Training need assessment report on livestock feed and forage production and utilization Birhan Abdulkadir | Million Gebreyes | Kindu Mekonnen International Livestock Research Institute Report Training need assessment report on livestock feed and forage production and utilization BACKGROUND ON THE INITIATION OF THE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT NEED ASSESSMENT The capacity development need assessment initiative is part of the feed and forage innovation value chain of the Accelerating Impact of CGIAR Climate Research in Africa (AICCRA) project of Ethiopian. AICCRA is a three years (2021-2023) project that operates in six African countries including Ethiopia. The project is supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank and will enhance research and capacity-building activities by CGIAR and its partners. AICCRA in Ethiopia aims to strengthen the capacity of targeted national partners and stakeholders of CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa to access and implement at scale validated climate-smart agriculture technologies, climate information services, and climate-informed digital ag-advisories to build the resilience of agri-food systems. The value chains considered for AICCRA project in Ethiopia include beans, wheat, small ruminant and livestock feed and forge options. The AICCRA project in Ethiopia has eight research activities. Livestock feed and forage options value chain contributes to four of the eight activities, which include capacity building to support implementation of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technology packages; identification of climate- and gender and social inclusion-smartness of CSA packages; prioritization and awareness increase of best-bet CSA options and approaches for key value chains; and integration of climate-smart options and tailored CSI advisory systems for specific value chains. The current report on capacity need assessment is one of the three deliverables that the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Africa RISING research team promised to produce and submit for AICCRA-Ethiopia project in 2021. Livestock feed and forage situation in the highlands of Ethiopia Despite having one of the highest number of livestock in Africa, the Ethiopian traditional livestock management system is not responding to the expected contributions of the sector. Difficulties of getting reliable and quality livestock feed resources, poor post-harvest feed handling, and utilization practices are critical constraints of Ethiopia’s livestock sector, along with other key constraints such as animal health and breeding services (Mekonnen et al. 2021). The feed resource base in the mixed farming system of the Ethiopian highlands has been declining due to the continual conversion of grazing lands to arable lands and concomitant loss of fertility/land degradation on the remaining pasture lands. This has forced farmers to heavily rely on feeding crop residues to their livestock. For a sustainable improvement in crop-livestock productivity, it is therefore imperative to improve the feed resource base of the mixed farming system in the highlands by introducing well-adapted and high yielding fodder crops and efficient utilization practices (Mekonnen et al. 2021). 2 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N The Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) project in the Ethiopian highlands has introduced integrated feed and forage development interventions such as cultivated forages, fodder trees, improved feeding troughs, feed conservation practices and storage sheds in the Ethiopian highlands to address livestock feed and forage related challenges that can contribute to the improvement of livestock productivity, income diversification and household nutrition (https://africa- rising.net/ethiopian-highlands/). While Africa RISING feed and forage research and scaling work reached significant number of beneficiaries, there are plenty of rooms for improvement and scaling. A recent paper by Mekonnen et al (2021) on Africa RISING achievements highlighted the importance of continued capacity building for farmers and extension staff to create awareness and build their technical capacity. The authors also highlighted the importance of taking an integrated approach that addresses policy, planning and operation related constraints of feed and forage innovations. Further scaling, the authors argued, also requires tackling critical bottlenecks such as the weak forage seed system requiring special attention. The AICCRA initiative aims at building on Africa RISING and related CGIAR based feed and forage innovations in Ethiopia and scaling them in wider geographies and beneficiaries. The feed and forage innovation scaling component of the initiative has various components including technical capacity building through tailored training, assessing climate-smartness and social inclusiveness of feed and forage innovations, developing risk communication materials for various media and platforms among others. This report presents scaling activities related to the first component of the initiative, capacity building through tailored training programs