Water Footprint Assessment of Sheep and Goat in Different Production Systems along with the CRP DS

Action Site Beni Kedache-Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia)

Ridha Ibidhi1. Hichem Ben Salem2

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1 INRA-Tunisie, Laboratoire des Productions Animales et Fourragères, rue Hédi Karray, 2049 Ariana, Tunisia.2 Diversification and Sustainable Intensification of Production Systems Program, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Amman, Jordan.

1. Introduction

2. Water Footprint: Concept and accounting

3. Research Objectives

4. Method & Data

5. Preliminary Results

6. Preliminary Conclusions

CONTENTS

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•Growing demand for agricultural products especially in the developing countries

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• >90% of total water demand comes

from agriculture of which 31% is for

livestock

• Water for agriculture becoming scarce.

• Need for greater understanding of

human consumption impacts on global freshwater resources

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Research Objective and Question

Objective

Estimate the Water footprint of sheep and goat produced in Zoghmar community (Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia).

Question

The water footprint differs between species ?

Is there a difference on Water Footprint of sheep and goat meat across seasons, in the action site Beni kedache-Sidi Bouzid? What can we do?

Justification

No knowledge so far on the water resource use for livestock production in Tunisia- basis for decision making.

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What is the water footprint?

The ‘water footprint’ is a measure of human’s appropriation of

freshwater resources.

► Water footprint is a measurement of the volume of water consumed(evaporated or otherwise not returned) or assimilation capacity used.

► The water footprint is a geographically & temporally explicit indicator.

► The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct& indirect water use of a consumer or producer.

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Application of water footprint assessment

► Process

► Product

► Business/business sector

► Consumer/group of consumers

► Geographical area

► Humanity

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Green water footprint► Volume of rainwater evaporated or incorporated into

product.

Blue water footprint► volume of surface or groundwater evaporated.

Grey water footprint► volume of polluted water.

Components of a water footprint

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Example of a water footprint of agricultural products

Global average water footprint

litre/kg

Fruits 1000

Cereals 2900

Pulses 4000

Goat 5000

Sheep 7000

Beef 15000

Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems

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Materials and Methods

Methodology as set out in The Water Footprint Assessment Manual (Hoekstra et al., 2011)

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Assessing the water footprint of crop and animal products

Water footprint of a crop

Crop water use (m3/ha) / Crop yield (ton/ha)

Water footprint of an animal

Sum of water for feed, drinking and servicing

Water footprint of a crop or livestock product

Distribute the water footprint of the root product over its derived products

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Crop water requirement

1. Calculate reference crop evapotranspiration ET0 (mm/day)e.g. Penman-Monteith equation

2. Calculate crop evapotranspiration Etc (mm/day)Etc = ET0 Kc where Kc = crop coefficient

3. Calculate crop water requirement CWR (m3/ha)CWR = Σ Etc [accumulate over growing period]

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The Analytical Tools

Water Footprint of Meat1.

WF a, s Σ Feed a, s, p WFservice * p WF drinkinga, s (1)

P p WFp ro d p VWI pWF * p ne

p P ne

P

(2)

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WF of meat based on the WF of the animal at the end of its lifetime, the

water consumed for processing the slaughtered animal into meat, the

amount of meat derived from one animal, and the relative value of meat

compared to the value of other products derived from the animal.

Model to simulate crop water use and Yield: Aqua crop model

Data Details Sources

Climatic PrecipitationTemp min&maxET0

Grid based data

CRU-TS- 3.10 (Harris, et al., 2013)

Soil properties 30x30 arc minute resolution Local data: Ministry of agriculture Tunisia

Crop parameters Planting datesGrowing cyclesHarvesting index

Local data: Ministry of agriculture Tunisia

Irrigation Irrigation schedules & method

Ministry of agriculture Tunisia

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• Delineation of livestock production systems

Area of study

• We describe a production system : Agro-pastoral.

• Small ruminants’ production is the main source of income of many households in the region of Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia).

• Water scarcity and feed shortage

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Preliminary Results & discussion

Figure 1. Average water footprint of feed (liter /kg)

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Average Water Footprint of Sheep and Goat Meat

6222 liter/kg of carcass 4521 liter/Kg carcass

► Goat meat was more sustainable in term of use of water than sheep meat

94 % 5% 1% 94 % 5% 1%

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Water Footprint of Sheep and Goat among Seasons

winter Spring Summer0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Sheep

Goat

Seasons

Wat

er F

oo

tpri

nt

(lit

er/K

g o

f ca

rcas

s)

Figure 2. Water Footprint of Sheep and Goat among Seasons in Zoghmar Community

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Summer WF was lowest due to:

Water efficiency of diet ingredients distributed to sheep and goat such as cactus.

Feed intake in summer was the lowest.

352 liter/ Kg 1039 liter/ Kg291 liter/ Kg

Use of feed with low water footprint.

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Conclusion

Water Footprint Assessment is a simple & elegant concept which enables us to:

Understand the geographic allocation of water resources agriculture and domestic water supply.

Evaluate the efficiency of water use: consumption & pollution.

Determine the sustainability of water use: e.g. water scarcity and water pollution levels.

Identify the most strategic actions to improve the sustainability, efficiency and equitability of water use.

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Conclusion

Water footprint give a better perspective of the use of water resources.

The study provides a basis on which resource use efficiency gains can be made e.g. species and diet composition changes.

There is a need for further study on:

• Water footprint sustainability assessment of the use of water resources for livestock production.

• Water productivity assessment of animal products.

• Choose the best production system in term of water saving.

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Thank you!

Questions?

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