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[Departement_IRSTEA]Territoires [TR1_IRSTEA]DTAM [Axe_IRSTEA]DTAM3-ECOPRA; International audience; Localised animal food systems tend to be perceived as more environmentally sustainable than non-localised systems. However, these initiatives span a diverse array of projects, and the way ecological issues are considered may vary greatly depending on the actors and systems involved. With re-localisation of food chains considered a way of fostering sustainable development, this diversity should prompt a closer look at the real environmental dimension of sustainable development through livestock farming. In order to understand better how food system re-localisation trends can support environmentally sustainable development, this paper analyses the importance and place that the environmental issues may hold in localised animal food systems. We mobilize the concept of ‘ecological embeddedness’ to help consider how, why and to what extent natural environment influences development and shapes relationships between agents within food networks. We use the analytical framework developed by Morris and Kirwan (2011) to compare five initiatives designed to differentiate animal food products by linking their qualities to the place of production in three countries: France, Morocco, and Senegal. The comparison of the way food-systems stakeholders understand, realise, utilise, and negotiate the ecological dimensions of food production shows three different forms of ecological embeddedness depending on the way the ecological dimensions of production are linked with environmental protection issues. The first form corresponds to the Moissac case in which practices linked with ecology are very consciously highlighted as environmentally-friendly practices. The second form reflects cases in which environmentally-friendly practices and values associated to ecology exist and are highlighted through their impact on products quality, not as participating in environment protection. The third form concerns the Senegalese case in which food systems seem to be engaged in a process of ecological ‘dis-embeddedness’. Finally, the comparison of different cases underlines the non-systematic coexistence between Localised Food Systems and ecological embeddedness. The “broad” systemic approach adopted here also unlocks insight into the ecological embeddedness of food systems. This analysis of collective initiatives involving different stakeholders led to consider the roles they can play in shaping the ecological embeddedness of the livestock food systems.

bInra, eaSM, domaine du Magneraud, Bp 52, 17700 Surgeres, f rance c Inra, unite de recherches a vicoles, 37380 nouzilly, f rance d cIrad, Qualisud, 73 rue Jean-f rancois Breton, ta B-40/16, 34398 Montpellier cedex 05, f rance The potential of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the determination of the chemical composition of poultry excreta was investigated, within the framework of studies on heritability of digestive efficiency in broilers. Samples in the calibration and validation databases (DB1 and DB2) corresponded to animals fed with a similar wheat-based diet. A second validation study was performed on excreta samples from animals fed more variable diets, including peas and maize (DB3). Excreta samples were freeze-dried and ground. Near infrared reflectance spectra were taken on a monochromator spectrometer between 400 nm and 2500 nm. Samples were analysed for mineral matter (MM), gross energy (GE), starch, crude fat (CFAT), total nitrogen (NTOT), uric acid nitrogen (NUA) and protein nitrogen estimated directly (PNTERP) or by difference between NTOT and NUA (PNUA). Depending on the parameters studied, 250 to 700 samples were analysed by reference methods. The standard error of cross-validation (SECV) and R² of calibrations were: 0.60% and 0.96 for MM, 166 kJ kg –1 and 0.99 for GE, 0.59% and 1.00 for starch, 0.44% and 0.99 for CFAT, 0.25% and 0.89 for NTOT and 0.22% and 0.97 for NUA, respectively. Calibration for PNTERP (SECV = 0.07%; R²=0.98) was much more precise than PNUA (SECV = 0.21%, R² = 0.85). Validation carried out on databases DB2 and DB3 resulted in standard errors of prediction (on DB2) and extrapolation (on DB3) generally higher than SECV, while remaining relatively precise with prediction r² values from 0.83 to 0.99 and extrapolation r² from 0.86 to 0.98, with the exception of PNUA for which r² was 0.22 and 0.64, respectively. For some parameters, the lower validation performance was due to biases, particularly in the case CFAT and NUA for prediction and MM, GE and NUA for extrapolation. Global calibrations made with DB1+DB2+DB3 were more precise (GE, NTOT) or equally precise (all other parameters) than with DB1 alone. These results confirmed the potential precision of calibrations for the major organic compounds in poultry excreta and suggested that their use could be extended to excreta issued from a wider range of diets without losing precision.