for farmers, extension, media and finance related partners. This report aims at reporting the results of the training needs assessment study conducted among various partners and the implications of the results for the training module preparation. Framing the training needs assessment Before starting off a training, trainers need to conduct training needs assessment even when the training needs seem apparent. Brown (2002) identified four reasons why it is worth to conduct training needs assessment. First, training needs assessment could help to identify specific problem areas in an organization that could get solved through training. Second, training needs assessments could help in securing essential management support for planned training programs. Third, when properly done, training needs assessments could help in data collection on changes brought about by training delivery. Finally, training needs assessments could help in justifying the benefit of training vis-à-vis the costs involved. A training need is said to be a gap between current and desired results. The needs may arise at outcome, output and/or product levels. Gaps could also be categorized in terms of ‘means’, including process and input. The process aspect includes methods, approaches, and interaction. The input aspect includes resources required. In broad terms training needs assessment is a process for identifying training needs and placing them in priority (Iqbal and Khan 2011). Depending on resources availability and buy-in from management, training needs assessment could take either light or deep forms. The light forms could be informal needs assessments through observation and informal meetings with employees and managers. The deep forms could take a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Both the light and deep forms of training needs assessment could be done at organization, task or individual levels (Priyadarshini and Dave, 2012). Qualitative data collection methods such as observations, key informant interviews and focus group discussions could be used to 3 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N explore competency gaps and training needs. The findings of the qualitative study could then be used to generate quantitative data collection tools using survey methods (Brown, 2002). Training needs assessment also has its critics. On the one hand, organizations often use strategic business/organizational needs, not the results of a training needs assessment (TNA) to develop training plans. Hence, there is a need to convince line managers to conduct a training needs assessment even when it appears like they already seem to know the training they need for their employees. On the other hand, trainings are only one alternative to solve organizational problems. TNAs may lead to proposition of training as the only/main solution. That is why training needs assessments need to involve at least two phases. The study comprising of two phases. The first, diagnostic phase identifies inconsistencies among performance standard then ranks the inconsistencies by prioritizing them. The second curative phase finds out the root causes of the inconsistencies, and then decides on whether to use training, non-training or a combination of solutions (Iqbal and Khan 2011). OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING NEED ASSESSMENT The objectives of the training needs assessment were 1. To understand the technical capacity gaps of AICCRA climate-smart feed and forage sector partners 2. To get insight into the topics that need to be included in AICCRA training module preparation on climate-smart feed and forage innovations APPROACHING THE TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT The training needs assessment study consisted of desk review, qualitative assessment and quantitative survey. The desk review looked into various Africa RISING related documents such as bi-annual reports, presentations, posters and briefs to identify technical gaps that challenge the feed and forage innovation partners. The study then went on with an exploratory qualitative study with key informants (KI). Actors for KI were identified from various sectors directly and indirectly linked with Africa RISING livestock feed and forage production and utilization research and scaling initiatives. Accordingly, 19 KIs were drawn from the following: • Forage producing farmers • Cooperatives/unions engaged in forage seed multiplication • Extensions offices at regional, zonal and woreda levels • Research centres (Areka, Debre Birhan, Sinana, Holetta) • Universities (Debre Birhan, Wachemo and Madda Walabu) • Non-governmental organizations (Inter Aide, Send a Cow, SNV) • Microfinance institutions and banks • Private seed suppliers 4 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N • Media The qualitative study was followed by a structured survey. A structured web-based, quantitative survey questionnaire was developed using MS Forms and shared a link to respondents which can be easily opened on mobile phones or computers. A printed version questionnaire was also used to get the responses of farmers and other targeted stakeholders. The questionnaire included 14 