Agricultural “Development”, Sustainability, and The Roles of Livestock

1. Agricultural “Development”, Sustainability, and The Roles of Livestock Nepal

2. Objectives 1- What are Some of the Major Differences Between Temperate and Tropical Conditions? 2- What Does Sustainable Agriculture Mean? 3- What is a “Resource-Poor” Farm? 4- How do Livestock Contribute to Economic, Social and Environmental “Sustainability”? 5- Does Livestock Agriculture “Burden” the Community and Contribute to Environmental Problems?

3. What are Some of the Major DifferencesBetween Temperate and Tropical Conditions?

4. Human (social, cultural) Natural &biological resources(climate, land, animals) Macroeconomy & Policy systems Economic resources (basic infrastructure, labor, capital, market, etc.) Just About Everything Is Unique

5. Population density Predominant land use (Africa) Forestry Tropical environment Shifting Cultivation Permanent Cultivation Humid Month Dry Month Natural Vegetation Climate Humid 12 0 (evergreen) 11 1 Dry landMixed Farming FOREST 10 2 9 3 (deciduous) 8 4 Subhumid Pastoralism & Ranching (woodland) 7 5 6 6 Oasis SAVANNA 5 7 (grass) 4 8 Semiarid 3 9 THORNE STEPPE 2 10 Arid 1 11 DESERT 0 12 “Carrying Capacity” of the Environment(African Example)

6. Cattle Sheep Goat Camel % % % % 20.7 33.7 38.2 100 30.6 22.9 26.3 0 22.7 14.4 16.5 0 6.1 8.3 9.4 0 19.9 20.8 9.6 0 Number, millions in 1979 144.5 98.4 122.6 11.1 Number,millions in 1986-88 162.5 123.8 144.9 13.2 Livestock Adaptation to Agroecological Zones(Africa Example) Agro- ecological zones Length Growing Period (days) Rainfall (mm) Arid < 90 < 500 Semiarid 90 - 180 500 - 1000 Subhumid 180 - 270 1000 - 1500 Humid > 270 > 1500 Highlands* < 20°C n.a. * Defined as areas within semiarid, subhumid, and humid zones where the meandaily temperature during the growing period is less than 20°C.

7. Resistance to Diseases (Parasite Infestations)

8. Meandifference= 15 units Tropical Temperate Forage Quality Plant (i.e., Forage) Relative frequency, % 30 25 20 15 10 5 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 Dry matter digestibility, % Van Soest, 1994

9. Overall response 1.00 0.31 0.54 0.32 Response to Genetic Selection(Example of U.S. Holstein Sires in Latin America) Expected Response 7832 5415 6751 4906 4175 3866 Class of standard deviation for milk yield 625 812.5 937.5 1062.5 1187.5 1375 1625 1875 2125 % of the herds 20 20 2114 11 11 2 <1 0 Colombia 0 3 6 1118 3917 5 2 Mexico 6 1225 2719 10 2 0 0 Puerto-Rico Stanton et al., 1991 JDS 74:651

10. What Does Sustainable Agriculture mean?

11. A Definition of Sustainable Agriculture • An integrated system including: • natural resources: Land/soil; crops; animals; climate, etc. • economic resources: capital, labor, management, etc…. • … that are organized to satisfy multiple goals: • Provide fiber and food • Sustain the economic viability of farm operation • Enhance the quality of life for the farmers, their families, and communities in socially acceptable ways. • Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources (including when appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls) to enhance environmental quality and the natural resource based upon which the agricultural economy depends.

12. Grazing Confinement Low input Capital intensive Subsistence Family Industrial Mixed livestock - crop Landless Organic Biotechnology Intensive mixed Livestock-crop Organic Peri-urban (Landless) Peri-urban Grazing Dairy production systems

13. What is a Resource-Poor Farm?

14. A Resource-Poor Farm • A unit operated by a single family • A few acreage • Production used primarily for family subsistence • Sales of animal related products vary from 40 to 70% of gross farm income • Little or no • savings • capital investment • reliance on external (market) inputs • Significant dependence on livestock for survival Nepal Kenya