L'évolution de la production de Pangasiidae depuis 15 ans en Asie du Sud-Est est celle d'une filière en pleine expansion. Le Vietnam offre l'exemple abouti d'une dynamique conjuguant progrès technique construit sur une recherche finalisée, évolution des systèmes de production et conquête de marchés à l'export. En Indonésie, sur les traces du Vietnam, l'élevage de ces poissons-chats se développe également depuis quelques années en vue d'alimenter les marchés domestiques et l'exportion. L'élevage des " pangas " au Vietnam est une activité traditionnelle. Pour sécuriser un système basé sur la capture d'alevins et de juvéniles dans le milieu naturel, un programme scientifique franco-vietnamien a été mis en place en 1993, visant à maîtriser la reproduction artificielle des deux principales espèces de pangas d'élevage, Pangasius bocourti (élevé en cages flottantes) et Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (élevé en étangs fertilisés). Obtenue avec succès en 1995, elle entraîna une profonde mutation de la filière. L'espèce utilisée pour les élevages en cages et destinée à l'exportation, P. bocourti, a révélé la difficulté de mener à terme sa maturation sexuelle en captivité et sa relativement faible fécondité. La seconde espèce a démontré, quant à elle, une bonne aptitude à la maturation en captivité et une fécondité dix fois supérieure. P. hypophthalmus est ainsi devenue la principale espèce d'élevage. Dans le même temps, l'évolution s'est faite vers une utilisation croissante de l'aliment industriel du fait d'une raréfaction du poisson de rebut, ingrédient stratégique de l'aliment artisanal vietnamien. Les coûts de production sont de 0,6-0,7 US$/kg (0,4-0,47 euro/kg) en moyenne. En Indonésie, l'élevage des pangas n'a véritablement démarré que dans les années 1990. Il est basé sur l'utilisation d'une espèce introduite, P. hypophthalmus, et d'une espèce locale, Pangasius djambal, élevées en étangs et en cages flottantes, en lacs ou en rivières, dans des exploitations le plus souvent familiales sur les îles de Java, Sumatra et Bornéo. Le Vietnam évalue sa production à 800 000 t en 2006 et prévoit une production de 1 000 000 t en 2007, en quasi totalité exportée. En Indonésie, la production reste plus modeste mais significative, avec 31 000 t en 2006.

International audience; Faba bean tannins are known to decrease apparent protein digestibility. The vicine and convicine contained in the seeds reduce egg size in laying hens, but their effects in broiler chickens have never been reported. Vicia faba genotypes have been identified which result in a major reduction of these compounds in seeds. Tannins are located in seed hulls whereas vicine and convicine (VC) are located in the cotyledons and therefore they can be separated and re-combined in reconstituted faba beans (RFB) by mixing hulls and cotyledons from genotypes with variable tannin and VC contents, in order to evaluate their effects alone or in interaction. Six RFB were built with high, medium or low tannin contents (means of 9.9,5.8 and 1.3 g/kg, respectively) combined with high or low VC contents (means of 10.1 and 0.7 g/kg, respectively). The six RFB were incorporated in the experimental diets and fed to broiler chickens in a balance experiment to measure apparent protein digestibility and apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn) content. The AMEn was lower for the high- than for the low-tannin RFB (12.08 MJ/kg versus 12.48 MJ/kg DM; P < 0.001). Also, the AMEn was lower for the high- than for the low-VC RFB (11.99 MJ/kg versus 12.34 MJ/kg DM; P < 0.05). The negative effects of the two anti-nutritional factors on energy were additive and a linear regression on their contents explains 80% of the variability. The total tract apparent protein digestibility was lower for the high-than for the low-tannin RFB (0.75 versus 0.86; P < 0.001) with no significant interaction with VC contents, which in contrast have no significant effect on this trait. The results confirm the nutritional advantages of faba bean varieties free of tannins and low in vicine and convicine content in diets for poultry. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

It is well known that any quantitative (energy and protein levels) and qualitative (nature of the diet, nutrient dynamic) changes in the feeding of animals affect metabolism. Energy expenditure and feed efficiency at the whole-body level, nutrient partitioning between and within tissues and organs and, ultimately, tissue and organ characteristics are the major regulated traits with consequences on the quality of the meat and milk produced. Recent progress in biology has brought to light important biological mechanisms which explain these observations: for instance, regulation by the nutrients of gene expression or of key metabolic enzyme activity, interaction and sometimes cross-regulation or competition between nutrients to provide free energy (ATP) to living cells, indirect action of nutrients through a complex hormonal action, and, particularly in herbivores, interactions between trans-fatty acids produced in the rumen and tissue metabolism. One of the main targets of this nutritional regulation is a modification of tissue insulin sensitivity and hence of insulin action. In addition, the nutritional control of mitochondrial activity (and hence of nutrient catabolism) is another major mechanism by which nutrients may affect body composition and tissue characteristics. These regulations are of great importance in the most metabolically active tissues (the digestive tract and the liver) and may have undesirable (i.e. diabetes and obesity in humans) or desirable consequences (such as the production of fatty liver by ducks and geese, and the production of fatty and hence tasty meat or milk with an adapted fatty acid profile).

