Better lives through livestock
Silvopastoralism and Welfare of Farmed
Animals in Ethiopia
Gezahegn Alemayehu, Tsega Berhe, Eyob Gelan, Mulugeta Mokria and Rebecca Doyle
Training and Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Animal Welfare, Halaba , Ethiopia
1-2 September 2021

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Improved farmed animal welfare for one wellbeing
 Protecting the welfare of farmed animals has
entered the public policy mainstream in many
countries.
 Formal animal welfare legislation remains largely
absent in many countries inc. Ethiopia.
 Animal welfare is increasingly recognized as
important ‘beyond animal’.

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Improved farm animal welfare cont.
 There is a strong link between animal welfare,
human wellbeing and the environment.
 The academic, advocacy and policy debates on
these issues have remained notably
disconnected.
 Policy debates mainly revolve around the
concepts of animal health and welfare but not
on their synergies between these important
societal priorities.

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The 5 freedom for Animals
Freedom from discomfort and exposure

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Synergizing animal welfare with agroforestry for sustainable
development
Agroforestry has proven
potentials to improve animal
welfare and human wellbeing

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Farm Animal welfare challenges in Ethiopia
Agro-silvopastoral is getting a global recognition as it directly
contributes to the four (4) principles of animal welfare:

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Advocating
good welfare
Behavioral
change
Investing
on good
welfare
Scaling up
Generating
evidence
Welfare
improvement
intervention

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Generating evidence -Welfare assessment
• Feed and water resource
• Housing
• Husbandry practices
• Environmental
• Health services
Resource based
indicators
• Body Condition Score
• Youngstock mortality
• Social withdrawal
• Excessive itching
• Wool cleanliness
• Respiratory problems
• Lameness
Animal based
indictors
Welfare
indicators

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Feed resource
0 50 100
Improved forages
Natural grasses/pasture
Hay
Straws/crop residue
Grains/concentrates
Root crops
Vegetable residue
%
feed
type
good access limited access
Freedom from
malnutrition???

10
Husbandry
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
In the stable
Within the fence
On my private grazing land
On communal grazing land
Walking to/between fields
In the forest (non-cultivated)
In the forest (cultivated)
Total Humbo Dugda

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Private and
communal grazing
areas are taken by
crop farming

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Water sources
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
River Spring Borehole Hand-dug Dugout,
Ponds, Lakes,
etc
Tap water
limited access good access

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Housing

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Environment

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Environment
50%, 40%, 27% and 43% farmers tethered
cattle, sheep, goat and donkey

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Animal based indicators–mixed system(cattle)
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
Pastoral Mixed

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Animal based indicators –sheep/goat

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Animal based indicators –donkey

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Human wellbeing
67.5
92.31
unable to eat healthy and nutritious food
mixed pastoral
72.5
88.89
ate only a few kinds of foods
mixed pastoral

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Income source
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
LTA GTA
Livestock Agroforestry

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Knowledge, Attitude and practice
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
It is important to assess the health and welfare of my
animals every day
Animals have feelings just like humans.
My animals are happy and healthy
Animals need to feel safe in my care if they are to be
happy and healthy
The way I care for my animals doesn’t affect how they
grow/produce
Untreated injuries are bad for the wellbeing and
productivity of my animals
Without enough water, my animals will not grow as well
or produce as much milk
Animals cannot suffer from physical pain
pastoral mixed

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Knowledge, Attitude and practice
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
My animals get enough feed every day
Having the ability to graze freely is important for my
animals
My animals need sufficient, clean and comfortable area
to lie down.
I am confident getting my animals to move where I
want
My animals will learn more from being hit than
instructed.
I cannot influence how healthy my animals are
My animals are happy and healthy
It is important to me that I care for my animals well
pastoral Mixed

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Knowledge, Attitude and practice
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
I need to beat my animals to get them to do what
I want
I consult with a trained health service provider
when my animal is sick or injured
My animals can drink water whenever they want
It is common for my adult animals to get sick
My animals are exposed to heat or kept in poor
housing
Some of my animals suffer from lameness
pastoral mixed

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Advocating good animal welfare
 Advocating good animal welfare for professionals, students, farming and
policy community to foster positive attitudes.
 The welfare of farmed animals needs to mainstreamed in public policy and
integrated current government green legacy tree plating project.
 Animal welfare legislation need to articulate the emergent concerns for the
relationship between human and animal health and welfare

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Behavioral change
 Training for experts and extension agents
 Community conversation
 Famers’ days to visit best practices
 Animal welfare working group
 Community of practice at lower level

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Investing on good animal welfare
Farmer-centered knowledge and skill-hub
 Context specific, evidence driven, practice oriented and
cost-effective innovation to improve farmed animal welfare
Extension system structure and policy framework/roadmap.
 Option by context and objective-based regreening &
agroforestry practices in all development endeavors

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Scaling up
 Documenting best practices and cost-effectiveness
of the intervention
 The opportunities and trade-offs of
slivopastoralsim systems can be promoted in a way
that ensures the benefits to animals, farmers and
the environment.
 Scaling up to other potential sites.
 Imbedded into national extension system

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Concluding remark
Livelihood oriented:
1. Poverty and Hunger
2. Inequity (rights, gender, access)
3. Malnutrition and human health
4. Energy scarcity
Animal welfare oriented
1. Feeding and nutrition
2. poor housing/shelter
3. Animal health service
4. Stresses
Landscape (environment) oriented:
1. Land degradation & Climate change
2. Deforestation and habitat loss
3. Water scarcity
4. Biodiversity loss
1. Context specific; evidence driven,
practice-oriented solutions for all
development intervention.
2. Objective based restoration or
regreening practices.
3. Silvopasture practices as power for
promoting agroforestry practices and
restoration of degraded areas so that
the animal welfare and productivity
will get ensured sustainably
By
using

Thank you!