broad questions and was categorized into two parts. The first part has covered general questions about respondents including their gender, age range, educational status, and contact details. The second part consisted of closed and open questions. The closed questions were designed to rate the 14 shortlisted training topics and to assess whether the respondents got training on the stated topics with 12 months. Respondents were asked to rate training topics using a five-point Likert scale, i.e., strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neutral (3), agree (4), and strongly agree (5) which have direct relevance and priority for their work. These training topics were summarized from the KIIs and considered important for multiple stakeholders to expand their knowledge, attitude and skills on the livestock feed and forage production and utilization. Besides, the open questions were devised to gather any training topics that might not be included in the list and any comments from the respondents. Descriptive statistics (i.e., mean and percentage) was used to analyse data from 109 respondents using MS Excel. FEED AND FORAGE SECTOR GAPS IDENTIFIED The exploratory qualitative study multiple challenges and gaps associated with the livestock feed and forage production and utilization. The followings were the main points captured from the KIIs (see Table 1 and 2 for details). • Attitude related gaps: Examples include, extensionists deprioritizing forage, livestock experts taking a reductionist approach to forage and farmers do not allocate enough land for forage production • Institutions and linkages related gaps: Examples include, forage experts do not approach scaling systematically and forage seed sources not linked with local use • Technical gaps: Examples include, skill gap in forage seed production, systematically assessing and using locally available feed and forage options, knowledge gap on forage preservation, integration of forage production and farm enterprises, climate-smart forage production, frost resistant feed and forage options, knowledge gap on seasonality of forage availability and limited capacity to plan for scare periods, price setting factors for forage seeds and fundraising and financing forage related initiatives. The negative statements in the challenges identified were then turned into a positive statements to identify the desired state. The desired states then were further analysed to identify those desired states that could be achieved by technical training intervention and those which require a non-training intervention. TABLE 1: Translating feed and forage problems into training topics Problems identified Turing problems to Training topics Training domain opportunities Lack of attention for feed and forage crops as Increase awareness of The livestock sector as Attitude compared to food cereals, bias towards cereal the importance of economic engine. crop productions forages 5 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N Taking livestock feeding and production as Develop a systemic A whole farm approach Attitude, separate issue, not integrated in the health, approach that links for forage production, Knowledge, skill, crop production, marketing, etc. livestock production including crop-livestock attitude with livestock health, integration marketing, crop production Lack of awareness on preservations of forages Create awareness on Awareness on feed and Awareness, and feed techniques preservation feed and forage preservation knowledge forage resources Land allocation scarcity for forages cultivation Improve allocation of Land allocation for Attitude, land for forage forage production knowledge production Limited awareness on improved forage Create awareness on Awareness creation on Attitude production and utilization improved forage improved forage production and production utilization High turnover of experts/DAs Limited scaling of proven feed and forage Improve scaling of Scaling approaches for Knowledge and technologies proved feed and feed and forage skill forage technologies technologies Improved dairy cow, fattening and poultry Link diary and Integrating feed and Attitude, promotion without giving much focus on feed fattening business with forage technologies in knowledge and and forage sources feed and forage farm enterprises skill technologies Scarcity of forage species that adapt to climate Introduce climate- Climate-smart feed Knowledge variabilities and pest infestations smart and disease and forage resistant forage technologies species Feeding of forages at mid-stage without keeping Improve forage seed Forage seed Attitude, for final harvest for seeds. Difficult to maintain production production: Technical knowledge and seeds after feeding in vegetative stages. and institutional skill considerations Scarcity of improved forage planting materials/ Improve access to Sources of forage Knowledge initial seeds forage planting planting materials and materials access issues Technical gaps on utilization of locally available Narrow technical gaps Assessment of local Knowledge, skill forages on locally available feed and forage forages availability and utilization Lack of improved forages