Linking research on forage germplasm to farmers: the pathway to increased adoption—a CIAT, ILRI and IITA perspective

Peters, Michael; Lascano, Carlos E.; Roothaert, Ralph L.; Haan, Nicoline C. de

doi:10.1016/s0378-4290(03)00149-7

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Simple approaches that merely raise awareness need to expand into efforts that remove complex obstacles, which prevent changes in behavior (Robinson 2012). For example, some farmers in the tropics consider that forage plants are provided by nature and do not require active management, including the application of fertilizer (Peters et al 2003). These attitudes may slowly change as extensive grazing lands become scarcer and consumer demands for livestock products increase incentives to invest in inputs that improve production.…”

Section: Socio-economic Intensification To Promote Wide-spread Use Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

LivestockPlus - The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

Rao

Peters

Castro

et al. 2015

Trop Grass - Forr Trop

119

115

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As global demand for livestock products (such as meat, milk and eggs) is expected to double by 2050, necessary increases to future production must be reconciled with negative environmental impacts that livestock cause. This paper describes the LivestockPlus concept and demonstrates how the sowing of improved forages can lead to the sustainable intensification of mixed crop-forage-livestock-tree systems in the tropics by producing multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. Sustainable intensification not only improves the productivity of tropical forage-based systems but also reduces the ecological footprint of livestock production and generates a diversity of ecosystem services (ES) such as improved soil quality and reduced erosion, sedimentation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Integrating improved grass and legume forages into mixed production systems (crop-livestock, tree-livestock, crop-tree-livestock) can restore degraded lands and enhance system resilience to drought and waterlogging associated with climate change. When properly managed tropical forages accumulate large amounts of carbon in soil, fix atmospheric nitrogen (legumes), inhibit nitrification in soil and reduce nitrous oxide emissions (grasses), and reduce GHG emissions per unit livestock product.The LivestockPlus concept is defined as the sustainable intensification of forage-based systems, which is based on 3 interrelated intensification processes: genetic intensification -the development and use of superior grass and legume www.tropicalgrasslands.info cultivars for increased livestock productivity; ecological intensification -the development and application of improved farm and natural resource management practices; and socio-economic intensification -the improvement of local and national institutions and policies, which enable refinements of technologies and support their enduring use. Increases in livestock productivity will require coordinated efforts to develop supportive government, non-government organization and private sector policies that foster investments and fair market compensation for both the products and ES provided. Effective research-for-development efforts that promote agricultural and environmental benefits of foragebased systems can contribute towards implemention of LivestockPlus across a variety of geographic, political and socio-economic contexts. ResumenDe la misma manera que la demanda global de productos pecuarios (carne, leche, huevos) se duplicará para 2050, se espera que las producciones futuras tengan en cuenta los efectos ambientales negativos ocasionados por este sector. En este documento se describe el concepto LivestockPlus y se demuestra cómo en el trópico los forrajes mejorados pueden llevar a la intensificación sostenible de sistemas de producción mixta que integran forrajes/ganadería y cultivos y/o árboles, produciendo múltiples beneficios sociales, económicos y ambientales. La intensificación sostenible no sólo incrementa la productividad de los sistemas tropicales basados en forra...

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Section: Socio-economic Intensification To Promote Wide-spread Use Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

LivestockPlus - The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

Rao

Peters

Castro

et al. 2015

Trop Grass - Forr Trop

119

115

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“…If there is openness to introducing arboreal legumes, bridging the gap between research and application can be more successfully achieved when extension services are present, trained, and motivated (Workman et al, 2003). Involving the land manager in participatory testing and disseminating arboreal legumes in silvopasture may also increase the chances for long-term changes (Peters et al, 2003;Kuntashula and Mafongoya, 2005).…”

Section: Social and Cultural Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree legumes: an underexploited resource in warm-climate silvopastures

et al. 2017

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-Tree legumes are an underexploited resource in warm-climate silvopastures. Perceived benefits of tree legumes include provisioning (browse/mast, timber, fuel, human food, natural medicines, and ornamentals), regulating (C sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, soil erosion control and riparian buffers, shade, windbreaks, and habitat for pollinators), supporting (biological N 2 -fixation, nutrient cycling, soil fertility and soil health, photosynthesis, and primary productivity), and cultural ecosystem services. Tree legumes, however, have not been assessed to the same extent as herbaceous legumes. Once tree legumes are established, they are often more persistent than most herbaceous legumes. There are limitations for extended research with tree legume silvopastures, but extensive research has been done in Africa and Australia and recent efforts have been reported in South America. Economic benefits must be demonstrated to land managers to increase adoption. These benefits are apparent in the research and successes already available, but more long-term research, including the livestock component is necessary. Other factors that reduce adoption include paucity of domesticated germplasm, lag in research/technology, challenges of multipurpose trees and management complexity, challenges to mechanization, dangers of invasive weeds, and social and cultural barriers. In the current scenario of climate change and the need to increase food security, tree legumes are a key component for the sustainable intensification of livestock systems in warm-climate regions.Key Words: biological N 2 fixation, ecosystem services, grassland, nutrient cycling, tropical Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia

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“…Farmers in large areas like sub-Saharan Africa and the Llanos of Colombia remain reluctant to adopt newly developed forages despite a wide range of potential benefits documented by nine decades of research and experience. Insufficient links between experiment station and on-farm work as well as a lack of interaction between scientists and farmers has limited wider uptake of forages (Peters et al 2003). To clarify both the challenges of advancing foragefocused sustainable intensification and the conditions that facilitate its spread, we present four examples of it.…”

Section: Sustainable Intensification With Forages: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

LivestockPlus: Forages, sustainable intensification, and food security in the tropics

Rudel

Paul

White³

et al. 2015

Ambio

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The increased use of grain-based feed for livestock during the last two decades has contributed, along with other factors, to a rise in grain prices that has reduced human food security. This circumstance argues for feeding more forages to livestock, particularly in the tropics where many livestock are reared on small farms. Efforts to accomplish this end, referred to as the 'LivestockPlus' approach, intensify in sustainable ways the management of grasses, shrubs, trees, and animals. By decoupling the human food and livestock feed systems, these efforts would increase the resilience of the global food system. Effective LivestockPlus approaches take one of two forms: (1) simple improvements such as new forage varieties and animal management practices that spread from farmer to farmer by word of mouth, or (2) complex sets of new practices that integrate forage production more closely into farms' other agricultural activities and agro-ecologies.

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Linking research on forage germplasm to farmers: the pathway to increased adoption—a CIAT, ILRI and IITA perspective

Cited by 15 publications

References 11 publications

LivestockPlus - The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

LivestockPlus - The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

Tree legumes: an underexploited resource in warm-climate silvopastures

LivestockPlus: Forages, sustainable intensification, and food security in the tropics

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