15. Mexico

16. Mexico

17. Bolivia Bolivia

18. Total Mixed Ration Bolivia

19. How do livestock contributeto economic, social and environmental “sustainability”?

20. Milk Ethiopia Cambodia China

21. Traction / draught power • Livestock provide the power to cultivate at least 320 million hectares of land, or one-quarter of the total global cropped area (http://www.new-agri.co.uk/98-5/debate.html) • Irrigation pumping • water lifting Nepal Nepal Thailand Ethiopia

22. Nepal Nepal • Traction / draught power • Hauling farm inputs (feeds) • Hauling farm output (milk) • Human locomotion China

23. Threshing Ethiopia Ethiopia

24. “Labor” ina Brick Factory China China

25. Manure • Intensification of crops • Source of income • Fuel • Construction material • Nutrient (N and P) transfer through the landscape China China

26. Does Livestock Agriculture “burden” the Community and Contribute to Environmental Problems?

27. Manure+ NPK Livestock Manure Improved grain yield more than Inorganic fertilizers NPK (in a 3:1:1 ratio) The long term trends show a characteristic decline in plots provided no inputs. No input Livestock Manure Improves Crop Yields(Example of Sorghum Crops in Burkina Faso) Sorghum grain yield (kg/ha) 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Years (Sédoga, 1993)

28. Livestock Manure Improves Soil Fertility(Example of Savanna Soils in Nigeria over 45 years) No input NPK Manure Manure + NPK 0 10 20 30 40 0 2 4 6 Cation Exchange Capacity (centimol per kg soil) (A measure of soil’s ability to retain minerals and water) Carbon content (g per kg of soil) (A measure of soil’s Biological activity)

29. Rangeland Fallow land, etc. P Tethered on crop land (night time) Grazing during the day N OM Improving Soil Fertility on Crop Land:“Precision” Manuring

30. Nutrient Redistribution on the Landscape Sierra de Manatlán, Mexico

31. “Limitations” due to Livestock • Livestock may compete for land, labor and capital resources on the farm: • Livestock compete with crop land and increase the risk of damage to crops • Livestock requires daily labor, care and management • Livestock may be tethered for extended periods of time during the cropping season leading to low productivity and increase exposure to diseases (internal parasites) • If mishandled animal products may cause health problems

32. “Limitations” due to Livestock • Livestock contribute to environmental issues • Ammonia emission. • Methane production (Global warming) • If mismanaged, livestock may also contribute to environmental degradation • Soil erosion • Forest clearing for grazing ?

33. Deforestation and Cattle ProductionIn The Tropics* Animal production systems are often perceived to be a major force in the problem of resource degradation • Deforestation and degradation of undisturbed ecosystems are often driven by: • A growing population (demand for wood for construction, road construction, etc.) • Need to increase agricultural export to pay for external debt • Cycles of cropping followed by declining soil fertility and crop failure occur before the introduction of animals to an environment which is already degraded • Ruminants livestock usually follows the opening up of new areas and are only one aspect of a series of interrelated actions that convert a forest or savannah to other uses for short-term economic gain * Nicholson et al., 1995. Livestock, deforestation, and policy making: Intensification of cattle production systems in Central America revisited. Journal of Dairy Science 78:719-734.

35. Contribution of Livestock, a partial list • Food security • Insurance against crop failure (drought, etc.) • High quality protein, minerals, and vitamins • Income from the sale of products • Milk, meat • Hides, skins, manure, other • Manure • Intensification of food production without cultivating marginal land • Source of income (fuel or construction material) • Critical in nutrient recycling (N and P) allowing intensification • Traction / draught power • Ploughing • Irrigation pumping (water lifting) • Threshing grains • Hauling farm inputs (feeds) and output (milk) • Human locomotion

36. Contribution of livestock, a partial list (cont’d) • Capital storage / savings • Buffer food shortages • Buffer cash shortages • Socioeconomic status • Efficient feed resource utilization to serve human needs • Rangelands • Fallow land and communal land • Crop residues (straw, stover, etc.) • Agricultural by-products (brewer’s grain, wheat bran, etc.) • Biodiversity conservation • plant population (grazing, seed distribution, multipurpose trees) • soils (erosion control) • Agro-sylvo-pastoralism • Religious obligations

37. Additional References • Are beasts a burden to the environment? (WREN media, UK) • http://www.new-agri.co.uk/98-5/debate.html • Livestock & the Environment: Finding a Balance (FAO) • http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5303e/x5303e00.htm • Livestock’s Long Shadow (FAO) • http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM