Agroforestry practices in Sudan take on various forms across the country, depending on the arrangement, distribution and integration of trees with agricultural crops and/or livestock. The study aimed to describe and analyse the arrangement of acacia trees with crops on parklands in El Dali and El Mazmum areas in Sennar State, Sudan. Specifically, an attempt was made to identify the determinants of integration of natural acacia trees with crops in mechanised rain-fed agricultural schemes forming agroforestry parklands. Another specific aim was to determine farmers’ perceptions about the constraints of adopting such agroforestry practices were also determined. Data was collected using a social survey method, in which 50 % of the total numbers of villages was randomly selected after classification into small, medium and large villages. Moreover, 5 % of the heads of households in the selected villages were interviewed face to face. The number of respondents was 281. Logistic regression model results indicated that the number of household members, the administrative unit, the incentive received from agricultural union and the land size were the main determinants for integrating acacia trees with agricultural crops in mechanised rain-fed agricultural schemes forming the agroforestry parklands. Constraints related to the prevalence of agroforestry practices included the absence of extension services and planting materials, unfavourable tree tenure, the destruction of trees/crops by animals, and the practice of renting land for sole crop cultivation. Several suggestions are given increased adoption of sustainable agroforestry for more production farming. As a priority land tenure and tree tenure issues must be clarified.
Tag: livestock
Integrating crop and livestock in smallholder production systems for food security and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa
The resource base that ensures food supply and the socio-economic component which depends on this resource base are the two major components that make up the food system in sub-Saharan Africa. The sequence of the food system is organized in a spatial flow framework of biomass base. The components of rural production system consist of food production biomass at homestead and farm level, and often at the communal base non-food production lands. The degree of integration between these resources base determines flows such as material cycle, energy, food and cash, and influences how the entire production system needs to be managed. The management system influences resource use efficiency and economic returns at different levels, at individual household, communities, and national levels. Efforts to developing agriculture and reducing poverty remained sectoral and focused mainly on a specific crop or individual animal level, failed to see interconnections among sub-systems and across space and time. The concept of the integrated food system has not been adequately adopted, in many sub-Saharan African countries and the agricultural system in the region continues to exhibit a low level of productivity and resource use efficiency. Hence, food insecurity and poverty remained high among smallholder farming communities producing crop and livestock despite the availability of arable land and abundance of another natural resource. This review focuses on the significance of integrated crop-livestock system in the tropics and suggests a framework to begin understanding and addressing complex problems in smallholders’ production system.
Property rights, risk and livestock development in Africa: issues and project approach
This book documents the proceedings of the International Symposium on Property Rights, Risk, and Livestock Development. The symposium was held to appraise progress, review achievements, and identify remaining research gaps atthe conclusion of a three-year research project led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the University of Goettingen. The goal of the project was to support appropriate reforms of property institutions and land policies in the semiaridareas of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Property rights, risk and livestock development in Africa
This book documents the proceedings of the International Symposium on Property Rights, Risk, and Livestock Development. The symposium was held to appraise progress, review achievements, and identify remaining research gaps at the conclusion of a three-year research project led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the University of Goettingen. The goal of the project was to support appropriate reforms of property institutions and land policies in the semiarid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The objectives werea) to better understand how environmental risk affects the use and management of resources under various property-rights regimes,b) to identify circumstances under which different pathways of change in land use and property rights are followed, andc) to identify how policy and other external interventions can help communities achieve desirable pathways and mitigate negative impacts of undesirable pathways.The introductory chapter provides a description of the research, development, and policy context that shaped the formulation of the project’s goal and objectives; a summary of the research approach taken in the project; and a discussion of how the papers presented in this book relate to the project’s objectives.
Characterization of smallholder mixed crop–livestock systems in integration with spatial information: In case Ethiopia
The mixed crop–livestock systems are acknowledged as sustainable due to its complementarity and synergy, contribution to welfare, food security, income, and poverty alleviation. The lack of efforts in the long-term impact for increased and more efficient food production, however, threatens the livelihoods and food security of smallholder producers. This paper provides a description on smallholder crop–livestock systems in the dominant system unit of crop and livestock production discretely subdividing in different agroecological zones (AEZs) into land-use land-cover class for considering factors influencing socioeconomic and agricultural intensification. A linear mixed-effects model was carried out to fit the relationship between the land-cover measurement and the corresponding farm enterprise in land use. The repeated measurements of linear predictors that fit in full and reduced model analysis were conducted in the system framework. The landscape slope (%), elevation (m) and market distance (minute) analysis were used in spatial adjustment in the specific system. The overall area of land-use system of the peasant holdings was 599.86 ha. The area covered by annual crops was 56%, which was higher (p < 0.01) compared to the area covered by natural pasturelands (17%), perennial crops (15%), vegetable (1%) and the tree or grass cover (2%). Distinct six farming systems were characterized, each being significantly different from other. The difference within a similar AEZ could probably be a result of a minor level of farm systems manipulation. The major difference associated could essentially be with a difference in agroecology and spatial variability of the farm households.
Usufruct rights to trees: the role of Ekwar in dryland central Turkana, Kenya
Usufruct rights to trees (Ekwar) in the Turkana silvo-pastoral system are an important aspect of natural resource management, particularly in the drier central parts of Kenya. Originating from a participatory forestry extension program, a survey was carried out that showed the extent and duration, often in excess of one generation, of occupancy of a person’s Ekwar. Such rights center around the dry season fodder resources, especially of Acacia tortilis. However they are not definite and are linked to risk-spreading by flexibility in livestock management and the need that they be maintained through efficient usage and social linkages. Hitherto, such natural resource management systems have all but been ignored in the development process in favor of the “tragedy of the commons” paradigm. Likewise, pastoral development has tended to emphasize range and water, while trees are not given the attention they deserve. This endangers the resilience of the system, and it is therefore important that development works with, not against, such environmentally-sound practices to try to make them more sustainable in the long term.
Comparative analysis of climate change impact on livestock in relation to biomass base feed availability using standardized precipitation index in south-western Ethiopia
The standardized precipitation index and normalized difference vegetation index on event incidences (at different time scale) and biomass feed dry matter production, were used to assess climate change influences on feed availability. A significant decline (p<0.05) in feed dry matter availability indices across years was observed. The deviation from normality shows that the biomass feed production could vary significantly during drought occurrence years and this accelerates profoundly over time as drought frequency is expected to increase over time. The highest significant decline was observed in 2015 followed by 2006 and 2014. The results of analysis of the impact of climate change on livestock in relation to biomass dry matter production discretely subdivide different agro-ecological zones into land use land cover classes in southwestern Ethiopia. As represented by temporal scale drought, flooding and landslides were incidences considered as the major climatic risks in the study area. The risks threaten the livelihoods and even the security of the socio-ecological systems in general and such marginalized segments of the farming society in particular. The future needs effective action on environment management, devising adaptive and mitigation mechanism and change should aim at managing the occurrence and effects of extremes.