Beef Cattle Fattening Practices, Constraints and Opportunities

Abstract

Beef cattle fattening is one of the newly incipient activities. It is a common practice in Ethiopia and special attention was given by the government to boost red meat supply through cattle fattening. In addition to its importance, little is known about its fattening practices, constraints, and opportunities in various parts of Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to review beef cattle fattening practices, constraints, and opportunities in Ethiopia. Cattle fattening is an increasing business at different scales in Ethiopia. Traditional fattening system, Hararghe fattening, and by product-based fattening system are the three common types of beef cattle fattening system in Ethiopia. Farm gates, purchased, owned herd, local market and local farmers are the major source of animals for fattening in Ethiopia. River, tap water, Pond, Rain fall, well water, spring and piped are the key water sources for beef cattle fattening. However, watering frequency is typically depending on feed type, temperature of the environment, age of the animal and usage of the animal for different purposes. Smallholder and commercial producers in the country used multiple selection criteria for fattening of cattle, which includes breed type, physical appearance, castration, sex, age, health and initial price, body condition, coat color and horn size as the major ones. The duration of fattening period varies according to the type of agro-ecology, breed, feeding type, age of animals, sex. Diseases, shortages of feed and water, lack of veterinary services, droughts, market problem and infrastructure, health problems, lack of capital, feed price increment, land Scarcity and genetic factor are among the constraints that hamper efficient beef fattening in the country. However, the major opportunities that enhance beef cattle fattening were demand of meat by consumers, the availability of customers, weather condition, and better housing system, society to be part of the sector, irrigation practices, and breed availability, indigenous beef cattle fattening knowledge and managements, cultural medication of fattening cattle. Therefore, it can be concluded that to improve and motivate beef cattle fattening in the country, the constraints must be solved through focusing on credit provision, strategic disease control, solve feed shortage, market problem and infrastructure, health problems, lack of capital, feed price increment, land Scarcity and genetic improvement.