for frost resistances Select frost resistant Forest resistant Knowledge forage species and forages and management practices management options Unbalanced mixing rates of concentrate feeds Use of balanced Balancing concentrate Knowledge and concentrated mix feed mix skill Low nutritional content of cereal crop residues Enhance nutritional Enhancement of Knowledge and value of crop residues nutritional value of skill crop residues Lack of knowledge of proper utilization of crop Improve knowledge on Utilization of crop Knowledge and residues utilization of crop residues for animal skill residues for feed feed Information scarcity on the period of feed Improve knowledge on Building seasonal Knowledge and accessibility throughout the year. seasonality of feed and calendar for feed skill forage availability availability Lack of planning and preservation of forage for Develop a plan for feed Planning for forage Knowledge and scarcity season. and forage seasons scarce seasons skill 6 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N High price of forage seeds and concentrate Reduce price of forage Knowledge on Knowledge feeds seeds and concentrate strategies on reducing feeds the cost of forage seed production Access to small grants (e.g., fattening, input Improve access to Fundraising and Knowledge and purchases, etc.) finance and funds financing for feed and skill forage enhancement Supporting farmers in handling to financial Improve farmers Micro-finance for feed Knowledge transaction access to microfinance and forage for feed and forage production Difficult to reach farmers directly with finance Enhance farmers direct Awareness creation on Knowledge Financial policies and procedures prepared but access to finance the financial landscape not yet well communicated well with potential Local finance officers that could support feed and forage beneficiaries are well versed with innovations and Difficulty to use movable agricultural machinery recent finance livestock enterprises (i.e., thresher) as collateral regulations Movable agricultural machinery used as collateral TABLE 2. Gaps identified and initial ideas for training topics. The gaps identified Training topics Training domains Attitude related gaps - The importance of Primarily attitude, - Extensionists deprioritize forage livestock sectors as - Livestock experts take a reductionist approach to economic engine, Secondary knowledge forage - Basic introduction to the importance of feed and Farmers do not allocate enough land for forage forage for better livestock production productivity - Approaching feed and forage production holistically Farmland allocation for forage production Institutions and linkages related gaps - Scaling approaches for Primary: knowledge - Forage experts do not approach scaling feed and forage systematically technologies Secondary: skill Forage seed sources not linked with local use Understanding forage seed supply system Technical gaps - Forage seed production Primary: Knowledge and - Skill gap in forage seed production - Forage preservation Skill - Knowledge gap on forage preservation methods - Knowledge gap in integration of forage production - Integrating feed and Secondary: Attitude and farm enterprises forage technologies in - Knowledge gap on climate-smart forage production farm enterprises - Skill gap in systematically assessing and using locally - Climate-smart feed and available feed and forage options forage technologies - Assessment of local feed Knowledge gap in frost resistant feed and forage options and forage availability and utilization 7 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N Forest resistant forage technology options Capacity gap in crop residue and feed concentrate use - Using crop residue for Primary: Knowledge and livestock feed Skill - Enhancing nutritional value of crop residue Secondary: Attitude Balancing concentrate feed mix for livestock production Knowledge gap on seasonality of forage availability and - Building seasonal calendar Primary: Knowledge limited capacity to plan for scare periods for feed availability Secondary: Skill Planning for forage scarce seasons Knowledge gap on price setting factors for forage seeds Strategies to reduce the cost Knowledge of forage seed production and marketing Capacity gap on fundraising and financing forage related - Fundraising for feed and Primary: Knowledge initiatives forage enhancement - Micro-finance for feed and Secondary: Skill forage promotion Understanding financial landscape that could support feed and forage innovations and livestock enterprises Identification of a list of training topics After thorough discussions among the research team, the following training topic were generated to address the challenges indicated by key informants. These topics were grouped under four categories (Table 3). Note that some of the topics generated from turning the desired states into training topics (Table 2) were dropped. Some of the topics were found to be better solved with non-training interventions. Other topics were found redundant and were replaced by a broader training topic category. This is an essential step in a training needs analysis (Iqbal and Khan 2011). TABLE 