Mulubrhan Balehegn

World Resources Institute

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tftl20 There is more in fodder trees than their nutritional values: local valuation of indigenous fodder trees and shrubs by pastoral and agrarian communities in northern Ethiopia To cite this article: Mulubrhan Balehegn, Lars Olav E...

Ficus thonningii (FT) is an important multipurpose fodder tree providing economic and ecological benefits across arid and semi-arid areas in Africa. Despite its availability in many Sub-Saharan African countries, there is lack of information on its effect on animal productivity. Twenty-four male weaned highland goats of age 7 ± 1.5 months were rand...

Ficus thonningii is a multipurpose browse tree in northern Ethiopia. Despite its importance, techniques for quantifying its browsable biomass have not been developed. To develop best-estimation equations, the dendrometric parameters total height (H), crown height (CH), crown diameter (CD), diameter at stump height (DSH), diameter at breast height (...

This study was aimed at the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from manure management in rural and urban dairy cattle production in Enderta and Mekelle, northern Ethiopia. Data was collected through a semi-structured questionnaire and greenhouse gas emission was estimated using IPCC Tier II methodology. Dairy herd structure, feed resou...

Ruminant livestock production is among the most controversial land uses and elements of our global food system today. In large part this is because the environmental and social/cultural contexts in which these systems emerged and persist-and the outcomes of livestock production for nature and people-are extraordinarily varied. Yet, sustainability r...

Ruminant livestock production is among the most controversial land uses and sectors of our global food system today. It also may be the most consequential, impacting half the land on earth, supporting over 1B people directly, and bearing responsibility for significant greenhouse gas emissions. This sector must be part of food systems transformation...

Ruminant livestock production is the most varied, complex, impactful, and controversial land use sector of our global food system today. Despite calls for improved sustainability across the sector, progress has been limited. Using a comparative qualitative analysis of ten expert-led case studies from diverse agroecological regions and production sy...

This technical note describes the State of Climate Action series’ methodology for identifying sectors that must transform, translating these transformations into global mitigation targets primarily for 2030, 2035 and 2050 and selecting indicators with datasets to monitor annual change. It also outlines the report’s approach for assessing progress m...

Context Energy requirements in sheep can vary significantly due to various factors, including age, breed, sex and environmental conditions. Genetic selection and crossbreeding further contribute to this variability. Although guidelines from the US and UK national research councils are commonly used for formulating sheep diets, they may not adequate...

Livestock production is a major contributor to the national economy in Ethiopia, of which ruminants, particularly cattle, are the dominant and most important livestock species. Limited supply of quality feeds is a major constraint to the improvement of livestock production in Ethiopia. The expansion of agro-industries in Ethiopia, over the last thr...

The study was conducted to evaluate the yield performance of improved forage and food crops and to estimate the profitability of fodder and food crops in Holetta and Ejere areas, central highlands of Ethiopia during 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications and evaluated...

Introduction Maralfalfa grass ( Pennisetum spp.) is known for its high dry matter productivity and nutritive value. However, information on agronomic management practices to improve yield and nutritive value in Ethiopia is sparse. Materials and method The experiment consisted of 7 plant densities (33,333 [75 cm × 40 cm]; 26,667[75 cm × 50 cm]; 25,...

The effects of various treatment options on the nutritional value of wheat straw as well as the growth performance of crossbred calves fed the treated wheat straw were evaluated. Twenty-four female calves (75% Friesian-Borana), weighing 99.3 ± 19.7 kg (aged 6–9 months), were divided into four groups of six animals using a randomized complete block...

Eggs like other animal-source foods (ASFs), contain an array of macro and micronutrients that promote physical and cognitive growth, nutrition, and health outcomes. Hence, they can be used to reduce rampant undernutrition in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet consumption of eggs remains low in such countries for various reasons. Given the...

This technical note describes the State of Climate Action 2023’s methodology for identifying sectors that must transform, translating these transformations into global mitigation targets primarily for 2030 and 2050 and selecting indicators with datasets to monitor annual change. It also outlines the report’s approach for assessing progress made tow...

