Approaches to improve the utilization of food–feed crops—synthesis

Lenné, J. M.; Fernández-Rivera, S.; Blümmel, Michael

doi:10.1016/s0378-4290(03)00152-7

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In these systems, dual purpose crops or food-feed crops are very common as the grain can be used for human consumption and the residues for livestock feed (Lenne et al, 2003).…”

Section: Crop and Livestock Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors and Outputs in Mixed Crop-Livestock Smallholder Farming Systems in Africa South of the Sahara

2016

IJSR

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African mixed farming is a system in which various components (cropping, tillage, soil fertility, milk and meat production) are owned and managed as a single unit. Mixed crop-livestock farming systems constitute the backbone of much smallholder agriculture in the tropics, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Livestock provide many different products and services to people, such as food, income, manure, draft power, a store of wealth, and socio-cultural values. Mixed crop-livestock systems are characterized by a strong complementarity in resource use, with outputs from one component being supplied to other components. However, some trade-offs between farm components are also evident. Organic resources play a dominant role in smallholders' production and livelihood objectives. The organic resources are used for soil fertility management, animal feed, fuel, and fibre. Crop-livestock interactions and integration are influenced by a variety of socio-economic factors including climate, soils, population density, labour availability, land availability, market access, government policy, structural adjustment programmes, and trypanosomiasis threat. The increased variety of outputs produced in mixed smallholder crop-livestock systems reduces marketing risks associated with unexpected declines in the price of any one product. The application of remedial interventions in resource management is becoming a necessity for intensifying croplivestock systems where population density is on the rise, the farm size is declining, and competition for land, water, and other biophysical and socioeconomic resources among various sectors is increasing. Given the growing resource scarcity and the rising demand for agricultural products, appropriate resource allocation is needed to satisfy this demand and also safeguard environmental services of ecosystems at the same time. Sustaining and safeguarding environmental services in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be realized without controlling the expansion of grazing land and cropland into natural ecosystems, and limiting and reversing rangeland degradation. Diversification and intensification of smallholder agriculture appear the most effective pathways for achieving these outcomes. Participatory research approaches involving appropriate scientific disciplines, policy makers and farmers are needed for developing ecologically sound, economically viable and socially acceptable technologies that improve nutrient cycling and enhance agricultural productivity. Property rights have a profound effect on resource management. Thus secure rights to land, whether under communal or private regimes, are required for long-term resource management. Economic incentives (e.g. subsidies) and policies that encourage well-functioning input and output markets can have a strong impact on the choices that farmers make between alternative crop, livestock and nutrient management strategies.

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“…In these systems, dual purpose crops or food-feed crops are very common as the grain can be used for human consumption and the residues for livestock feed (Lenne et al, 2003).…”

Section: Crop and Livestock Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors and Outputs in Mixed Crop-Livestock Smallholder Farming Systems in Africa South of the Sahara

2016

IJSR

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“…Cattle production can potentially benefit from access to on-farm irrigation by improving feed sourcesboth the planting of high-quality forages (grasses and legumes) and the by-products of additional non-rice crops. For example, peanut crop residue can be a potential source of fodder for ruminants in integrated farming systems (Lenné et al, 2003).…”

Section: Research Question Aims and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating cropping system options for farmers in the lowland rice-based systems of Cambodia

Sareth¹

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Rainfed lowlands account for nearly 90% of the total rice area in Cambodia. Annual rice production from the rainfed lowlands is over 7 million tonnes accounting for 77% of total rice production.However, the majority of rainfed lowland farm households are resource-poor, owning less than a hectare of paddy land, and, given the monsoonal (wet-dry) climate, grow only a single low-yielding rice crop per year in the wet season (WS), primarily for subsistence. This lowland rice farming system is subject to various pressures from unreliable rainfall, poor soil fertility, insect and weed pests, the use of traditional varieties and cropping practices, restricted access to irrigation, and limited farm resources. Moreover, there are few options for earning cash income, given the reliance on subsistence rice cultivation in the WS and the inability to use land and labour productively in the dry season (DS).The research reported in this thesis aimed to explore the potential for agricultural development and poverty reduction in the rainfed lowlands of Cambodia, with particular emphasis on the role of irrigation. First, the thesis sought to evaluate the situation, constraints, and management of farms in rainfed lowland villages in southern Cambodia. Next, it compared the options available to farm managers and village communities in similar biophysical and socioeconomic environments but with different degrees of access to irrigation. Finally, it identified the potential development pathways and adaptive responses of farm managers in the rainfed lowland environment.The research was carried out in rainfed lowland districts in Takeo and Kampong Speu Provinces, representing a typical lowland rice-growing region that was densely-populated and with low percapita ownership of paddy land. A comparative case-study design was used with multiple units of analysis. Three villages were selected that experienced similar biophysical and socioeconomic environments but had different degrees of access to irrigation, with Trapeang Run depending on small houseyard ponds, Snao using tubewells to extract groundwater, and Ta Daeng Thmei benefiting from gravity-fed irrigation from a medium-size reservoir. Each village was considered as an individual case, with cross-case comparison used to develop generalisations about the research objectives.A range of research methods were employed between 2010 and 2013 for data collection, including reconnaissance visits, household surveys, discussions with village heads, key informant interviews, analysis of market trends, farm walks and direct observation, use of village data manuals and documents, surveys of pond-water and groundwater, analysis of rainfall data, soil surveys, and field crop experiments. Analytical methods applied to the analysis of household survey data and other data comprised conventional descriptive statistics, multivariate statistical techniques, and iii conventional farm management economics, adapted to the perspectives of semi-commercial farm households.Trapeang Run was typical of ra...

