7.72	7.64
Elephant grass	14.14	14.62	14.08	14.28	14.86	13.84	13.82	13.84
Tree Lucerne	7.72	7.62	7.65	7.65	7.25	7.5	7.46	7.4

Table 8. Chemical composition of sample improved forages

Sample Code	Chemical composition (%)
	DM	Ash	CP	NDF	ADF	ADL
Tree Lucerne (Highland)	92	4.34	24.41	65.67	48.84	10
Tree Lucerne (Midland)	92	4.34	25.1	66.79	46.84	9.64
Elephant (Highland)	91	10.98	8.02	80.12	63.15	15.15
Elephant (Midland)	91	16.48	8.3	81.27	65.26	15.15
Sesbania sesban (Highland)	92	9.78	25.17	42.35	27.36	5.35
Sesbania sesban (Midland)	92	10.1	25.9	40.17	25.26	4.57

DM = Dray Matter, CP = Crude Protein, NDF = Neutral Detergent Fiber, ADF = Acid Detergent Fiber, ADL = Acid Detergent Lignin