The State of Climate Action 2023 provides the world’s most comprehensive roadmap of how to close the gap in climate action across sectors to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It finds that recent progress toward 1.5°C-aligned targets isn’t happening at the pace and scale necessary and highlights where action must urgently accelerate this decade to red...

The objective of this meta-regression was to evaluate the effects of ruminant species, sex and climatic conditions on metabolizable energy (ME) requirements for maintenance (MEm) and weight gain (MEg) in small ruminants. Our literature database included 691 and 380 treatments means from 178 and 107 studies conducted in various climate conditions ga...

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is an important dual-purpose cereal crop cultivated primarily for fodder and moderately for food grain in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The degree of available genetic variation influences the effectiveness of the breeding program for improvement. This study was, therefore, designed to determine the extent of oat genetic...

Twenty-four oat genotypes were evaluated across nine environments using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The combined analysis of variance indicated that grain yield was significantly affected by genotype, environment, and GEI. The environment's main effect explained 44.62% of the total variation while the genotype and GE...

The performance of oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes usually fluctuates across environments due to variations in biotic and abiotic factors. Thus, a genotype by environment interaction (GEI) study was performed using additive main effects and multiplicative interactions (AMMI) analysis model to identify high grain yielding and stable genotypes. Tw...

The performance of oat genotypes differs across environment due to variations in biotic and abiotic factors. Thus, evaluation of oat genotypes across diverse environments is very important to identify superior and stable genotypes for yield improvement. The study was aimed at assessing the interaction (GEI) effect and determining the stability of g...

Assessing the extent of agro-morphological based genetic diversity using cluster and principal component analyses is very essential to exploit the differences in oat genotypes for proper utilization and further improvement in Ethiopia. The study aimed to generate information on agro-morphological variability among 120 oat genotypes. The study was d...

Efforts made so far to increase milk production of indigenous cattle by upgrading with exotic genotypes through crossbreeding under smallholder farmer conditions in Ethiopia have resulted in limited improvement. This study was conducted to determine if combining improved feed and management-related trainings with Holstein genetics will synergistica...

Dairy cattle production is an integral part of smallholder farming systems in the central highlands of Ethiopia, but it is characterized by low milk productivity mainly due to nutritional constraints. This study assessed the comparative advantage of using improved forage-based feeding system over the traditional feeding practices on feed intake, mi...

Over200 million children worldwide suffer from malnutrition and as a result areunderdeveloped both physically and mentally. Meat has more bioavailable essentialmicronutrients than plants and are the best source of nutrient-rich foods forchildren aged 6 to 23 mo according to the World Health Organization. Studies onthe role of meat on cognitive func...

Availability of quality feed is a major constraint for livestock production in Burkina Faso. Despite previous efforts to test improved forages at research stations to overcome the dry‐season feed gap, little has been done to promote them as cash crops that can contribute to meeting the growing feed demand in the country. This study was undertaken t...

The issue of ‘predatory publishing’, and indeed unscholarly publishing practices, affects all academics and librarians around the globe. However, there are some flaws in arguments and analyses made in several papers published on this topic, in particular those that have relied heavily on the blacklists that were established by Jeffrey Beall. While...

Limited supply of quality feed is the most important factor limiting livestock productivity in many sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries. Having a systematic inventory of available feed resources, identifying main challenges and potentials for improvement is the first step towards designing development strategies to improve feed quality and quantity...

Forage conservation is an important potential solution to seasonal variation in feed quality and quantity and herder‐farmer conflicts in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Considerable variations exist in the type of forages conserved and the preservation methods across SSA. Hay from cultivated forages is commonly made with mechanical mowers and balers by l...

Livestock systems play a key role in the sustainability and livelihood of sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The human population in SSA is rapidly increasing, resulting in steady growth in the demand for animal‐sourced foods (ASF). Most current agricultural production practices in SSA coupled with poor management, health challenges and indigenous breeds, r...