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“…Such scenarios suggest that the general shortage of feedstuffs for ruminant livestock is likely to be exacerbated (Ertiro et al, 2013a). Increased productivity of both food and livestock will generally have to come from increasing productivity per unit area (Lenné et al, 2003). This is a compelling reason for greater effective integration of crop and livestock production systems to produce more food from smaller land units .…”

Section: Nutritional Constraints To Livestock Production In Developinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative practical strategy for improving the quantity, and sometimes the nutritive value of CR for ruminants is through exploiting plant genetic variability and selection of more appropriate crop genotypes Lenné et al, 2003;Sharma et al, 2010;Wilkins, 2000) and use of dual-purpose crops for both food and livestock feedstuffs. Such dual purpose crop varieties are usually cereals or legumes that combine good food grain yields with high yield and quality of the CR as feedstuffs and are likely to be particularly appropriate for smallholder farmers.…”

Section: Genotype Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dual-purpose varieties which (provide larger amounts and higher quality CR as well as grain) are attractive options to meet HH needs under current and likely future scenarios (Lenné et al, 2003). However, as is the situation globally, the potential of dual-purpose crop technologies for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia depends to a high degree on biophysical/agro-ecological and socio-economic factors (Blümmel et al, 2013b;De Groote et al, 2013;Franke et al, 2014;Notenbaert et al, 2013).…”

Section: Types Of Crops Grown and Adoption Of Improved Varieties Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Options for improving the yield and nutritive value of maize and grain legume residues for ruminants in East African farming systems

Dejene¹

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The role and importance of livestock in smallholder crop-livestock systems and the importance of crop residues (CR) as ruminant feedstuffs in such systems are well established. The effects of genotype (G), environment (E) and crop management (M) factors on yields of grain and CR and the nutritive value of the CR of maize (Zea mays) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) were investigated in an East African context. Genotype effects were examined in early and medium maturing (EM and MM, respectively) maize hybrids and popular varieties of common bean. Environment was examined at three sites for maize in the 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons and at four sites for common bean in 2013. Management effects examined were plant density (D) (5 and 7 plants/m 2 ), height of cutting at harvest in maize, and harvest at early and final seed maturity in common bean. Quality attributes (nitrogen (N), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) contents and dry matter digestibility (DMD)) were analysed using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and calibrations expanded and validated with reference samples of CR representing the experimental sample set.There was substantial variation (P<0.05 to P<0.0001) among maize genotypes in yields of grain and stover and quality of stover as a feedstuff. Dual purpose genotypes were identified but G x E interactions for some yield and quality attributes showed that the variation among genotypes can depend on environment. In general the higher D increased yields of grain by 9-15% and stover by 21-31%, but had only minor effects on stover quality attributes. Year (Y) x density (D), G x E and G x D interactions were observed for some of the yield and stover attributes.High cutting height of maize (two internodes below the lowest ear) allowed harvest of most of the stover (on average 63-72% in EM and MM genotypes, respectively) as feedstuff while leaving stubble in the field available for other uses. This is established practice by farmers in some regions. The amount and quality as a feedstuff of the upper and lower stover components varied (P<0.01) among genotypes. N and DMD were 0.05-0.09% and 1.7-3.6%, respectively higher (P<0.0001) in the upper fraction of the stover than in whole stover. Thus evaluation and estimation of the amount and quality of maize stover available as a feedstuff should consider harvest at high cutting height to increase quality. G x E interactions were observed in yield and in some stover attributes in the upper and lower fractions, but these were not consistent.ii Common bean varieties varied (P<0.05 to P<0.0001) in yields of seed and haulm and in the nutritive value of haulm fractions (leaf, stem and pod wall) when harvested at seed maturity. There was extensive leaf loss at seed maturity which decreased haulm quality.Seed and haulm yields were correlated (r=0.87). Seed yield was generally not related to haulm quality as N% or DMD%. The variation in yield and haulm feedstuff quality was also examined in common bean varieties harvested at early se...

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Approaches to improve the utilization of food–feed crops—synthesis

Cited by 36 publications

References 3 publications

Interactions of Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors and Outputs in Mixed Crop-Livestock Smallholder Farming Systems in Africa South of the Sahara

Interactions of Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors and Outputs in Mixed Crop-Livestock Smallholder Farming Systems in Africa South of the Sahara

Evaluating cropping system options for farmers in the lowland rice-based systems of Cambodia

Options for improving the yield and nutritive value of maize and grain legume residues for ruminants in East African farming systems

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