International audience; Cereal residues represent a major resource for livestock feeding during the dry season in southern Africa. When kept on the soil surface instead of feeding them to livestock, crop residues can contribute to increasing soil fertility and maintaining crop productivity in the short- and the long-term. We explored these trade-offs for smallholder cotton–sorghum farming systems in the semi-arid Zambezi Valley, northern Zimbabwe. The analysis was done using simulation models at three scales, the plot, the farm and the territory, to simulate the effects of different sorghum residue allocations to livestock feeding vs. soil mulching, in combination with different application rates of mineral nitrogen fertilizer on crop productivity. The plot-scale simulations suggest that without N fertilization soil mulching has a positive effect on cotton yields only if small quantities of sorghum residues are used as mulch (average cotton yields of 2.24 ± 0.41 kg ha−1 with a mulch of 100 kg ha−1 vs. 1.91 ± 0.29 kg ha−1 without mulch). Greater quantities of mulch have a negative effect on cotton yield without N fertilization due to N immobilization in the soil microbial biomass. With applications of 100 kg N ha−1, quantities of mulch up to 3 t ha−1 have no negative effect on cotton yield. Results at farm-scale highlight the fundamental role of livestock as a source of traction, and the need to feed a greater proportion of sorghum residues to livestock as herd and farm sizes increase. Farmers with no livestock attained maximum crop production when 100% of their sorghum residue remained in the field, as they do not have access to cattle manure. The optimum fraction of crop residue to be retained in the fields for maximum farm crop production varied for farmers with 2 or less heads of cattle (80% retention), with 2–3 heads (60–80%), with 4 or more heads (40–60%). At the scale of the entire territory, total cotton and sorghum production increased with the density of cattle, at the expense of soil mulching with crop residues. The results of our simulations suggest that (i) the optimum level of residue retention depends on the scale at which trade-offs are analyzed; (ii) the retention of all of the crop residue as mulch appears unrealistic and undesirable in farming systems that rely on livestock for traction; and (iii) crop residue mulching could be made more attractive to farmers by paying due attention to balancing C to N ratios in the soil and by promoting small-scale mechanization to replace animal traction.

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The date production in arid countries like Saudi Arabia includes a part of discarded dates for human consumption. These discarded dates could be used as supplementary feeding for livestock. In trials carried out in a camel farm, date blocks were prepared which composed of 50% dates, 40% wheat bran, 5% urea to increase nitrogen level and 5% cement as binding material. Two groups of 7 camels each 2-3 y old received basal diet composed of alfalfa (2kg/100kg LW) and 1 kg of supplementary feed, i.e. market concentrated for control group and date blocks for treated group. The duration of the trial was 4 months. Blood sampling was done every fortnight for determining urea, glucose, AST and ALT and the growth of camels was monitored by regular weighing at sampling time. Weighing and blood sampling were done in the morning before feed distribution. The intake was 1.94 ± 0.19 and 1.85 ± 0.19 kg/100kg LW in control and treated group respectively, and the mean daily weight gain was 407 and 305g/day, respectively, corresponding to a weight gain of 0.43 kg in control group vs 0.32 kg in treated group, i.e. a consumption index of 2.33 and 3.11 kg concentrates/kg weight gain, respectively. There was no significant difference in the blood parameters. In conclusion, date blocks could be safely used for supplementary feeding of young camels as partial substitution for the regular feed.

The Algerian Sahara Desert which occupies more than 80% of the Algerian territory represents an ecosystem generally hostile to the spontaneous survival of living organisms. There are always geomorphologic patterns (camel pastures) relatively favourable to the proliferation of a very scattered plant species that are well adapted to the desert conditions. The dromedary is the only domestic species able to thrive under such conditions and benefit from this type of vegetation, which constitutes its main dietary source. The nutritional study of these plants shows a chemical composition reflecting the conditions of the desert. It is characterized by richness in parietal compounds and crude fibre (up to 75 and 50%) and general low content in total nitrogenous matter (4 %). However, a large variability between species related mainly to their different ecotypes and secondly to their soil conditions is observed. The in vitro digestibility is variable also depending on the species studied (22 to 37%), and its values are positively correlated with TNM and negatively with parietal compounds. Besides, the time study allows observing high contents in parietal compound in summer and relatively high contents in TNM in spring, so engendering the best digestibility in spring and lowest in summer.