Fodders are the major feed resource in Ethiopia. This study was conducted to assess biomass production and nutritive value of fodder resources in Ethiopia. A total of 34 scientific papers and 30 Central Statistical Agency (CSA) (Ethiopia) reports for biomass production, and 249 scientific papers for nutritive value were used for this study. The bio...

In Burkina Faso, availability of quality feed is the major constraint on livestock productivity. Adoption of improved cereal cultivars among farmers could enhance fodder supply. This study assessed the potential for improved cereal cultivars to provide food and feed. The study sites were located in the Köppen climate Zone B (Katchari and Saria) and...

Livestock productivity and the resulting economic benefits for smallholder farmers are constrained by a limited supply of quality feed. Gender influences both the drivers and constraints for feed technology adoption as well as the distribution of benefits from feed technologies; however, research with gender‐disaggregated data related to livestock...

Despite a long history promoting improved forages, their adoption in sub‐Saharan Africa remains limited. Identifying cultivars and developing the right agronomic practices suited to specific forage systems can help reduce the feed gap in this region. This 2‐yr study was performed under rainfed conditions at the Institute of Environment and Agricult...

Limited supply of quality feed is the most common problem limiting livestock productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Routine feed evaluation is indispensable for formulating balanced rations, feed characterization, safety, and minimizing the environmental impact of livestock. Traditional wet chemistry has not met this demand in SSA because it is...

Limited supply of quality feed is the most common problem limiting livestock productivity in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Routine feed evaluation is indispensable for formulating balanced rations, feed characterization, safety, and minimizing the environmental impact of livestock. Traditional wet chemistry has not met this demand in SSA because it is...

Northern Ethiopia has been historically affected by recurrent and extended droughts. Repeated droughts during the early eighties have caused mass starvation, death and migration. However, amid those horrendous calamities and suffering, some villages in the dry mountainous areas of northern Ethiopia were capable of not only escaping the ills of drou...

This is a synthesis of findings of the role of Afar traditional knowledge on land management and weather forecasting.

The global increase in the demand for and production of animal-source foods (four-to five-fold increase between 1960 and 2015), which has been mostly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), provides smallholder livestock producers with an opportunity for improving their livelihoods and food and nutrition security. However, across l...

Purpose Different livestock production systems contribute to globally Greenhouse gas emission (GHG) emission differently. The aim of this paper is to understand variation in emission in different production systems and it is also important for developing mitigation interventions that work for a specific production system. Design/methodology/approa...

Pastoralist communities all over Africa have been facing a variety of social and economic problems, as well as climate risks and hazards for many years. They have also been suffering from climate change and extremes events, along with a variety of weather and climate threats, which pose many challenges to herders. On the one hand, pastoralist commu...

An experiment was carried out to study the effects of raw and roasted Prosopis juliflora pod (PJP) at different inclusion levels on egg laying performance. Bovans Brown layers (n=168), aged 24-weeks were used in a completely randomized design with seven treatments, each replicated three times with 8 birds per replicate. In the control treatment (CT...

This study was conducted in the Yabello district of Borana Zone in southern Ethiopia to assess the factors influencing the adoption of camel production. During the survey, various data collection techniques, such as household surveys, qualitative methods, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observation, were employed. O...

Traditional weather and climate forecasting is used by many indigenous communities worldwide as a guide in making important decisions that enable them cope and adapt to climate change-induced extreme weather variation. In many pastoral communities in Africa, traditional weather and climate forecasting remains the most accessible and affordable sour...

For many humanitarian and development actors, the household (HH) is presumed to represent the most appropriate social unit for aid delivery. However, scholars argue that it fails to represent the complex structures of the pastoralist family and living arrangements, and the temporal and spatial dynamics and variabilities of these including the place...

• Sustainable livestock systems contribute to food security,economic and environmental stewardship, and sociocultural needs and are vital for achieving most of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. • Livestock production contributes to sustainability through use of uncultivable land for food production, conversion of energy and protein...

