1. LivestockThematic PapersTools for project design Integrated crop-livestock farming systems Population growth, urbanization and income growth in developing countries are fuelling a substantial global increase in the demand for food of animal origin, while also aggravating the competition between crops and livestock (increasing cropping areas and reducing rangelands). 1 The livestock revolution is stretching the capacity of existing production, but it is also exacerbating environmental problems. Therefore, while it is necessary to satisfy consumer demand, improve nutrition and direct income growth opportunities to those who need them most, it is also necessary to alleviate environmental stress. Conventional agriculture is known to cause soil and pasture degradation because it involves intensive tillage, in particular if practised in areas of marginal productivity. Technologies and management schemes that can enhance productivity need to be developed. At the same time, ways need to be found to preserve the natural resource base. Within this framework, an integrated crop-livestock farming system represents a key solution for enhancing livestock production and safeguarding the environment through prudent and efficient resource use. The increasing pressure on land and the growing demand for livestock products makes it more and more important to ensure the effective use of feed resources, including crop residues. An integrated farming system consists of a range of resource-saving practices that aim to achieve acceptable profits and high and sustained production levels, while minimizing the negative effects of intensive farming and preserving the environment. Based on the 1 This term summarizes a complex series of interrelated processes and outcomes in livestock consumption, production and economic growth. The revolution could provide income growth opportunities for many poor rural people involved in the livestock sector (Delgado et al., 1999).

2. Figure 1Integrated crop-livestock farming system Key aspects LivestockNutrient Production CyclingIntegratedCrop-Livestock FarmingSystem CropForage ResiduesCropsprinciple of enhancing natural biological The result of this cyclical combination isprocesses above and below the ground, the the mixed farming system, which exists inintegrated system represents a winningmany forms and represents the largest categorycombination that (a) reduces erosion; of livestock systems in the world in terms of(b) increases crop yields, soil biologicalanimal numbers, productivity and the numberactivity and nutrient recycling;of people it services.3(c) intensifies land use, improving profits;Animals play key and multiple roles inand (d) can therefore help reduce poverty the functioning of the farm, and not onlyand malnutrition and strengthen because they provide livestock productsenvironmental sustainability. (meat, milk, eggs, wool, hides) or can beconverted into prompt cash in times of need.Advantages and main constraints Animals transform plant energy into usefulAdvantageswork: animal power is used for ploughing,In an integrated system, livestock and cropstransport and in activities such as milling,are produced within a coordinated logging, road construction, marketing, andframework.2 The waste products of one water lifting for irrigation.component serve as a resource for the other.Animals also provide manure and otherFor example, manure is used to enhance crop types of animal waste. Excreta has twoproduction; crop residues and by-products crucial roles in the overall sustainability offeed the animals, supplementing often the system:inadequate feed supplies, thus(a) Improving nutrient cycling: Excretacontributing to improved animal nutritioncontains several nutrients (includingand productivity.nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium)2 Van Keulen and Schiere, 2004.3 Mixed farming systems utilize about half of all the land used for livestock production systems, or roughly2.5 billion hectares worldwide, of which 1.1 billion hectares are arable rainfed cropland, 0.2 billion hectares irrigatedcropland and 1.2 billion hectares grassland. Mixed farming systems make the largest contribution to world livestockproducts with just over 50 per cent of the meat and 90 per cent of the milk currently consumed being produced insuch systems (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, 1999, quoted in Van Keulen and Schiere, 2004).2 3. Box 1: Diversified versus integrated systems Diversified systems consist of components such as crops and livestock that coexist independently from each other.4 In this case, integrating crops and livestock serves primarily to minimize risk and not to recycle resources. In an integrated system, crops and livestock interact to create a synergy, with recycling allowing the maximum use of available resources. Crop residues can be used for animal feed, while livestock and livestock by-product production and processing can enhance agricultural productivity by intensifying nutrients that improve soil fertility, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. A high integration of crops and livestock is often considered as a step forward, but small farmers need to have sufficient access to knowledge, assets and inputs to manage this system in a way that is economically and environmentally sustainable over the long term. 4 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001.and organic matter, which are importantThis system has other specific advantages:for maintaining soil structure and It helps improve and conserve thefertility. Through its use, production isproductive capacities of soils, withincreased while the risk of soil physical, chemical and biological soildegradation is reduced.recuperation. Animals play an important(b) Providing energy: Excreta is the basis for the role in harvesting and relocating nutrients,production of biogas and energy forsignificantly improving soil fertility andhousehold use (e.g. cooking, lighting) orcrop yields.for rural industries (e.g. powering mills It is quick, efficient and economicallyand water pumps). Fuel in the form ofviable because grain crops can bebiogas or dung cakes can replace charcoalproduced in four to six months, andand wood.pasture formation after cropping is rapid and inexpensive.Crop residues represent the other pillar on It helps increase profits by reducingwhich the equilibrium of this system rests.production costs. Poor farmers can useThey are fibrous by-products that result fromfertilizer from livestock operations,the cultivation of cereals, pulses, oil plants,especially when rising petroleum pricesroots and tubers. They are a valuable, low-costmake chemical fertilizers unaffordable.feed resource for animal production, and are It results in greater soil water storageconsequently the major source of nutrients capacity, mainly because of biologicalfor livestock in developing countries. aeration and the increase in the level ofThe overall benefits of crop-livestock organic matter.integration can be summarized as follows: It provides diversified income sources, Agronomic, through the retrieval and guaranteeing a buffer against trade, price maintenance of the soil productiveand climate fluctuations. capacity; Economic, through product diversificationConstraints and higher yields and quality at less cost; Nutritional values of crop residues are Ecological, through the reduction of crop generally low in digestibility and protein pests (less pesticide use and better soilcontent. Improving intake and erosion control); anddigestibility of crop residues by physical Social, through the reduction of rural- and chemical treatments is technically urban migration and the creation of newpossible but not feasible for poor small job opportunities in rural areas.farmers because they require machinery3 4. and chemicals that are expensive or not Rational. Using crop residues more readily available.5 rationally is an important route out ofCrop residues are primarily soilpoverty. For resource-poor farmers, the regenerators, but too often they are either correct management of crop residues, disregarded or misapplied.together with an optimal allocation ofIntensive recycling can cause nutrientscarce resources, leads to sustainable losses. production.If manure nutrient use efficiencies are not Ecologically sustainable. Combining improved or properly applied, the importecological sustainability and economic of nutrients in feeds and fertilizers willviability, the integrated livestock-farming remain high, as will the costs and energy system maintains and improves needs for production and transportation,agricultural productivity while also and the surpluses lost in the environment.reducing negative environmental impacts.Farmers prefer to use chemical fertilizer instead of manure because it acts fasterSome lessons learned and and is easier to use. recommendationsResource investments are required to The maintenance of an integrated crop- improve intake and digestibility of croplivestock system is dependent on the residues. availability of adequate nutrients to sustain animals and plants and toMixed farms are prone to using more manure maintain soil fertility. Animal manurethan crop farms do. Manure transportation is alone cannot meet crop requirements,an important factor affecting manure use.even if it does contain the kind of nutrients needed. This is because of itsChallenges relatively low nutrient density and theDevelop strategies and promote crop-limited quantity available to small-scale livestock synergies and interactions that farmers. Alternative sources for the aim to (a) integrate crops and livestocknutrients need to be found. effectively with careful land use; Growing fodder legumes and using them (b) raise the productivity of specific mixedas a supplement to crop residue is the crop-livestock systems; (c) facilitatemost practical and cost-effective method expansion of food production; and for improving the nutritional value of crop (d) simultaneously safeguard theresidues. This combination is also effective environment with prudent and efficientin reducing weight loss in animals, use of natural resources. particularly during dry periods;Devise measures (for instance, Given their traditional knowledge and facilitating large-scale dissemination of experience, local farmers are perfectly able biodigesters) to implement a more to apply an integrated system. In practice, efficient use of biomass, reducinghowever, relatively few adopt this system, pressures on natural resources; and mainly because they have limited access to develop a sustainable livestock manurecredit, technology and knowledge. The management system to controlcrop-pasture rotation system is complex environmental losses and contaminantand requires a substantial capital outlay spreading.for machinery and implements. Associations of grain and livestockKey principles producers are useful for filling these gapsCyclic. The farming system is essentially and can promote the adoption of a crop- cyclic (organic resources livestock landlivestock system; crops). Therefore, management Veterinary services are generally unable to decisions related to one component mayreach poor small farmers in remote areas. affect the others.Therefore, for livestock production to be5 Keftasa and International Livestock Centre for Africa, 1988.4 5. 