3. Topics proposed to address capacity gaps related to livestock feed and forage production and utilization chain. The gaps identified Training topics General 1. Introduction of feed and forage technologies for better livestock productivity 2. Importance of livestock sector as economic engine 3. Strategies to increase land for forage production 4. Integrating feed and forage technologies into the farm enterprises Technologies related 5. Climate-smart forage production and utilization methods 6. Ration formulation for various livestock production systems 7. post-harvest feed management and preservation technologies 8 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N 8. Assessment tools/techniques of local feed and forage resources 9. Crop residue nutritional improvement methods/ techniques 10. Methods for planning annual feed requirements Seed production related 11. Feed and forage seed production techniques 12. Strategies to reduce the cost of forage seed production and marketing Scaling and business related 13. Scaling approaches for feed and forage technologies 14. Finance and fund mobilization for feed and forage development Description of respondents The quantitative survey returned responses 109. Out of the total respondents, 15% were female and 85% were male. Out of the total, 25% of the respondents were age 20-30, 33% age 31-40, 31% age 41-50, and 11% age 51-60 years old (see Figure 1). The educational status indicated, 15% Diploma, 35% BSc, 28% MSc, 5% PhD, and 17% other. Other educational status, which aggregates all the education status below Diploma, i.e. high school, and also adult educations. Professionally 20% were farmers, 20% DAs, 20% Zonal/district experts, 8% regional/federal experts, 14% researcher/Lecturers, 6% private sector, 6% media, 6% non-governmental organizations (NGO) (see Figure 2). Figure 1. Gender and age category distributions of the respondents (n=109). Figure 2. Educational status and professional categories of the respondents (n=109). Ratings of training needs 9 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N The analysis of the survey reveals that the listed training topics are agreed by 90% of the overall respondents (see Figure 3). This is not surprising given that the initial list for ranking was generated through an exploratory qualitative study. The result shows strong interest in getting evidence on the importance of livestock sector as an economic engine, making forage production climate-smart and means of securing more land for forage cultivation. Figure 3. Respondents rate the training topics using the Likert scale (1-5). Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% T01 35% 56% T02 34% 58% T03 39% 53% T04 39% 51% T05 39% 56% T06 45% 43% T07 44% 46% T08 52% 34% T09 47% 39% T10 54% 38% T11 40% 49% T12 40% 50% T13 46% 47% T14 40% 45% Where T01 1. Introduction to feed and forage technologies for better livestock productivity T02 2. Importance of livestock sector as economic engine T03 3. Strategies to increase land for forage production T04 4. Integrating feed and forage technologies into the farm enterprises T05 5. Climate-smart forage production and utilization methods T06 6. Ration formulation for various livestock production systems T07 7. Post-harvest feed management and preservation technologies T08 8. Assessment tools/techniques of local feed and forage resources T09 9. Crop residue nutritional improvement methods/ techniques T10 10. Methods for planning annual feed requirements T11 11. Feed and forage seed production techniques T12 12. Strategies to reduce the cost of forage seed production and marketing T13 13. Scaling approaches for feed and forage technologies T14 14. Finance and fund mobilization for feed and forage development There is no great difference between men and women respondents in the overall importance of the different training topics identified in the exploratory. However, the visual data presented below shows some contrasts (Figure 4). For example, one could see a lot more men than women who responded 10 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N neutral or even disagree with the training topics identified. This reveals a general observation that men often are more exposed to training programs on forage and other innovations. Figure 4. Training needs disaggregated by gender. Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Female Male The age disaggregated data also showed a slight difference. Although it is in no way possible to claim statistical significance, the visual difference between the different age group shows that more and more older people felt indifferent about the importance of the training topics identified during the exploratory stage (Figure 5). This could be explained by the fact that the older respondents had more exposure for technical training than their younger counterparts. Figure 5. Training needs assessment disaggregated by age. Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 20-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 The disaggregation of training needs by professional category also shows a little bit of difference (Figure 6). As expected, those below a diploma status wanted most of the trainings. A little more people with BSc, MSc and PhD holders than diploma and less holders seem to rate training topics neutral or even disagree. However, note that these comparisons are not based on statistical tests. 