Scope for sustainability:
Do castor beans and the biodiesel industry offer family farmers a sustainable development opportunity in Brazil?
Madeleine Florin, Gerrie van de Ven, Martin van Ittersum
Plant Production Systems group
Brazilian national biodiesel programme
Blending targets 5% by 2012
Social fuel seal Fraction of expenditure on family farmers (feedstock, extension, seeds)
Regional development Targeting the semi-arid Promoting castor beansfor family farmers
Family farming in Montes Claros Transition zone between Caatinga and
Cerrado 1035 mm year-1 concentrated during 3-4 months
Dominant farming system is extensive cattle ranching Pasture Fodder crops Food crops Dairy cattle for cheese production Meat production
The situation unfolding Few family farmers participating and the
dominant biodiesel feedstock is soy beans Suitability of castor beans Trust between industry and farmers Incentives
What is the scope for sustainable cultivation of castor beans by family farmers and can this be explained by:
o Current productivity?o Alternative productivity?o Alternative farm-level management decisions?
Research question:
What is the scope for sustainable cultivation of castor beans by family farmers and can this be explained by:o current productivityo alternative productivityo alternative management
decisions taken at the farm level?
Pri
ncip
les Productivity Acceptability Security
Protection
Viability
Cri
teri
a
- Not endanger the food production and other local biomass applications
- Contribute to economic development of smallholder or family farmers - Contribute to the social justice of smallholder or family farmers
- Increase the stability of smallholder or family farmers livelihood
- Maintain or increase carbon sinks in vegetation and soil - Retain or improve the soil and soil quality - Retain or improve the water quantity and quality - Maintain or increase biodiversity - Mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (compared with fossil fuels)
- Contribute to economic development of smallholder or family farmers
Indicator selection framework
Sustainability criteria Selected indicators
Biofuel production should contribute to economic development of family farmers
- Farm income (R$ ha-1; R$ household-1)
Biofuel production should increase the stability of family farmer livelihood
- Simpson’s diversity index - Labour inputs and labour use efficiency (days year-1; R$ day -1)- Purchased inputs and purchased input use efficiency (R$ year-1; R$ R$-1)
Biofuel production should retain or improve the soil and soil fertility
- Nitrogen balance (kg ha-1; kg farm-1)
Indicator selection framework
Research question:
What is the scope for sustainable cultivation of castor beans by family farmers and can this be explained by:o current productivityo alternative productivityo alternative management
decisions taken at the farm level?
Farm survey
Visit 20 farms in September 2010 Current activities and
areas Economic
characteristics Inputs and outputs by
activity
Variation in pasture productivity
Variation in crop productivity (for fodder)
Maize yield: 340 – 4080 kg ha-1
Milk yields: 436 – 4169 l cow-1 year-1
4 focus farms – variation of maize and milk yields
Farm Farm areas (ha) Herd size/number of milking cows
Household size/ labour(no. of people)
‘1’- Maize quartile 1 (340 kg ha-1)- Milk quartile 1 (436 l cow-1)
Whole farm: 46Maize/beans: 2.0Sugarcane: 1.5Brachiaria pasture: 3.0Native pasture: 33.5Native vegetation: 5.0
30/7 2/2
‘2’- Maize quartile 2(1148 kg ha-1)- Milk quartile 4(2555 l cow-1)
Whole farm: 8.0Maize/beans: 2.0Sugarcane: 1.0Brachiaria pasture: 5.0Native pasture: 0.0Native vegetation: 0.0
34/10 4/2
‘3’- Maize quartile 3(2550 kg ha-1)- Milk quartile 3(2268 l cow-1)
Whole farm: 96.8Maize/beans: 2.0Sugarcane: 2.0Brachiaria pasture: 58.1Native pasture: 0.0Native vegetation: 33.7
150/5 5/5
‘4’- Maize quartile 4(4080 kg ha-1)- Milk quartile 2(1200 l cow-1)
Whole farm: 19.9Maize/beans: 2.0Sugarcane: 0.8Brachiaria pasture: 17.1Native pasture: 0.0Native vegetation: 1.0
35/10 2/2
Research question:
What is the scope for sustainable cultivation of castor beans by family farmers and can this be explained by:o current productivityo alternative productivityo alternative management
decisions taken at the farm level?
