The interaction of agricultural land cover area between land use systems and level of household income was identified. The annual cropland area was significantly higher than the natural pastureland and perennial cropland. The difference in household income earned was not significant between the annual crop and livestock. Such a difference however is not surprising because smallholder land system is a dual asset, and farm components are interrelated to and interdependent upon each other. In one season directly and simultaneously, the diversified forms of agricultural land provide food and feed that reduce the direct allocation of land for grazing. Nonetheless, decisions made in the household on the land use allocation for farm enterprise is neither random nor optional but are through behavioural adaptation of the system in changing condition, emerging opportunity and its ability to maximize choice and utility in the household. The study set up was initiated from the characterization of smallholder mixed crop-livestock systems divided into different agro-ecological zones for land use in Southwestern Ethiopia. Agricultural productivity in a smallholder system is chiefly an aggregate effect of interaction between elements and component, specialization and diversity in a farming system mainly found in food production biomass base. Several challenges, however, limit various positive significant balance reflected in the food and non-food production biomass base, as well as non-farm activities.

The resource base that ensures food supply and the socio-economic component which depends on this resource base are the two major components that make up the food system in sub-Saharan Africa. The sequence of the food system is organized in a spatial flow framework of biomass base. The components of rural production system consist of food production biomass at homestead and farm level, and often at the communal base non-food production lands. The degree of integration between these resources base determines flows such as material cycle, energy, food and cash, and influences how the entire production system needs to be managed. The management system influences resource use efficiency and economic returns at different levels, at individual household, communities, and national levels. Efforts to developing agriculture and reducing poverty remained sectoral and focused mainly on a specific crop or individual animal level, failed to see interconnections among sub-systems and across space and time. The concept of the integrated food system has not been adequately adopted, in many sub-Saharan African countries and the agricultural system in the region continues to exhibit a low level of productivity and resource use efficiency. Hence, food insecurity and poverty remained high among smallholder farming communities producing crop and livestock despite the availability of arable land and abundance of another natural resource. This review focuses on the significance of integrated crop-livestock system in the tropics and suggests a framework to begin understanding and addressing complex problems in smallholders' production system.

The mixed crop-livestock systems are acknowledged as sustainable due to its complementarity and synergy, contribution to welfare, food security, income, and poverty alleviation. The lack of efforts in the long-term impact for increased and more efficient food production, however, threatens the livelihoods and food security of smallholder producers. This paper provides a description on smallholder crop-livestock systems in the dominant system unit of crop and livestock production discretely subdividing in different agroecological zones (AEZs) into land-use land-cover class for considering factors influencing socioeconomic and agricultural intensification. A linear mixed-effects model was carried out to fit the relationship between the land-cover measurement and the corresponding farm enterprise in land use. The repeated measurements of linear predictors that fit in full and reduced model analysis were conducted in the system framework. The landscape slope (%), elevation (m) and market distance (minute) analysis were used in spatial adjustment in the specific system. The overall area of land-use system of the peasant holdings was 599.86 ha. The area covered by annual crops was 56%, which was higher (p < 0.01) compared to the area covered by natural pasturelands (17%), perennial crops (15%), vegetable (1%) and the tree or grass cover (2%). Distinct six farming systems were characterized, each being significantly different