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Livestock Water Productivity and its implications for developing countries
Harnessing WP in crop-livestock systems of SSAAn IWMI-ILRI-ICRISAT-BMZ workshop, 24-26 September 2007, Addis Ababa
Presented by Don Peden but with many contributors
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First key message
Reduce poverty (People) Increase food production (Livestock) Reduce pressure on scarce water
resources and the environment
Integrating livestock and water development in developing countries can help:
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Second key message Water used for African animal
production be easily be reduced by more than 50%.
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Third key message
We need a water accounting framework to unravel the complexity of livestock-water interactions.– specifically Livestock water productivity (LWP)
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LWP framework emerged from research supported by:
&
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The CAsynthesis
Water for food; water for life was launched at World Water Day (22 March 2007) in Rome and Stockholm
This presentation builds on the chapter, “Livestock and water for human development”
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The CA synthesis:
One key action point:
Increasing water’s productivity is an effective means of intensifying agricultural production and reducing environmental degradation.
Integrating livestock in a balanced way to increase the productivity of livestock water is important in rainfed areas.
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CA & CPWF: We used a livestock water productivity
(LWP) 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
Gra
in
Res
idue
s
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
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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.
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Strategy 1: Strategic feed sourcing Science has failed to understand water cost
of feed production. Varying methods &concepts. A 70 fold variability in WP of feed 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
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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. But, distinguish production from
productivity.
Drought hardy Kenana cattle, Gezira, Sudan
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Strategy 2: Enhance animal productivity
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
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Strategy 2: Enhance animal productivity
Farm power: Water used to maintain draft animals is an
input into crop but not animal production. Ethiopian soils too heavy for people power. Trade-off between using water and petrol.
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Strategy 3: Reduce grazing and watering impact on water resources
Limit conversion of range to annual croplands >Grass is best vegetation to protect soil<
Reduce run-off, erosion, sedimentation. Promote transpiration, infiltration, soil water
holding capacity & vegetation cover.
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Strategy 3: Reduce grazing and watering impact on water resources
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.
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Strategy 3: Reduce grazing and watering impact on water resources
Restrict animal access to water to avoid: – Loss of riparian & aquatic habitats.– Risk to human health.– Water quality loss.– Sedimentation.
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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
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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
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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?
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Case 2 Cattle corridor, Nakasongola, Uganda (Problem: Low LWP)
Ecosystem flips to LOW WP state. Termites dominant. Without vegetation, clay soils expand
with light rain sealing surface, preventing infiltration & limiting plant production.
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Case 2 Cattle corridor, Nakasongola, Uganda (Problem: Low LWP)
Better design and community management of community ponds and drinking troughs.
Better watering practices. Reseeding upslope pasture. Erosion control.
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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.
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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
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Key Message #1Integrating livestock & water development in developing countries can help:
Reduce poverty. Increase food. Reduce pressure on
scarce water and the environment.
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Key Message #2
LWP compares favourable with irrigated horticulture.
Water depleted by livestock keeping could be easily be reduced by more than 50%.
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Key Message #3
A water accounting framework could be a useful tool to help target interventions that will increase agricultural water productivity.
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We offer the prototype LWP framework as a tool for use in this
BMZ project.
THANK YOU!