Feed Resource Availability, Livestock Migration Pattern and Synthesis of Feeding Calendar at Wag-Lasta, Ethiopia

Bekahgn Wondim

This survey was conducted from 2015 to 2017 to explore the pattern and reason of seasonal livestock migration, situation of different feed resources availability and seasonality at different agro ecologies of Wag–Lasta area in Amhara regional state of northern Ethiopia. A single visit formal survey, group discussion and individual interview were used during data collection. Grazing, crop residues and purchased feeds were the major feed resources with respective contribution of 56%, 22%, and 11% in the mid and lowlands of waghemira whereas 37%, 45% and 5% respectively in the highlands. Sorghum Stover followed by Tef straw were the major crop residues used at the mid and lowlands of Waghemira while barley straw followed by wheat straw and broad bean residue in the highlands of Wag-Lasta. Farmers used the residue effectively from January up to June when other alternative feed resources are not available in all agro ecologies. In the mid and lowland districts, average livestock holding were 5.62 TLU. Correspondingly, the average annual feed production from all feed sources was 6.1 tones. Based on the assumption of daily feed requirement of Farm animals, the total annual feed demand at house hold level were calculated as 12.9 tones. Thus, each house hold was under feed gap of 6.78 tons annually. In the highlands of Wag-Lasta, average livestock holding was 3.85TLU with annual feed demand of 8.7 ton and the available annual feed production was 4.5 tone thus, an average of 4.2 tone was in scarce annually.75% of the respondent at the mid and lowland districts of Waghemira were possess seasonal livestock migration while 25% were stable at their settlement area year round. The reason for migration was 95.6% for feed and 4.4% for both feed and water. 44.4%, 53% and 2.3% of the migrants were spend at the migration area for about five months, six up to ten months and for about four years respectively. Belessa, Tirari, Telajje, Tigray boarder, Dahna and Beyeda with respective migrant’s percentage of 22,44,20,7,5 and 2 were identified as destinations. The distance covered during the migration were 37.8% (20-35km), 28.9% (36-60km), 24.4% (61-80km) and 8.9% (>80km).

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Reading and Writing the World with Statistics: Critical Understanding for Social Justice

Mulugeta Woldemicheal Gebresenbet

This study addresses the need to develop secondary students’ critical understanding of descriptive statistics for social justice. Students worked on non-routine problems called Model Eliciting Activities, which require students to make interpretation and conclusion of meaningful real life situations. The modeling lessons had four Model Eliciting Activities (Safe Water, Millennium Dam, Football & Tourist) so as to allow students to ‘express, test and revise’ their models iteratively in an engineering way in multi-disciplinary areas. The objective of the study is to explore how can students develop critical understanding with the aim of living together in the world that is ‘survival with dignity’ using a pedagogy of Modeling Approach on cross cutting issues of a society on a unit of descriptive statistics. Quality Assurance Guide instrument was used to assess students’ models on Model Eliciting Activities. A transformative study design was used to look into students’ critical understanding qualitatively. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the data on students’ reports on Model Eliciting Activities and on projects. Though students found Model Eliciting Activities cognitively challenging tasks, they constructed different models working in a team collaboratively towards social justice. In conclusion, the findings of the study showed students more likely can enhance their critical understanding of descriptive statistics towards social justice working on relevant non-routine tasks like Model Eliciting Activities and doing projects on their own themes.

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