Alternative farming system design
Castor bean 1 – 552 kg ha-1
Castor bean 2 – 615 kg ha-1
Castor bean 3 – 1035 kg ha-1
Castor bean 4 – 1051 kg ha-1
4 castor bean yield levels (Diniz Neto et al. 2009)
Alternative farming system design
Castor bean area decision 1Replace one hectare of area currently cropped with maize and beans with castor beans and beans
Castor bean 1 – 552 kg ha-1
Castor bean 2 – 615 kg ha-1
Castor bean 3 – 1035 kg ha-
1
Castor bean 4 – 1051 kg ha-
1
Castor bean area decision 2Replace total area currently cropped with maize and beans (two hectares) plus one hectare currently under pasture with castor beans and beans
Castor bean 1
Castor bean 2
Castor bean 3
Castor bean 4
4 castor bean yield levels by 2 castor bean area decisions
Alternative farming system design Animal feeding decision
1Replace all sacrificed feed production (maize and pasture) by purchasing supplementary fodder (maize equivalent) and renting an equivalent hectare of pasture
Animal feeding decision 2Sacrifice milk yields due to losses in fodder production
Castor bean area decision 1Replace one hectare of area currently cropped with maize and beans with castor beans and beans
Castor bean 1 – 552 kg ha-1 Castor bean 1
Castor bean 2 – 615 kg ha-1 Castor bean 2
Castor bean 3 – 1035 kg ha-
1 Castor bean 3
Castor bean 4 – 1051 kg ha-
1 Castor bean 4
Castor bean area decision 2Replace total area currently cropped with maize and beans (two hectares) plus one hectare currently under pasture with castor beans and beans
Castor bean 1 Castor bean 1
Castor bean 2 Castor bean 2
Castor bean 3 Castor bean 3
Castor bean 4 Castor bean 4
4 castor bean yield levels by 2 castor bean area by 2 animal feeding decisions
Indicator quantification 4 current + 4 X 16 alternatives Input-output calculations
Survey data Supplementary data Assumptions involved...
• Nitrogen balance assumptions• Labour assumptions• Alternative feeding strategy assumptions
“Indicator differences” by current and alternatives
Graphical display
Results – current farms
Farm ‘one’
Farm ‘two’
Farm ‘three’
Farm ‘four’
Farm-level indicators
Farm income (R$ household-1) 4017 14791 16369 8554
Farm income (R$ ha-1) 89 1849 171 409
Labour inputs (days year-1) 254 206 330 190
Labour use efficiency (R$ day-1) 16 72 50 45
Purchased inputs (R$ year-1) 1863 1456 4234 1599
Purchased input use efficiency (R$ R$-1) 2 10 4 5
Nitrogen balance (kg farm-1) -529 -476 -2749 -606
Nitrogen balance (kg ha-1) -12 -59 -29 -29
Simpson’s diversity index 0.41 0.41 0.46 0.50
Field-level indicators
Nitrogen balance for crops (kg ha-1) -10 -18 -39 27
Nitrogen balance for animal/pasture (kg ha-1) -19 -112 -66 -60
Results – “indicator differences” by current farm
Income Productivity of castor beans relative to maize
and milk Purchased inputs
Value of current on-farm fodder production
Mean ∆ income(R$ year-1)
Mean ∆ purchased inputs (R$)
‘Farm 1’ +1143 +237
‘Farm 2’ -8 +628
‘Farm 3’ +209 +950
‘Farm 4’ -423 +1348
Results – “indicator differences” by alternative farming systems
By castor bean yield levels Nitrogen balance and fertilizer inputs important
here By farm-level decisions
Purchased inputs different between castor area and fodder replacement strategies
Mean ∆ purchased inputs (R$)
Castor bean area 1
+365
Castor bean area 2
+1216
Feeding decision 1
+1474
Feeding decision 2
+107
Results – interactions between current and alternative farming systems
Which combinations of farm, field- and farm-level decisions are most favourable?
Area decision 1 and feeding decision 1
Area decision 1 and feeding decision 2
Area decision 2 and feeding decision 1
Area decision 2 and feeding decision 2
Discussion and concluding remarks – scope
Broad implications of the results Farm-specific nature of opportunities
• Target low productivity farms• Alternatives to suit different farms
Do not ignore the trade-off with milk and fodder production
Improving current production activities versus introducing a new activity
Discussion and concluding remarks – future work... Explore more extensive set of alternatives
Agronomic detail Temporal variation
Integration of animal production with biodiesel production
Consider land, labour and cash constraints Consider more sustainability indicators
Capture regional-level issues (industry viability; hydrology)
Product-level issues (life cycle analysis)
Acknowledgements NWO-WOTRO for funding Programme partners in Wageningen, Brazil
and Mozambiquewww.foodorfuel.org