Production and Commercialization Status of Improved Panicum Grass Cultivation in the Lowland Livestock Production System of South Omo South-Western Ethiopia

Lack of information on the production and commercialization status of improved Panicum grass is one of the major livestock production impediments in South Omo. The improved Panicum grass is a perennial grass species used throughout the tropics for livestock feeding. Therefore, the present study was conducted to understand the seed and hay production status and the economic visibility of improved Panicum grass cultivation. The face-to-face interviews were conducted with improved Panicum grass producers. The quantitative data, such as the amount of bales and seed produced, and the qualitative data, such as agro-pastoralists’ perceptions, were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics and the Likert scale. The results revealed that the seed yield and herbage productivity after seed harvest were 2.5 quintals and 788 bales per hectare per cut, respectively. The average income generated from the sale of herbage and seed of Panicum grass was 325,350 ETB and 442,500 ETB per hectare per year, respectively. Based on the results, the authors concluded that joint efforts are needed to step the agro-pastoralists out of the poverty vicious cycle through promoting wide-scale improved Panicum grass production by linking products to market sources in addition to legumePanicum grass-based cattle and goat fattening intervention.