11 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N T01 T02 T01 T03 T04 T02 T05 T06 T03 T07 T08 T04 T09 T10 T05 T11 T12 T06 T13 T14 T07 T01 T02 T08 T03 T04 T09 T05 T06 T10 T07 T08 T11 T09 T10 T12 T11 T12 T13 T13 T14 T14 T01 T02 T01 T03 T04 T02 T05 T06 T03 T07 T08 T04 T09 T10 T05 T11 T12 T06 T13 T14 T07 T01 T02 T08 T03 T04 T09 T05 T06 T10 T07 T08 T11 T09 T10 T12 T11 T12 T13 T13 T14 T14 Figure 6. Training needs assessment disaggregated by educational status. Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Diploma BSc MSc PhD Other The final disaggregation was done along professional lines. This seems to be the more diverse categorization as the preferences of respondents in the different groups showed some variation (Figure 7). For example, for respondents in media, the topic on economic importance of the livestock sector scored high and technically topics such as crop residue treatment scored less. Respondents in the NGO sector disfavour the introductory sections and want more on areas of reducing the cost of production of forages. The private sector actors seemed to like more topics such as how to enhance their access to land and integrate forages in their farm enterprises and on climate proofing their forage production. They registered less interest particularly on crop residue treatment. For the researchers the topic on the economic importance of livestock were less favoured and topics in the areas of scaling and financing, climate proofing forage production and integration of forage in farm enterprises were more favoured. The farmer and extension groups have a more equivalent preference of all the topics identified in the exploratory needs assessment. 12 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 Figure 7. Training needs assessment by professional category. Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Extension Farmer Media NGO Private Researcher/Lect Respondents were asked whether they took any training (at least one or more) related to the listed training topics within 12 months. About 41% of the respondents answered they received at least one or more refresher trainings (Figure 8). Out of these, most indicated “Introduction to feed and forage technologies for better livestock productivity”. And the other 59% respondents didn’t get any form of training related to the listed topics (Figure 8). It is important to note that topics such as finance and fund mobilization, forage planning tools, scaling approaches and costing forage production scored the lowest rating of pervious training attendance. Figure 8. Respondents received training from the listed topics within 12 months. 13 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 T01 T03 T05 T07 T09 T11 T13 IMPLICATIONS As stated in the objective section, the purpose of conducting the training needs assessment was to get an insight into the current gaps in desired state of feed and forage innovations and identify training topics. The exploratory qualitative study identified the core aspects of the train needs of various actors in feed and forage innovations. The subsequent quantitative study confirmed the findings of the qualitative study, showing over 90% agreement among respondents in the training topics identified in the qualitative study. Further deliberation among the research team on the findings of the training needs assessment study led to development of tentative list of training topics. Here again, it was found important to combine a number of topics into a more meaningful category. Some of the topics identified in the training needs assessment such as the issue of climate-smartness were decided to be cross cutting issue. Some of the training topics such as introductory topics on the importance of the livestock sector and available feed and forage options are decided to be given for media people only. The training topic on forage seed production is dedicated for private business on forage seed production. These are all practical reasons taken into account in translating the training needs assessment into training content development. The tentative category of list of training topics include cultivated forage production and utilization, crop residue nutritional improvement methods/techniques, methods for planning annual feed requirements, ration formulation for smallholder dairy cattle, scaling and financing feed and forage innovations, Forage seed and planting material production techniques and basic introduction to the livestock sector and feed and forage innovations. TABLE 4. Working training topics and initial training content development Target groups Capacity development focus areas for module preparation Extension 1. Cultivated forage production and utilization: Target area: Highland mixed crop-livestock system - Enterprise: Smallholder dairy - Major annual and perennials: Growth requirements, growing niches, agronomic practices o Annuals: Oat, vetch, cowpea, lablab, fodder beet o Perennials: Brachiaria , Desho