Animal-sourced foods are the best source of nutrientrich foods for children aged 6 to 23 mo according to the World Health Organization. • Studies on the role of animal-sourced foods on cognitive functions are limited, but consistently show compelling benefits. • Animal-sourced food consumption can positively contribute to school performance in chil...

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the status of the open access (OA) movement on the African continent, and if there is any financial or moral exploitation by dominant “foreign” world powers. OA provided the African intellectual community with a tool to prove its academic prowess and an opportunity to display cultural and intellectual independence...

Indigenous people's cultural traditions of a community are embodiment of the philosophy of life of the community that owns them. Ashenda is a traditional women's cultural festival celebrated during the summer season in the last week of the month of August in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Due to the cultural capital, artistic appeal and aesthetic beaut...

The Tigray regional state in the northern part of Ethiopia has been severely affected by centuries of land degradation and climate change-induced recurrent drought and extreme weather variability. Government and people have, therefore, steadily implemented internationally recognized (Example at Rio 20 for Innovative Hunger Solutions and recently Go...

Traditional weather forecasting is a method applied by many indigenous communities worldwide to forecast the weather and guide daily livelihood decisions and climate change adaptation measures. The aim of this study was to investigate and document traditional weather forecasting practices among the Afar pastoralists of north-eastern Ethiopia, using...

A thriving black-market economy of scam scholarly publishing, typically referred to as ‘predatory publishing,’ threatens the quality of scientific literature globally. The scammers publish research with minimal or no peer review and are motivated by article processing charges and not the advancement of scholarship. Authors involved in this scam are...

Abstract Climate change affects different demographic groups differently. Pastoral women, being among the poorest of the poor, are expected to be highly vulnerable to climate change. However, empirical evidence on gender-differentiated vulnerability and adaptive capacity is limited. A triangulation of different techniques including focused group di...

African populations share a close relationship with, and are highly dependent on, biodiversity and ecosystem services. A major challenge lies in managing and governing this human-environment relationship for Africa’s transformation towards sustainability and resilience (high agreement, robust evidence). A wide variety of governance options exist in...

Atriplex nummularia (oldman saltbush) is widely planted on salt-affected land to provide a vegetative cover, which can be used as an alternative feed resource. The study was conducted to evaluate the replacement of commercial concentrate with oldman saltbush (SB) leaf on the feed intake, live weight gain, and carcass parameters of local sheep. Twen...

This is a short talk at the STI FORUM 2018 Third annual Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals 5 – 6 June 2018

Traditional weather forecasting is used by many indigenous communities worldwide to forecast weather and guide daily livelihood decisions and climate change adaptation measures. In many indigenous communities worldwide, such traditional weather forecasting still remains the only accessible and comprehensible source of weather and climate informatio...

Africa is facing both challenges and opportunities in pursuing sustainability. The nexus approach of Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CEL) is a promising way to seize the "power of integration" for achieving sustainability of the African continent. Based on taking stock of the work of various organizations especially the United Nations Environm...

Abstract: Communal rangelands provide diverse ecosystem services to millions of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. Resettling destitute communities into hitherto uninhabited communal rangelands and forests, a common practice throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, is a threat to the sustainable use of range and forest land resources. In order to understand...

Within the generic scope for the Regional Assessments of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the African assessment focusses on thematic priorities, including the food-energy-water-livelihood nexus; land degradation, including climate-related risks such as desertification and silting; catchment to coast; biodiversity conservation and sustainable u...

Food security and sustainable agricultural development are the hot issues of scientific research, especially after the population affected by hunger surprisingly increased in 2016. Long-lasting and recurrent famines caused by natural disasters and wars have afflicted Ethiopia. Unlike Ethiopia, which is still struggling to achieve food self-sufficie...

This case study describes the use of diverse water harvesting and water saving technologies to mitigate the effects of recurrent drought, extreme weather and general decline in moisture availability in the arid and semi-arid Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China. The technologies introduced include the use of 'protected' agriculture (e.g. greenhou...