Women and youth-led feed enterprises building resilience
The resilience of integrated farming systems relies on keeping essential links among their components. In Ethiopia's Doyogena district, the most vulnerable part of the sheep-enset mixed farming system is the availability of feed during the dry season.
- mixed farming
- Ethiopia
The resilience of integrated farming systems relies on keeping essential links among their components. In Ethiopia's Doyogena district, the most vulnerable part of the sheep-enset mixed farming system is the availability of feed during the dry season. When this connection fails, it leads to reduced livestock productivity, decreased income, and a weakened relationship between crops and livestock systems.
The youth and women-led feed commercialization initiative, catalyzed by the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), is strengthening this weak point. It transforms underutilized farm resources into marketable commodities that keep the system functioning even during the dry season.
“I was previously unemployed. It was then that l noticed a gap in the feed market. During the dry season, the demand for feed from youth and women-led sheep fattening cooperatives increased drastically. I started collecting grass and enset by-products to sell as feed. The demand is consistently high, and my business is doing well. I could never have imagined this venture would turn into a viable business!”.
A Market-driven solution emerges
The local feed commercialization initiative helped farmers to realize that the solution to seasonal feed gaps was already within their reach. The resources they needed, such as conserved grass from the rainy season, enset processing by-products, crop residues, and mineral-rich soil, had always been available. The feed mechanization tools and technical knowledge introduced through ICARDA's Smart Pack intervention empowered farmers, especially women and youth, to turn these materials into marketable products, thereby fostering a local animal feed economy. Women and youth, who are often more flexible in exploring new economic opportunities, began selling feed, particularly during the dry season.
“Feed shortage was always a challenge during dry seasons. My sheep lost body condition and income decreased. After the local feed market was established, I could purchase enset by-products. I now keep my animals productive year-round.” Aschalew Yohaness.
More than feed: Building system resilience
The effect of this local feed market extends far beyond animal nutrition. It is reinforcing the entire farming system in multiple ways.
- Strengthening the livestock-crop linkage: When livestock remain productive throughout the dry season, the system that depends on them also remains productive. The system's core connection, the link between productive livestock, income for living expenses, and inputs for crop production, remains strong even under climate stress.
- Creating economic opportunities: Feed commercialization has created new income streams particularly for women and the youth. The animal feed business keeps money circulating within the community, building both local and agricultural resilience.
- Closing the productivity gap: Reliable access to quality feed during critical periods helps animals maintain body condition, achieve better growth rates, and support fertility fertile. This directly mitigates the seasonal constraints on livestock productivity.
- Building climate buffers: By introducing a market-based mechanism to cushion seasonal feed scarcity, it builds a buffer against climate variability. When dry seasons are prolonged or more severe, the feed market responds, helping the farming system absorb the shock.
At the Doyogena market, a woman sells mineral-rich soil, a crucial livestock feed supplement during the dry season. This traditional practice improves the palatability of crop residues, boosting animal performance and providing a sustainable livelihood for the seller.
Lessons for Agricultural Development
The Doyogena experience offers powerful insights for agricultural development. The more resilient solutions often emerge from within farming systems, leveraging local resources. By empowering women and youth to lead market-based innovations, communities can do more than cope with challenges; they can transform them into opportunities.
Feed commercialization in Doyogena isn't just about keeping livestock. It is strengthening the connections that make integrated farming systems work. It is creating jobs and income. It is fostering the kind of resilience that is rooted from within the community itself. More importantly, it is driven by a new generation of entrepreneurs who see opportunity where others see only challenge.
This article draws on insights from fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia as part of a PhD study at Wageningen University in collaboration with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and Global Research On Worldwide Challenges (GROW), The study is co-funded by the EU through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND programme.
We acknowledge partial funding from two CGIAR Science Programs; The Sustainable Farming Program and the Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods Program. We would like to thank all funders who support this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund: www.cgiar.org/funders.
Author: Muluken Zeleke1, muluken.ekule@wur.nl with contributions from
K. Descheemaeker1, L. Aart1, B. Rischkowsky2, J. Wamatu2
1 Wageningen University
2. International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
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