2/18/2011

1

Livestock Farming Systems, Africa

Henk Udo, Animal Production Systems

Cattle Evolution and Diseases Africa

N’Dama

Muturu Watusi

White Fulani

taurine cattle

sanga

zebu

mixed

taurine x zebu

Regions with the distribution of African types of cattle

Livestock Farming Systems

� Three major systems are being distinguished:

� Pastoral and agro-pastoral systems

� Mixed crop-livestock systems

� Industrialized systems

� General overview purposes

� Environmental impactGRAZING

SYSTEMS

SPECIALIZED

CROP

SYSTEMS

SPECIALIZED

CROPS

INDUSTRIAL

LIVESTOCK

SYSTEMS

MIXED SYSTEMS

CROP SYSTEMS

SPECIALIZED

LIVESTOCK

Area - wide

crop and livestock

integration

New functions

Intensification

Specialization

Organization

Population pressure, economic growth

Intensification Involution

Nutrient depletion

Nutrient surplus

Health&Welfare

Societal acceptance

Development Pathways Farming Systems

2/18/2011

2

� Feed comes for 90% or more from pastures, rangelands, forages

� 25% of terrestrial surface; 45% of usable surface

� 24% global meat production

� Areas with abundant land and low population pressure

� Asia, in many countries grazing lands disappeared

� Africa, very much under pressure, conflicts, population pressure!

Grazing Systems Mixed Systems

Crops and livestock integrated

� more than 10% feed DM from crop (by)products

� 65% and 75% of the meat and milk in the developing world

� multiple functions supporting livelihoods

Worldwide the dominant farming system

- soil fertility is declining

- involution

products

insurance

finance

manure, draught

Mixed Systems functions livestock

statusintangible benefits

Different Benefits of Livestock

� To understand decision making of the farmers

� allocation of resources

� decisions not at optimum biological moment

� Smallholders more productive than often assumed

2/18/2011

3

Specialised systems

Specialised monogastric and ruminant systems

� External inputs

� Market-oriented

� 55% global pork and 71% global poultry production

� Specialised livestock production grows twice as fast

� Economies of scale

� Not in equilibrium with their environment

Agro-ecology Sub-Saharan Africa

Zone Farming system Cattle Area

(%) (%)Arid grazing systems 18 30

Semi-arid grazing & mixed f. 31 25

Sub-humid mixed farming 21 20

Humid mixed farming 4 20

Highlands mixed farming 26 5

Tsetse Driving Forces for ChangesLivestock revolution:

- population growth

- economic development

- urbanisation

Poverty alleviation

Demands for biofuel

Can farmers respond?

2/18/2011

4

Intensification as Major Response

Intensification: increased use of inputs and services

to increase output quantity or value per unit input

Often understood as advanced production styles to increase

production per animal, ha or labour unit

Driving Forces for Changes

� How will intensification work out?

� Livestock Revolution

� 1 billion people are starving

� Livestock kept by more than 1 billion smallholders mixed farmers

Are all animals the same?

� Does intensification live up to its expectations?

� Cows or chickens?Intensification: Free-grazing Zero-grazing

Driving forces: demands and the reduced land sizes

Smallholder Dairying, Kenya

2/18/2011

5

Smallholder Dairying and Markets

Zambiaextensive grazing system

Sri Lankacattle under coconuts

Kenyazero2grazing intensive dairying

Total annual income

PPP$

1345 1456 2973

Cash income % 22 75 59

Income in kind % 41 16 33

Intangible benefits % 37 9 8

Labour productivity d21 15 15 12

PPP$: purchasing power parity $

• Labour productivity higher than for crops or wage labour

• Market major pull factor for dairy development in Kenya

Moll et al., 2007

Breed Preferences Kenya

� Scientists and extension workers favour smaller breeds

� No differences in milk production between European breeds

� Farmers prefer Friesians because of their potential higher milk yield

� Friesians have higher market value

Smallholder dairying, Kenya

� 600 000 households (hh) in dairying

� Cattle major income source, 1073 $ y-1 total benefits

� Smallholders 80% of the milk market

� Smallholder dairying is competitive: family labour,

less investments compared with large commercial farms

� Hh with cattle own twice as much land as hh without cattle

� Some other hh specialise in selling forages

� Health problems: ECF, anaplasmosis,

parasites

Cattle

� Dairying gives substantial income improvement

� Dairying most successful in countries with strong dairy traditions

� Not for the really poor households

� Feed the main on-farm constraint

� Milk production 5-6 kg d-1

� Calving rates (25-50%) are too low to maintain herds

� Frequent buying and selling in smallholder herds

� Major reason for selling is urgent cash need

2/18/2011

6

Small Ruminants

� Sheep and goat farmers among the poorer groups in society

� Tool in poverty alleviation or

� Sign of poverty?

