ASSESSMENT OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION PRACTICES, FEED RESOURCES AND THEIR NUTRITIONAL VALUE IN DEGHABUR DISTRICT, SOMALI REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA.

The study was conducted in Deghabur district of Somali Regional State, with the objectives of generating base line information about the livestock husbandry practices, to identify the available feed resources. The study was undertaken in four purposely selected Peasant Associations (PAs) according to their road accessibility and potential for livestock population; total sample sizes of 120 household were used for the study. Semi structured questionnaires were held with pastoralists as well as group discussions followed data collected with the districts zonal offices. Feed sample was collected in dry and wet seasons. Livestock production plays an important role in pastoral area and pastoralists in the study district owned diversified livestock species that includes camels, Goats, Sheep, Cattle, Donkeys and Chickens but The overall mean of goat, sheep, camel, cattle, donkey and chicken owned by a household was 40, 25.49, 7.13, 2, 1.49 and 0.65, respectively. Goats and Sheep were the highly valuable livestock by the district followed by Camels. Livestock population in the study area was declining during the last three decades, due to feed shortage (rank 1), drought (rank 2), water scarcity (rank 3) and diseases (rank 4). Major livestock feed resources are rangeland pasture (50 and 79.2%) crop residue (15.7 and 8.3%), crop aftermath (10%), and indigenous fodder trees (70.8 and 61.7%) during dry and wet seasons, respectively. The DM content of range feed in the study areas was 90.7 and 92.0, in wet and dry season, respectively. There is no significant difference (P>0.05) in Dry matter of all feeds between seasons. The ash contents ranged from 10.91% during rainy season to 7.86% during dry season. No significant difference (P > 0.05) in ash contents was observed between the range feeds at different seasons. The CP content of range feed was significantly different (P