grass, Napier grass, alfalfa, Rhodes grass, Tree lucerne - Utilization o Harvesting methods o Feeding practice Conservation methods 2. Crop residue nutritional improvement methods/techniques - Description of available options for the highland Ethiopia: - Opportunities and challenges - Available technological options 3. Methods for planning annual feed requirements - Scope: General introduction to available methods such as FAO 1987 protocol/ tools such as FEEDBASE (feed supply and demand assessment) 4. Ration formulation for smallholder dairy cattle (to be worked on with Melkamu) - Target area: Highland mixed crop-livestock system - Enterprise: Smallholder dairy 14 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N - Focus: On Farm Feed Advisory Tool o Practical introduction and calibration of the tool Feed budgeting 5. Scaling and financing feed and forage innovations - Scaling approaches o Basic concepts of scaling of feed and forage innovations o Basics of multi-stakeholder engagement for feed and forage development o Developing and facilitating scaling strategy for feed and forage innovations - Fundraising and financing o Resource mobilization for feed and forage innovations scaling Forage seed producers Forage seed and planting material production techniques - Target forages- o Annuals: Oat, vetch, cowpea, lablab, fodder beet o Perennials: Brachiaria, Desho grass, Napier grass, alfalfa, Rhode’s grass, tree lucerne - Agronomic practices Seed harvest and handling (e.g., cleaning, grading and packaging) Media (regional radios and TVs) Topics to be included: - Importance of livestock sector as economic engine (contribution to national GDP, employment, food security, nutrition, gender equity and others) - Major constraints/challenges for livestock sector transformation - Major livestock related policies and opportunities o Available livestock feed and forage technologies Emerging approaches for feed and forage production: With a focus on the importance of irrigated forage production 15 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N Acknowledgement The AICCRA project in Ethiopia (f inanced by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World bank) and Africa RISING project of the Ethiopian highlands (funded by USAID) are acknowledged for their support. References Brown, J. 2002. Training needs assessment: A must for developing an effective training program.” Public Personnel Management 31(4). Iqbal, M. Z. and Khan, R. A. 2011. The growing concept and uses of training needs assessment: A review with proposed model. Journal of European Industrial Training 35(5). Kindu, M. et al. 2021. Feed and forage development in mixed crop‐livestock systems of the Ethiopian highlands: Africa RISING Project Research Experience.” Agronomy Journal. Priyadarshini, R., Geetha, R. and Dave, D. 2012. Competency-based training needs assessment model. Management and Labour Studies 37(3). ANNEXES Annex 1: Guiding questions used in the key informant interviews (KIIs) Key questions to guide discussions with different actors • For experts/farmers: o What do you think are the major challenges in cultivating forages and use in your areas? o If you are asked to identify training topics you think are curial in addressing the challenges mentioned in the previous question, what would come to your mind, free list of areas of training you think would be needed. • For media people: o What is your level of knowledge of feed and forage options and their importance for livestock production? o What are the areas of knowledge that you would need to develop good stories about feed and forage production and utilization? • For finance people: o What are the business opportunities you see in financing feed and forage production? o What are the knowledge areas you need to design a viable financial product for feed and forage production and utilization? • Of the lists indicated above, can we try to group them into: o Knowledge related ones o Attitude related ones o Skill related ones 16 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N • How do you think trainings in the above areas could help you do your job better and reach many farmers with feed and forage innovations? 17 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N Annex 2: Lists of key informants and their institution N Contact name Institution name Site Type of Focus area o. name actor 1 Feleke Tadesse Wachemo University Lemo Public Research, Extension 2 Mesfin Zenebe Send a Cow Lemo NGO Extension 3 Mesfin Desalegn Inter Aide Lemo NGO Extension 4 Tsedeke Zewde Hadiya Zone Livestock and Fishery Department Lemo Public Extension 5 Negatu Eyako Misha Woreda Livestock and Fishery Department Lemo Public Extension 6 Adnew Ayele Farmer Lemo Private Seed multiplication 7 Tagese Wolebo Metemamen Microfinance Lemo Private Finance 8 Zenbaba Telila North Shewa Zone Livestock Development & Basona Public Extension Promotion Office 9 Zegeye Basona Worena Zone Livestock Development & Basona Public Extension W/Agenegehu Promotion Office 10 Lulseged Debre Birhan Agricultural Research Center Basona Public Research Alemayehu 11 Estifanos Amhara Saving and Credit Association (ACSI) Basona Private Finance