livestock and water in developing countries (ssa)

1

Livestock and waterin developing countries (SSA)

(Invited paper)

BSAS Annual Conference (2 to 4 April 2007)Southport, UK

Presented by Don Peden, ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2

First key message

Reduce poverty (People) Increase food production (Livestock) Reduce pressure on scarce water

resources (Environment) Animal sciences are needed but

have been neglected.

Integrating livestock and water development in developing countries can help:

3

Second key message Water used for African animal

production be easily be reduced by more than 50%

4

Research on livestock & waterwas part of

The Comprehensive Assessment of

Water Management and Agriculture

in collaboration with:

5

What was the CA?

5 year global study. Analysis of benefits, costs, and impacts of

50 years of agricultural water development. To enable better future investment and

management decisions in water and agriculture.

>700 experts; many institutions. Sponsors: CGIAR, Convention on

Biological Diversity, FAO, Ramsar Convention on wetlands & investors.

6

Three developing country questions were asked

Is there enough water to feed the world? …with animal products?

Do livestock excessively use and degrade water resources?

How can livestock production contribute to more sustainable and productive use of water resources?

7

What is the CA? – The synthesis Water for food; water for life

was launched at World Water Day (22 March 2007) in Rome and Stockholm

ILRI lead chapter: “Livestock and water for human development”

8

Global livestock distribution

Livestock production more extensive than croplands

Sustains poor people in developing world. Often located where water is scarce.

9

Sub-Saharan livestock distributions Livestock and human densities correlated . Linked to agricultural intensification. Expanding croplands encroach on grazing

lands. Competition for water - a major factor in

African conflicts.

Production system TLU(TLU/km2)

Irrigated 33

Rainfed crop-livestock 20

Grazing 11

10

We used a livestock water productivity assessment

framework

LWP = ∑(Net beneficial outputs)

∑(Depleted water)

Benefits: Milk, meat, hides, manure, wealth savings, cultural roles

Depleted water: Evaporation, transpiration, discharge/flood

LWPSchematicRain Surface inflow

Non-productivedepletion

Transpiration

Gro

un

d H

2O r

ech

arg

e

• A water accounting approach• Scales: Field & farms to large river basins

Agricultural production

system

Water loss or depletion

LWPSchematicRain Surface inflow

TreesPas-ture

Feedcrops

Foodcrops

Grain

Residues

Eva

po

-ra

tio

n

Dis

char

ge

& f

loo

d

Co

nta

mi-

nat

ion

Non-productivedepletionTranspiration

Availableanimal feeds

Drinking WaterConservingstrategies

GW

H2O

rec

har

ge

Benefitsfrom

plants

FeedSourcingstrategies

Imp

ort

ed f

eed

NetAnimalbenefits

Meat, milk, hide,manure, power

& wealth

Productivity-enhancingstrategies

13

Strategy 1: Strategic feed sourcing Focus on water for feed that can be 50 to 100

times more than drinking. Make effective use of crop residues/byproducts. Improve pasture by transferring evaporation

and excessive run-off to transpiration. Remember, procuring feed is a primary African

livelihood challenge with high labour costs.

14

Strategy 1: Strategic feed sourcing Science has failed to understand water cost

of feed production. Varying methods &concepts. A 70 fold variability in WP is probably not a

biological reality.

Example reported water productivity of animal feeds

Feed WP (kg/m3)

Irrigated sorghum 6.0 – 8.0

Irrigated alfalfa 1.1 – 1.7

USA rangeland 0.1 – 0.7

15

Strategy 2: Enhance animal productivity

Improve: Animal nutrition & veterinary care. Animal genetic resources. Access to markets & value-added

animal products. Grazing, watering and housing. Reduced labour and other costs.

Drought hardy Kenana cattle, Gezira, Sudan

16


Provide: Alternative wealth savings Drought risk insurance. Apply: Animal/water demand management approach. Integrate Animal Sciences into agricultural water

development

Drought hardy Kenana cattle, Gezira, Sudan

17


Farm power: Water used to maintain draft animals is an

input into crop but not animal production. Ethiopian soils to heavy for people power. Trade-off between using water and petrol

18

Strategy 3: Reduce grazing and watering impact on water resources

Limit conversion of range to annual croplands >Grass if best vegetation to protect soil<

Reduce run-off, erosion, sedimentation. Promote transpiration, infiltration, soil water

holding capacity & vegetation cover.

19


Community management of range & water. Limit stocking rates and grazing pressure. Establish riparian buffer zones. Apply zero grazing and watering. Adopt conservation agriculture. Provide quality drinking water for dairy cows.

20


Restrict animal access to water to avoid: – Loss of riparian & aquatic habitats.– Risk to human health.– Water quality loss.– Sedimentation.

21

Case 1 Preliminary Comparison of WP in rainfed farming in Ethiopia

* Source: LWP from ILRI; Grain WP from ECSA (2005); Tomato WP from SG2000.

System & Scale

Commodity WP(US$/m3)

Rainfed mixed crop-

livestock

Multiple animal products & services 0.68

Water harvesting & drip irrigation

Tomatoes 0.73

Rainfed grain production

Teff 0.28

Barley 0.18

Wheat 0.18

22

LWP compares favourably with house-hold water harvesting WP.

Even without efforts to increase either LWP. But improved methods and filling data gaps

still needed. And complexity of mixed crop livestock

systems is challenging.

Case 1 Preliminary Comparison of WP in rainfed farming in Ethiopia

23

Case 2 Cattle corridor, Nakasongola, Uganda (Problem: Low LWP)

Overgrazing; charcoal making; lost vegetation High run-off + evaporation Reduced infiltration Contaminated domestic water.

WHAT IS WATER PRODUCTIVITY OF THIS LAND?

24


Ecosystem flips to LOW WP state. Termites dominant. Without vegetation, clay soils expand

with light rain sealing surface, preventing infiltration & limiting plant production.

25


Better design and community management of community ponds and drinking troughs.

Better watering practices. Reseeding upslope pasture. Erosion control.

26

Case 3 Household water harvesting (with Sasakawa Global 2000 in Ethiopia)

Problem: Rainfed farming; low productivity; very poor

households (<$300/year); high drought risk. Long treks for water for people & animals. Milk production < 3 litre/day/cow. Highly degraded land and water resources.

27

Integrating livestock and crop productionCase 3 Household water harvesting –

Underground tank

Home consumption

Give waterZero-grazing & hybrid cow

Adding value & markets

Benefits> $1500

High LWP

28

Key Message #1Integrating livestock & water development in developing countries can help:

Reduce poverty Increase food Reduce pressure on

scarce water But animal sciences

are needed but have been neglected.

29

Key Message #2

Water used for African animal production be easily be reduced by more than 50%

Can we collaborate to ensure that livestock make a positive contribution to the development of the world’s poor?

30

Three developing country questions answered

There enough water to feed the world with diets including moderate amounts of animal products.

African livestock do use and degrade water resources but ….

Integrating livestock and water development can result in increased livestock water productivity.

31

THANK YOU

BSAS skills are needed to help reduce pressure on global water resources

livestock and water in developing countries (ssa)

Technology