Jimma University and ILRI Partner to Empower Dairy Sector with Digital Training

Home > News > News > Jimma University and ILRI Partner to Empower Dairy Sector with Digital Training
A four-day intensive training on “Building Digital and Technical Capacity for Integrated Dairy Improvement” was concluded last week at the Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM).
The event, a collaboration between Jimma University and the Sustainable Animal and Foods Program (SAAF) of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), brought together 65 livestock experts and forward-thinking farmers from Dedo Woreda, Jimma City, and the Jimma Zone.
The comprehensive curriculum was designed to bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and modern agricultural technology. Participants engaged in both theoretical and practical sessions on a wide range of topics essential for boosting dairy productivity and sustainability. Key areas of focus included the importance of animal registration, the use of a digital dairy cattle data platform, and the accurate management of performance records such as monthly milk yield, milk quality, methane emissions, and animal weight.
“The skills we’ve gained in data management and feed formulation are transformative,” said Bayese Mohammed from jimma zone Agriculture office. “This moves us from guesswork to precision in dairy farming.”
Beyond data management, the training also covered critical aspects of farm health, including biosecurity protocols and udder health management. A major component was dedicated to nutrition, featuring hands-on training with the On-farm Feed Advisory (OFA) tool and practical feed processing techniques like chopping, grinding, and formulating cost-effective home-made concentrates and Total Mixed Rations (TMR).
This capacity-building initiative is a direct extension of the Jimma University Dairy Transformation Project, which has been actively implemented in three districts of Jimma Zone over the past three years.
The ultimate goal is to enhance productivity and sustainability by digitizing data collection in three core areas: breeding, feeding, and herd health management. This data-driven approach is expected to lead to more informed decision-making, improved farm management practices, and a significant boost in the overall profitability and resilience of dairy farms across the Jimma zone.
We are in the Community!
E-mail: ero@ju.edu.et