Optimizing livelihood and environmental benefits from crop residues in smallholder crop-livestock

systems in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia:

Progress and preliminary research findings from East African sites

Presentation by Kindu Mekonnen and Alan Duncan for the SLP Crop Residues Project Review and

Planning Meeting Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 9-10 Dec 2010

Contents of the presentation

1. Study sites in East Africa

2. Project progress in EA

3. Preliminary research findings

a) Characteristics of the 3 study sites

b) Dominant crop and livestock types in EA sites

c) Cultural practices in the EA sites

d) Major crop residue types in EA sites

e) Uses of crop residues at the 3 EA sites

f) Trends on the use of crop residues

g) Drivers/challenges of agriculture in the 3 EA sites

4. Conclusions

1. Study sites in East Africa

Kobo (North-Eastern Eth) and Nekemte (Western Eth)- sites in Ethiopia Kakamega (Western Kenya)- a site in Kenya

2. Project progress in EA

Formation of multidisciplinary teams at site level

(partner institutions)

Preparation of village survey instruments (regional)

and pre-testing it with 10-12 HHs

Random selection of villages based on market and

road access (Near-Near, Near-Far, Far-Near and Far-

Far)

Verification/ground-truthing the villages selected

using Google Earth

Conduct of the village survey (24 villages)

HH listing/census data collection of the 24 villages

Village based survey data entry and prelim. analysis

Preparation and pretesting the HH survey instruments

3. Preliminary research findings

a) Characteristics of the 3 study sites

Kobo Nekemte KakamegaAltitude 1416-1634 1748-2418 1426-1719Major soil types Vertisol Nitisol OxisolMean annual RFall (mm) 768 1037 2009Mean annual temp (oC) 30 29 28Total village population 330-2250 196-391 400-5000Total village HHs 66-245 35-70 80-1200Total village land 308-3640 74-164 200-900Total cultivated land 264-1120 61-149 160-810

b) Dominant crop and livestock types in EA sites

Kobo

Teff, sorghum, maize, chickpea and vegetables

Nekemte

Maize, teff, sorghum, finger millet, wheat, barley, oat, faba bean, noug, vegetables and beet root, potato, anchote

Kakamega

Maize, finger millet, sorghum, beans, bambara nuts, groundnuts, vegetables, sweet potatoes, cassava, taro, banana and sugarcane

Livestock species

c) Cultural practices in the EA sites (% HH practicing)

Kobo Nekemet Kakamega Hand weeding 100 97 98Chemical fertilizer 0 95 80Manure application 33 93 47Tillage by animal 100 100 64Tillage by tractor 10 0 11Herbicide application 57 91 0

Manure application in Manure application in Kakamega Kakamega

Tillage practice in Kobo

d) Major crop residue types in EA sites

Kobo: Tef straw, sorghum stover, maize stover, chickpea hull

Nekemte: Tef straw, maize stover, barley straw, wheat straw, faba bean trash, finger millet straw

Kakamega: Maize stover, maize cobs, beans straw, sugarcane tops, groundnut hauls, sweet potato vines, banana stems, soya bean straw, millet straws, beans trash, vegetable stalks

Uses

e) Uses of crop residues at the 3 EA sites

f) Trends on the use of crop residues

Bars above the lines indicate increase in the last 10 yrs while bars below graphs indicate decreases.

g) Drivers/challenges of agriculture in the 3 EA sites

Poor and unreliable rainfall – limit crop productivity and biomass production, create shortage of drinking water

Kobo:

High human population, small land holding, very low employment opportunities

Feed shortage – high livestock population, less quantity and quality feed

Soil erosion and gully formation – competing farming land and affecting the quality and quantity of crop product and by-products

Competing use of CR and dung for fuel, free dung collection, deforestation

Nekemte:

Soil acidity – high rainfall, P-fixation, Al toxicity- limits crop productivity

Declining soil fertility- deforestation, soil erosion, depletion of nutrients, crop and biomass yield reduction

Poor infrastructure and market - high price of inputs and low price of products

Kakamega:

Soil fertility decline- intensive cropping, soil acidity

More livestock technological packages, high price of inputs and services

High population, low employment opportunity, declining of landholding

4. Conclusions

There is adequate rainfall and high diversity of crops in Kakamega and Nekemte sites as compared to the Kobo site. Hence, intensification and use of CR for soil management in the Kakamega and Nekemte areas can be possible options to sustain land productivity and improve income of farmers.

Competing use of CR is more pronounced in Kobo than in other EA sites. Hence, integrated interventions can be useful for the Kobo areas to maximize the use of CR for sustainable land management.

Fragmentation of landholdings and over- exploitation of the land resources is becoming a threat in most study sites because of population pressure and abiotic factors. Hence, there is a need to create more jobs and wisely manage the land to see a better future in the project areas.