Crop-Livestock Integration in Slopeland Areas
Traditional systems combine various crop and livestock species. The challenge is to increase the productivity of these traditional systems, while conserving the natural resources on which they depend. In November, FFTC held a Workshop on crop-livestock integration in slopeland areas.
WHY Livestock Are Important for Smallholders in Slopeland Areas
Crop-livestock integration increases the overall productivity of the slopeland ecosystem, since livestock can eat otherwise unusable parts of plants. Crop-livestock integration also makes agriculture more sustainable. Closed systems in which nutrients and energy are recycled are much more sustainable than an open system which "leaks" nutrients.
Livestock provide a high level of profit per unit of labor input, plus valuable manure for use as fertilizer. Market prices tend to be relatively high and stable. Another great advantage is that livestock can walk to market. This is very important in remote areas with poor roads. In such areas, livestock may be the only feasible source of cash income.
Cut-and-Carry Feeding Systems
Where animals are free-ranging, there is always a danger that they will damage crops. Farmers may have to build expensive fences to protect their fields, and conflicts may occur. As population densities rise and land use becomes more intensive, the problem of damage by livestock becomes more acute.
In many cases, cut-and-carry systems may be a more efficient way of keeping livestock. In the SALT farming system, livestock producers grow nitrogen-fixing legumes in a forage garden, usually combined with food and cash crops. Since land use is more efficient, the farm can support a larger herd. The fact that the animals are penned also makes handling easier, and allows the farmer to closely monitor the health and breeding cycles of his livestock. Pens also ensure that livestock manure is deposited in a limited area, so it can be collected for use as fertilizer.
The main disadvantages are the heavy labor demand and the higher risk of infectious diseases. Animals raised in pens need a higher level of management than free-ranging ones.
(For more about the SALT system, see FFTC Extension Bulletin 400 on this database)
Improved and Native Pastures
Improved pasture grasses such as Napier grass give higher biomass yields than native grasses, and are more palatable to livestock. However, tough native grasses hold the soil well, and need less attention than the improved grasses.
A large-scale program in Japan to replace native grasses with improved ones ran into problems of soil erosion and a labor shortage. A new modified system uses a mixture of native and improved pasture species. The improved grasses are planted on gentle gradients. Native grasses are left on steeper slopes to withstand grazing and hold soil.
The combination of the two types of grasses gives a more sustainable pasture. Furthermore, production costs are lower, since grazing is available for more months of the year.
Improvement of Shifting Cultivation
The traditional system of crop production on slopelands in tropical Asia is slash-and-burn, also known as shifting cultivation. Slash-and-burn is now undergoing a transition to sedentary cultivation. For unimproved systems, this is a process of improverishment, with falling yields and worsening weed and erosion problems. With shorter fallows, weeds may become the main constraint to crop production, especially for the second crop.
With appropriate cultivation methods based on complementary crop and livestock species, the downward spiral into shorter fallows and lower yields can be reversed. Programs are now under way to control weeds by improving the quality of the fallow.
One solution is the accelerated fallow, using legumes and integrated livestock production. Another solution is the extended fallow, based on perennial cash crops. This also often integrates livestock into the production system, using trees such as paper mulberry as forage.
Cassava Leaves As Livestock Feed
Fresh cassava leaves contain a high level of hydrocyanic acid. This is both toxic and unpalatable to livestock. The acid can be broken down by ensiling the leaves, or by drying them in the sun for 2-3 days. Feeding tests on dairy cattle in Thailand found that cassava hay, combined with urea treated rice straw, enabled farmers to reduce their use of concentrates. The cassava leaves can be harvested six times a year, giving 12 mt/ha of forage (dried weight). The cassava roots can also be harvested, although the yield falls by around 30%.
Integrated Crop-Livestock Production in Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam
Ninh Thuan Province in Vietnam is a coastal region with sandy soils, a low annual rainfall and a pronounced dry season. Farmers are using new production methods which give them a good income in spite of the water scarcity.
Farmers in Ninh Thuan province raise mixed flocks of goat and sheep. They can keep large herds on small farms at a low cost by integrating their production with neighboring crop farms. The animals are fed on a cut-and-carry basis during the wet (cropping) season. Most farmers grow Napier grass for cutting, or some other type of improved pasture. They also grow tree legumes such as Gliricidia, which provide extra cut forage and add nutrients to the soil.
During the dry season, the animals graze on fallow land on neighboring farms. Crop farmers are happy to let animals graze in their fields during the dry season. The herds help keep down weeds, and fertilize the soil with their manure. Manure collected from the animal houses is sold to upland fruit and vegetable farms some distance away.
WHY Both Sheep and Goats?
It is unusual to see sheep in the tropics, but these are the Sultan breed from India, which is tolerant of high temperatures. They are bred only for their meat, not for their wool, which does not even need shearing. It remains short all year round.
Most farmers keep mixed herds of sheep and goats. Each breed has its own advantages. The goats have a higher kidding rate. The sheep have better weight gain, and are more resistant to disease. There is good market demand for both sheep and goat meat, which sell at the same price.
Index of Images
Figure 1 The Salt System -Cutting Fodder from Legume Shrubs<BR>
Figure 2 The Salt System - Carrying Fodder to the Livestock Pens<BR>
Figure 3 Double Hedgerow of Leguminous Shrubs on Salt Farm, Philippines <I>(Desmodium Rensonii </I>and <I>Calliandra Callothyrsus)</I><BR>
Figure 4 Mixed Herd of Sheep and Goats, Vietnam<BR>
Figure 5 Low-Cost Sheep/Goat Housing for Tropical Conditions, Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam<BR>
Figure 6 Cattle Grazing on Mixed Native/Improved Pasture, Japan. Even in the Snow, There Is Still Some Pasture Grass for the Cattle to Eat.