Rapeseed meal is the co-product of the pressing and de-oiling process of rapeseed seeds and is used as animal feed. Most of phenolic compounds remain in the meal after processing the seeds. While sinapine (sinapoyl choline), sinapoyl glucose and sinapic acid are naturally present in the seed, canolol (4-vinylsyringol) is formed during processes of pressing, oil extraction and roasting treatments via decarboxylation of sinapic acid. Canolol was recently described as a free-radical scavenger with various biological activities. One of the objectives of this work was the valorization of rapeseed meal as a source of canolol, this latter being produced through the transformation of sinapine and sinapic acid under hydration and roasting processes applicable at industrial scale. The parameters studied for the rapeseed meal processing were: (i) time of incubation after hydration: 0, 2 and 18 h and, (ii) thermal treatment: high-temperature steam (105 degrees-160 degrees C) or microwave roasting (160 degrees-180 degrees C). It was concluded that temperature, and exposure time in case of microwaves, were the most important factors in increasing concentrations of canolol in rapeseed meal. Incubation time after hydration did not influence the total phenolic compounds content suggesting the absence of endogenous enzymatic hydrolysis. However, it showed a particular contribution in sinapine, sinapic acid and canolol transformation during the microwave treatment. Finally, whatever the treatment, only a part of the sinapic acid initially present or generated during the processes, was converted into canolol.

Dans un contexte d’augmentation mondiale de la demande en produits avicoles et de fluctuation des prix de matières premières, il est intéressant de comprendre les dynamiques de structuration d’une filière avicole tropicale et les stratégies mises en place par les acteurs pour sécuriser leurs approvisionnements et leurs marchés. Cette étude présente le cas de la filière oeufs béninoise. Des entretiens semi-dirigés ont été réalisés auprès d’éleveurs de poules pondeuses et d’acteurs de l’amont, de l’aval et des structures d’appui et de régulation de la filière. Ces entretiens ont permis de mieux comprendre son organisation et son fonction­nement. Les résultats ont montré qu’en amont la production d’oeufs au Bénin est dépendante des fluctuations de prix et de la faible disponibilité des matières premières sur les marchés domestiques pour l’alimentation des animaux. En aval, les éleveurs et commerçants sont confrontés à une irrégularité des besoins des consommateurs déconnectée des cycles de production. Plusieurs stratégies ont été adoptées par les différents acteurs en termes d’approvisionnement en animaux vivants et d’écoulement des oeufs via des circuits parallèles ou infor­mels. Toutefois l’amélioration de la productivité ne peut être garantie que si les débouchés sont maîtrisés. La création d’une centrale d’achat et de distribution des oeufs pourrait favoriser un approvisionnement continu et équilibré des mar­chés, mais les mécanismes sous-jacents sont à déterminer. Les résultats de cette étude soulignent l’intérêt des systèmes d’alimentation alternatifs offrant plus de souplesse dans les types d’exploitations identifiés.

Decisions to use crop residues as soil cover for conservation agriculture create trade-offs for farmers who own cattle in crop-livestock systems. Trade-offs among soil C, crop and animal and crop productivity were analysed using the NUANCES-FARMSIM (FArm-scale Resource Management SIMulator) dynamic model. Retention on the soil surface of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the maize stover yield produced per farm, and the use of the remainder as animal feed was quantified over a 12 year period for four farm types in Murehwa, Zimbabwe. Retaining 100% maize residues in the field led to an annual loss of on average 68 and 93 kg body weight per animal for cattle on farms of the relatively wealthiest farmers (Resource Group, RG1) who had most land and cattle and RG2 respectively), and is therefore unsustainable for livestock production. There was an increase in grain yield of 1.6 t farm-1 and 0.7 t farm-1 for RG1 and RG2 respectively. Farmers without cattle (RG3 and RG4) may have a greater incentive for retaining their crop residues but they have to invest labour to keep the residues during the dry season. However, improved crop productivity for these farmers is limited by lack of access to fertiliser. The current practice of allocating all crop residues to animals results in average gross margin of US$7429 and US$4037 for RG1 and RG2 farmers respectively. Our results showed that from an economic perspective, it is logical that farmers prioritise the sustenance of cattle with crop residues over soil fertility management. We conclude that at current productivity levels, farmers who own cattle have limited scope to allocate crop residues for soil cover as it leads to significant loss in animal production and economic value.