Small Ruminants

Intensification:

change in management system, other breeds, increase in numbers

Small Ruminants

� Flock sizes on mixed farms: 2-10

� Labour productivity below minimum wage level

� Farmers do not consider family labour as real costs

� Important for urgent cash needs: start school year, preparation

cropping season

� Religious festivities, manure

� Sheep just as productive as goats; development focus on goats

� An appreciated secondary activity

Small Ruminants

� Land degradation often blamed on goats:

� Health problems West Africa:

- Pasteurellosis, Anthrax, PPR

- malnutrition and predation 40% losses in goat kids

- vaccination and deworming (costs?)

2/18/2011

7

Pigs

West Africa East Africa

- investments: buildings, feed, management

- market

Renewed interest in pigs

Intensification through hybrids and concentrates

Village Poultry, Ethiopia

� ‘Poultry are the first and last resource of the

poor’

� Poor, in particular women headed hh’s own poultry only

� Benefits from poultry about 70 $ y-1

� Village poultry important for poor women

� NCD vaccinations could double

income; other innovations require

a whole package; crossbreeding

not successful

Village Poultry

� Main problem: mortality, in particular young chicks

vaccination against New Castle Disease

chick survival from 3 to 6

‘predators like vaccinated chickens as much as unvaccinated chickens’

predators simple housing

� Hygiene in housed chickens

� Feeding housed chickens

Commercial Poultry Units

� Large- or small-scale

� Market-oriented

� Competition with other farmers

� Competition with imports

� Markets easily collapse due to economic crises

2/18/2011

8

Livestock Ladder

Climbing the ladder:

• production factors

• life cycle hh

• prices

Access to Livestock Technologies

� Own resources

� Sharing: cattle to chickens

� Micro-credit, 20% to 60-80% on livestock

� ‘Passing-on-the-Gift’

� Example: Heifer International (www.heifer.nl)

� 128 countries

• Heifer @ € 450

• Goat € 115

• Chicken flock € 22.50

Micro-credit and Passing-on-the-gift

� Repayment with heifer(s) is (too) difficult

Tanzania: after 7 years only 20% of the hh had returned a heifer;

Heifers often sold before giving a calf due to urgent cash needs

� Easy to return goat kids or weaner pigs

� Poultry fit very well in passing-on-the-gift programmes

Livestock Development� Main objective livestock intensification:

� increase household incomes

� smallholder dairying successful in this

� small animals not a major income source

� small animals an appreciated secondary activity and essential resource for the really poor

� Intensification will result in

� less households keeping livestock

� Less attention to other livelihoods functions

� Small animals more suitable for micro-credit and passing-on-the-gift

2/18/2011

9

Livestock Development: cows or chickens?

dairy cattle

local cattle

pigs, sheep, goats

comm. poultryvillage poultry

small-scale

- Returns

- Paying back

animals/loans

- Helping the

poor

Livestock Development

� Livestock revolution helps or hinders smallholders?

� Industrial systems are growing twice as fast as mixed farming

� Smallholders need support to enter the market

• Credit

• Services

• Farmers’ groups

• Knowledge, farmers, development workers, policy makers

• Household resources: cash, family labour, land, feeds

Smallholders or Large-scale Farms?

� Large-scale farms:

- more efficient in management

- access to sufficient capital to intensify

� Smallholder development more effective in reducing poverty:

- family labour

- less capital needed

� Environmental impact?

Ecological Issues

� Impact livestock on climate change

� FAO: Livestock’s Long Shadow (18% global emissions),

mitigation strategies:

� reduce animal numbers

� improve feed quality

� increase production levels

2/18/2011

10

Ecological Issues

� Life Cycle Assessment to quantify resource use and emissions, both

on-farm and off-farm:

� intensification reduces emissions per kg product

� intensification reduces land use per kg product

� intensification increases energy use per kg product

� intensification increases pollution per animal and per unit area

� production increases based on concentrates will increase off-farm

environmental impacts (e.g. rainforest)

Livestock Development

� Intensification will continue

� Economic, ecological, societal impacts at different levels

What can we do for development?

Arguments for livestock development:

• global food needs, wealthier consumers or

• better livelihoods of the poor

• both?