Sustainable development of smallholder crop-livestock farming in developing countries

Ateş, Serkan; Çiçek, Harun; Bell, Lindsay W.; Norman, Hayley C.; Mayberry, Dianne; Kassam, Shinan; Hannaway, D. B.; Louhaichi, Mounir

doi:10.1088/1755-1315/142/1/012076

Cited by 29 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Instead, farmers are advised to increase the area of silage crops appropriately to establish mixed crop-livestock farm systems, which would transform a heavy dependence on crop income into dependence on livestock income. Appropriate cultivation of silage crops helps to improve ruminant production, increases biodiversity, and decreases disaster risk through diversification [62,63]. Corn and silage sorghum are common silage crops because of their high yield and their ability to be easily mixed with other feedstuffs [64].…”

Section: Positive Feedback From Supplementing Farming With Livestock mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Farmers’ Initiatives and Capacity to Cope with Drought: A Case Study of Xinghe County in Semi-Arid China

Guo

Yan-rui

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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Farmers living in a state of poverty in semi-arid areas are the main victims of drought. They suffer most from drought, which makes it particularly important to assess their capacity to cope with it. The present study developed a new approach for such assessment. Famers’ resources and initiatives to deal with drought were evaluated, and appropriate coping strategies are proposed by analyzing the differences between the coping capacities of two categories of farmers; tenants (with large holdings) and smallholders. Tenants’ capacity to cope with drought was 1.7 times that of smallholders. Also, tenants showed greater initiative during droughts, whereas smallholders made greater efforts in preparing for droughts. Farmers’ resources were positively correlated to the degree of their initiative (correlation coefficient = 0.49). Farmers showed greater initiative when they had larger holdings and were less dependent on agricultural income. The state should give more financial support to subsidy-dependent farmers and encourage smallholders—whose major income comes from crops—to augment their income through livestock husbandry. Such a policy would prove more conducive to increasing the capacity of not only local farmers but also of the entire region to cope with droughts and to promote sustainable development of local agriculture.

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Section: Positive Feedback From Supplementing Farming With Livestock mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Farmers’ Initiatives and Capacity to Cope with Drought: A Case Study of Xinghe County in Semi-Arid China

Guo

Yan-rui

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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“…Kimura et al (2018) also evaluated mixed cropping system between C4grass (Panicum virgatum) and C3-tree (Populus (Fang et al, 2010), feed quality and animal nutrition (Kebede et al, 2016). Forages in smallholder mixed farming systems have an crucial role in livestock nutrition, productivity and environmental sustainability (Ates et al, 2018).…”

Section: Forage Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production, quality and livestock carrying capacity of Panicum maximum and Sesbania grandiflora at saline soil with different manure application

Kusmiyati

Pangestu

Surahmanto

et al. 2019

J. Indonesian Trop. Anim. Agric.

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of manure at saline soil on forage production, quality and livestock carrying capacity of P. maximum and S. grandiflora. The research was conducted on moderately saline soil at Rembang Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia.Randomized complete block design was used as design experiment. The treatments were different dosage of manure as organic amendment (0, 10 and 20 tonnes/ha). Forage crops were P. maximum and S. grandiflora that planted monoculture or mixed-cropping. Parameters measured were dry matter (DM) production, ash, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, total digestible nutrients. P. maximum was cut eight times, S. grandiflora was cut six times during one year. The result showed that the highest total dry matter production of mixed cropping P. maximum and S. grandiflora was available at moderately saline soil with application 20 ton/ha manure. Total production of dry matter, crude protein and total digestible nutrient available at application 20 ton/ha manure were 29131 kg/ha/year; 3722 kg/ha/year and 17718 kg/ha/year, respectively. Carrying capacity based on dry matter, crude protein and total digestible nutrients were 10.8 AU/ha/year; 13.6 AU/ha/year and 11.3 AU/ha/year, respectively. In conclusion, application of 20 ton/ha manure at saline soil increased production, crude protein and carrying capacity.

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“…Intensification with improved forage technologies can take two forms: simple improvements such as the introduction of new forage varieties on-farm and in the existing feeding regime, or more complex sets of new practices that integrate forages in production systems. Forages need to be integrated into cropping systems, especially with food crops, to not compromise smallholders' food security (Ates et al 2018;Maass et al 2015;Rudel et al 2015). Tropical forages can fulfill various objectives and roles in farming systems, and they can occupy different spatial and temporal niches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical forage technologies can deliver multiple benefits in Sub-Saharan Africa. A meta-analysis

Paul

Koge

Maass

et al. 2020

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Scarcity of quantity and quality feed has been a key constraint to productivity of smallholder crop-livestock systems. Tropical forages include a variety of annual and perennial grasses, herbaceous and dual-purpose legumes, and multipurpose trees and shrubs. They have been promoted in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for increasing livestock productivity and household income through higher quantity and quality of herbage, while contributing to soil improvement and higher food crop yields. For the first time, we quantitatively reviewed 72 experimental studies from across SSA to take stock of geographical distribution and forage technology focus of past research; quantify magnitudes of multidimensional impacts of forage technologies; and present variability in forage agronomy data. Improved forage technologies were classified into four groups: (i) germplasm, (ii) management, (iii) cropping system integration, and (iv) feeding regime. Mean weighted response ratios were calculated from 780 pairs of observations for 13 indicators across the five impact dimensions. Improved forage germplasm had on average 2.6 times higher herbage productivity than local controls, with strongest effect in grasses. Feeding regimes with improved leguminous forages increased milk yield by on average 39%, dry matter intake by 25%, and manure production by 24%. When forage technologies were integrated with food crops, soil loss was almost halved, soil organic carbon increased on average by 10%, and grain and stover yields by 60% and 33%, respectively. This study demonstrates the central role improved forages could play in sustainable intensification of crop-livestock systems in SSA. It highlights the need for multidisciplinary and systems-level approaches and studies to quantify synergies and tradeoffs between impact dimensions. Further research is needed to explain forage agronomic yield variability, unraveling interactions between genotype, on-farm environmental conditions, and management factors. Results from this review can inform development programs, prioritizing technologies proven successful for dissemination and indicating magnitudes of expected impacts.

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Sustainable development of smallholder crop-livestock farming in developing countries

Cited by 29 publications

References 43 publications

Quantifying Farmers’ Initiatives and Capacity to Cope with Drought: A Case Study of Xinghe County in Semi-Arid China

Quantifying Farmers’ Initiatives and Capacity to Cope with Drought: A Case Study of Xinghe County in Semi-Arid China

Production, quality and livestock carrying capacity of Panicum maximum and Sesbania grandiflora at saline soil with different manure application

Tropical forage technologies can deliver multiple benefits in Sub-Saharan Africa. A meta-analysis

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