Potential of lupins (Lupinus spp. L.) for human use and livestock feed in Ethiopia

Lupin is a traditional multipurpose crop in the North-western part of Ethiopia but the use of the crop as human food and livestock feed is limited due to its bitter taste (high alkaloid content). On the other hand in different parts of the world sweet annual lupins (Lupinus spp. L.) are important crops in livestock feed and human food. However, information about the current uses, potentials and limitation of the local white lupin are not available. In addition there was no work done on evaluation of the adaptability, productivity and feeding value of sweet lupins under different Ethiopian lupin growing environments. Thus, this study was initiated to asses the potential and limitation of the local lupin, to evaluate the yield potential and feeding value of different species of annual sweet lupins, and to develop a feeding system using lupin seed as supplement feed in sheep diet. Scha