Optimizing Livelihood and Environmental Benefits from Crop Residues in Smallholder Crop-Livestock Systems in Southern Africa
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Sabine Homann-Kee Tui, E. Bandason, Felisberto Maute, Daniel Nkomboni, Nkululeko Mpofu, J. Tanganyika, Andre van Rooyen, Timothy Gondwe, Paula Dias, Shadreck Ncube, Siboniso Moyo, Saskia Hendrickx, Fantu Nisrane. (12/10/2013). Optimizing Livelihood and Environmental Benefits from Crop Residues in Smallholder Crop-Livestock Systems in Southern Africa. Hyderabad, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Abstract
Sustainable forms of intensification are needed to address the low and stagnant production of farming systems in southern Africa. More
efficient use of croplivestock
interactions can contribute to this; in this context the effective use of crop residues is becoming
increasingly important and also contested. Crop residues left on the field for mulching are expected to bring longterm
environmental
benefits but when fed to livestock they provide farmers with shortterm
livelihood benefits. This study aims at better understanding the
diversity of farming systems and uses of crop residues, in particular the tradeoffs
in using the residues for soil amendment versus
livestock feed. It is part of a global comparison with sites along a human and livestock population density gradient across subSaharan
Africa and South Asia. This southern Africa study represents the most extensive case of semiarid
areas with lowest biomass
production. Three sites were compared, at different levels of agricultural intensification, extent of croplivestock
integration and use of
crop residues. 1. Mzimba in Northern Malawi – intensified crop oriented production. 2. Nkayi in southwest Zimbabwe – integrated croplivestock
systems. 3. Changara in Tete province in Central Mozambique – extensive croplivestock
farming. Across the three sites, crop
residues are clearly needed as livestock feed. In Nkayi and Changara low crop yields and low biomass production against the existing
demand from livestock prevents farmers from using residues for purposes other than livestock feed. The practice of collecting and kraal
feeding residues in Nkayi illustrates that the pressure on residues is at a level where farmers start privatizing residues in order to ensure
their individual benefits. When feeding crop residues in the kraal, farmers also increase the amount of manure for soil fertility
improvement. Even in Mzimba, with higher residue production and lower livestock ownership, very few farmers retain the residues to
achieve real impact on soil health. Although farmers see soil fertility as a critical constraint, they have limited residues to spare for
mulching. The tradeoffs
of reallocating crop residues from livestock feed to mulching for soil amendment will be high as long as
alternative feed technologies and access to input and output markets are not developed. The tradeoffs
will be lower in areas with
higher biomass production and less competition with livestock. Technical options need to increase biomass on existing croplands,
addressing feed shortages and the need for soil amendment concurrently. Viable institutional structures and appropriate policies need
to support this intensification processes through better access to inputs, knowledge and markets. The pathways for sustainable
intensification and more efficient crop residue utilization need to be developed within the local context. We found strong growth
potential for livestockoriented
agricultural development in extensive areas (Changara), strengthening crop and livestock integration to
support intensification in areas like Nkayi, and enhancing croplivestock
integration for more efficient resource utilization where biomass
is less limiting (Mzimba).