The study was conducted with the objectives of analyzing and developing Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) equation for predicting nutritional value and mineral constituents of chickpea haulm, and to determine the relationship between fodder quality and agronomic traits of chickpea. The samples were collected from Akaki, Alem Tena, Chefe Donsa, Debre-zeit and Minjar field experimental sites of Debre zeit Agricultural Research Center and the laboratory work was conducted at Animal Nutrition laboratory of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa.

Presents results of studies on the utilization of agricultural by-products as livestock feeds in Africa. Discusses methods of estimating the nutritive value of fibre residues and feed legumes, feed intake and digestibility, prospects of utilizing urea-treated maize stover, agroindustrial by-products and the chemical analysis of feeds.

Presents and discusses research results on feed resources, agroindustrial by-products utilisation, forage production, use of crop residues, dairy feeding systems, feeding strategies, introduction and adoption of improved forage technologies, nutritive value of different forages, effects of management on animal performance, effect of supplements on feed utilisation, potential of agricultural by-products as animal feeds, and effects of management on pasture grasses & legumes; and evaluates the utilisation of these results by smallholders.

Poultry is important for many poor smallholders, but infectious diseases, such as Newcastle disease, can drastically reduce the poultry population in a village and affects the food security and the livelihood of many farmers. Newcastle disease vaccination can reduce the spread of disease, but may be hard to access for smallholders if there is not a supportive system in place. In this paper, a district in Kenya is studied where there has been support for vaccination.

This paper is part of the follow-up to the workshop “Managing Agricultural Biodiversity for Sustainable Development” organized by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) for the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP) and hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya (23-25 October, 2003, Nairobi, Kenya).