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Climate change will continue to alter rainfall distribution, lead to temperature increases and cause drought and floods (IPCC, 2012). This changing climate will negatively impact livestock systems through decreasing the quality and quantity of forage crops, thereby affecting the health and nutrition of livestock significantly (Fischer et al., 2002). Smallholder farmers in East Africa are particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, primarily because they are in the tropics, their livelihoods and incomes depend on the productivity of livestock and they lack resources and policies which enhance their capacity to adapt to climate change (Morton, 2007).

FEAST is a Feed Assessment Tool which was developed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It is used to assess and understand local livestock feed resource use and availability. It consist of 30 brief Tech Sheets which provide a brief description of the main feed intervention options for developing world smallholder or pastoral systems.

According to the United Nations (2015),the current world population of 7.3 billion is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.This growth in population will substantially increase the demand of livestock products. Therefore, this research work seeks to target new climate-resilient feeds and forages in order to overcome feed scarcity during dry periods, thereby increasing livestock productivity under the prevailing effects of a changing climate.