5 6. improved, more attention needs to beeffective integrated system that produces paid to making veterinary care accessible,usable biomass while conserving natural particularly in terms of prevention;resources, and can therefore be sustainable inBetter livestock management is needed tothe long term. safeguard water. Livestock water demand Within this framework some key questions includes water for drinking and for feedfor project design are production and processing. Livestock also How can livestock production increase to have an impact on water, contaminating itmeet the growing demand for livestock with manure and urine. All of theseproducts, using methods that the resource aspects need to be given due base can sustain? consideration. Do the strategies devised for raisingIntensification of agriculture through productivity in integrated crop-livestock appropriate incorporation of small systems take into account the stage of livestock has the potential to decrease thedevelopment of the target population with land needed for agricultural productionrespect to the nature of crop-livestock and relieve the pressure on forests. interactions? Do the farmers concerned have the rightKey issues and questions forskills, knowledge, capital and technologyproject designto set up this system?The increase in demand for livestock Are the roles and responsibilities of menproducts presents opportunities for small and women given sufficientfarmers who can increase livestockconsideration?production and benefit from related income.6 How can additional needed nutrients beHowever, in terms of environmental impact,obtained? And, can the productivity of thethe growing number of livestock and the system be increased without stressing theincrease in livestock processing can have a environment?negative impact on natural resources unless Is enough good-quality feed available toactions are taken to identify farming practices sustain animals, especially during the drythat are economically and ecologicallyseason?sustainable. Thanks to the dynamic Are nutrients that are relocated frominteraction of its various components, thegrazing areas to croplands efficientlyhighly improved integrated crop-livestock recovered?system can guarantee more sustainable Are the different components of theproduction and therefore constitutes a validfarming system (crop, livestock and,new approach. eventually, fish) efficiently integrated?Experience in the use of this system hasshown that (a) adopting sustainablemanagement practices can improveproduction while preserving theenvironment; (b) residues, wastes and by-products of each component serve asresources for the others; and (c) poor farmershave the traditional knowledge needed tointegrate livestock and crop production, butbecause of their limited access to knowledge,assets and inputs, relatively few adopt anintegrated system.The challenge for developmentpractitioners is to ensure that poor smallfarmers can increase the productivity oftraditional farming systems, adopting an6 Delgado et al., 1999.6 7. ReferencesCouncil for Agricultural Science and Technology. 1999. Animal Agriculture and Global Food Supply. In Task ForceReport, no. 135. Ames, Iowa: CAST.Delgado, C., M. Rosegrant, H. Steinfeld, S. Ehui and C. Courbois. 1999. Livestock to 2020: The Next FoodRevolution. Food, Agriculture and the Environment Discussion Paper 28, Washington, D.C.: International FoodPolicy Research Institute.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2000. Small Ponds Make a Big Difference: IntegratingFish with Crop and Livestock Farming. Rome: FAO.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2001. Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming: A Review ofTraditional Technologies based on Literature and Field Experience. Animal Production and Health Papers 152.Rome: FAO.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2003. Integrated livestock-fish farming systems. Rome:FAO.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2007. Tropical Crop-Livestock Systems in ConservationAgriculture. The Brazilian Experience. Rome: FAO.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Bank Group. 2001. Farming Systems andPoverty: Improving Farmers Livelihoods in a Changing World. Rome: FAO.International Fund for Agricultural Development. 2008. Improving Crop-Livestock Productivity through Efficient Nutrient Management in Mixed Farming Systems of Semi-arid West Africa. http://www.ifad.org/lrkm/tags/384.htm (accessed 8 May 2008).International Fund for Agricultural Development. 2005. Integrated Crop-Livestock Farming System, Burkina Faso. Rome: IFAD.International Fund for Agricultural Development. Undated. Community Approach to the Development of IntegratedCrop/Livestock Production in the Low Rainfall Area. http://www.ifad.org/lrkm/tans/3.htm (accessed February2008).International Livestock Centre for Africa (1998). Crop-Livestock Interactions. A Review of Opportunities forDeveloping Integrated Models. Llangefni, United Kingdom: Stirling Thorne Associates.International Livestock Research Institute. 1996. Nutrient Cycling in Integrated Rangeland/Cropland Systems of theSahel. Niamey: ILRI, Sahelian Center.Keftasa, D. and International Livestock Centre for Africa. 1988. Role of Crop Residues as Livestock Feed inEthiopian Highlands. In Proceedings of the Third Workshop at the International Conference Centre. Arusha,United Republic of Tanzania, 27-30 April 1987. Addis Ababa: ILCA.Preston, T.R. and E. Murgueitio. 1992. Sustainable Intensive Livestock Systems for the Humid Tropics. WorldAnimal Review 72:2-8.Van Keulen, H. and H. Schiere. 2004. Crop-Livestock Systems: Old Wine in New Bottles? In New Directions for aDiverse Planet. Proceedings of the 4th International Crop Science Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 26 September-October 2004. http://www.cropscience.org.au/icsc2004/symposia/2/1/211_vankeulenh.htm 7 8. ContactAntonio RotaSenior Technical Adviser onLivestock and Farming SystemsTechnical Advisory DivisionTel: +39 06 5459 2680a.rota@ifad.orgAuthorsAntonio RotaSenior Technical Advisor forLivestock and Farming SystemsTechnical Advisory Divisiona.rota@ifad.orgSilvia SperandiniConsultant, Technical AdvisoryDivisions.sperandini@ifad.orgInternational Fund forAgricultural DevelopmentVia Paolo di Dono, 4400142 Rome, ItalyTelephone: +39 06 54591February 2010Facsimile: +39 06 5043463E-mail: ifad@ifad.orgwww.ifad.org These materials can be found on IFADswww.ruralpovertyportal.org website at www.ifad.org/lrkm/index.htm