Shenkute 12 Hulunim Gatew Debre Birhan University Basona Public Research, Extension 13 Solomon Dadi Bale Zone Livestock and Fishery Resource Sinana Public Extension Development Office 14 Muawuya Fu'ad Sinana Woreda Livestock and Fishery Resource Sinana Public Extension Development Office 15 Oliyad Degu Oromia International Bank (OIB) Sinana Private Finance 16 Sultan Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN) Sinana Public Media Mohammed 17 Fitsum Sahle Independent Addis Private Media Medhin Ababa 18 Tesfaye Kumsa Ethiopian Forage Seed Business Association Addis Private Forage Seed Ababa Business 19 Mekdes Moges SNV Addis NGO Diary Ababa development 18 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N Annex 3: Detail questionnaire contents of the training need assessment on Livestock Feed and Forage Innovations (LFFI) Training Need Assessment on Livestock Feed and Forage Innovations (LFFI) Link to online MS Forms: https://forms.office.com/r/TDf36Kqta9 Thank you for making the time to fill the questionnaire. The questionnaire may take 3-6 minutes. We are assessing the training needs of our livestock feed and forage development partners as part of ILRI-AICCRA- LFFI project supported by World Bank. In the following questions, we want to know the area that you would see as useful in terms of building your capacity and doing a better livestock feed and forage development and scaling. 1. Name : _______________________ 2. Gender: M/F 3. Tel./ Mobile number: __________ 4. E-mail: _______________ 5. Organization: _______________ 6. City/ Town: ___________ 7. Age: 20-30; 31-40; 41-50; 51-60 8. Educational status: Diploma; BSc; MSc; PhD 9. Professional category: Farmer; Researcher / Lecturer; Development Agent; Zonal/District Agricultural Expert; Regional/Federal Agricultural Expert; Private sector; Media; NGO 10. Please use the following ratings: Strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree on the possible training topics listed below in terms of whether you see the topics indicated have a direct relevant for your work. (Please rate them by ticking one of the ratings) Training topics Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly disagree agree 1. Introduction of feed and forage technologies for better livestock productivity 2. Importance of livestock sector as economic engine 3. Strategies to increase land for forage production 4. Integrating feed and forage technologies into the farm enterprises 5. Climate-smart forage production and utilization methods 6. Ration formulation for various livestock production systems 7. Post-harvest feed management and preservation technologies 8. Assessment tools/techniques of local feed and forage resources 9. Crop residue nutritional improvement methods/ techniques 10. Methods for planning annual feed requirements 11. Feed and forage seed production techniques 12. Strategies to reduce the cost of forage seed production and marketing 13. Scaling approaches for feed and forage technologies 14. Finance and fund mobilization for feed and forage development 11. Any other training priorities you like to indicate us (please list below) _____________________________________________________________________________ 12. Have you received training in any of the above topics in the last 6-12 months? (Yes / No) 13. If YES, which topics? 19 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N Training Topics 1. Introduction of feed and forage technologies for better livestock productivity 2. Importance of livestock sector as economic engine 3. Strategies to increase land for forage production 4. Integrating feed and forage technologies into the farm enterprises 5. Climate-smart forage production and utilization methods 6. Ration formulation for various livestock production systems 7. Post-harvest feed management and preservation technologies 8. Assessment tools/techniques of local feed and forage resources 9. Crop residue nutritional improvement methods/ techniques 10. Methods for planning annual feed requirements 11. Feed and forage seed production techniques 12. Strategies to reduce the cost of forage seed production and marketing 13. Scaling approaches for feed and forage technologies 14. Finance and fund mobilization for feed and forage development 14. Any comment? ___________________________________________________________________________ THANK YOU! 20• T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) brings together some of the world’s best researchers in agricultural science, development research, climate science and Earth system science, to identify and address the most important interactions, synergies and trade-offs between climate change, agriculture and food security. For more information, visit us at https://ccafs.cgiar.org/. Titles in this series aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and food security research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community. AICCRA is led by: AICCRA is supported by the International Development Association of the World Bank: 21 • T R A I N I N G N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T O N L I V E S T O C K F E E D A N D F O R A G E P R O D U C T I O N A N D U T I L I Z A T I O N