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Smallholder farmers in developing countries often lack resources. They rely mostly on extensive production approaches, such as cattle keeping and resort more to extracting forest resources at no charge. Our objective is to assess the relationship between the diversification of income sources, poverty and livelihood capital for smallholder farm households which combine cattle farming with forest extraction. We collected 600 surveys from Indonesian farmers specialized along the cattle rearing supply chain (464 breeders, 66 feeders and 70 mixed breeder-feeders). We found no correlation between poverty and income diversification. Cattle breeders have been found to rely most on forest resources. Distance to cropland and forest correlated positively, whereas their education level correlated negatively with income diversification. Feeders who were owning other livestock, were a member of a forest user group and owned some modest capital like a motorbike showed increased income diversification. Crops are the most important source of income for farmers, whereas cattle keeping and forest extraction play a role in income diversification. Increasing ecological pressure caused by forest extraction due to expanding cattle production could be best avoided by extending those parts of the cattle sector that use forest resources in a sustainable manner, for instance, through silvopastural systems or agroforestry so that incomes of poor farmers get more diversified and, therefore stabilized.

Quantifying the performance of beef cattle in diverse agro-ecological regions with different climatic conditions could be used by stakeholders to develop region-specific resilience strategies and optimize livestock production systems. This study evaluated the ability of the mechanistic LiGAPS-Beef model as a tool to quantify beef production of selected cattle breed types in diverse agro-ecological regions in South Africa. The average daily gain (ADG) was simulated for Bos taurus, composite and Sanga breed types in three different agro-ecological regions i.e. Bloemfontein (semi-arid), Phalaborwa (semi-desert) and Buffalo Berlin (temperate oceanic). Simulated ADGs were compared to measured ADGs from eight experiments for calibration and validation. After calibration, the model simulated ADG of breed types with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 23%. Simulated and measured values were positively correlated (r = 0.88) and largely in agreement (index of agreement=0.92). Factors that define and limit growth, such as the genotype, heat stress, cold stress, and digestion capacity limitation, were identified. Consistent with literature, the model showed more heat stress on Bos taurus breed types than on composite and Sanga breed types in Phalaborwa, which was the warmest region included in the study. Sensitivity analysis by changing input parameters by ± 10% showed that the model was more sensitive to changes in metabolizable energy (ME) than crude protein (CP) implying that the accuracy of ME must be prioritised. Overall, the results showed that model performance was adequate and thus the LiGAPS-Beef model can be used to explore the effects of climate change and adaptive breeding strategies in future studies in South Africa.

With the concept of resilience being increasingly applied in farming systems research, there is general agreement that the resilience theory should be supported by sound assessment methodologies. Yet, in the extant literature, definitions and measures of resilience as a system outcome, a system capability or a process are often conflated, causing conceptual and methodological ambiguities. To overcome these limitations, here we systematically review the literature on assessing the resilience of farming systems and identify patterns, including similarities and differences in underpinning theories and in methodologies. We analyzed 123 papers on how the resilience of farming systems is conceptualized and assessed. From these papers, we identified four theoretical positions (“lenses”): traditional, vulnerability, capacities, and agroecology. These lenses differ and complement each other in terms of the outcome definition of resilience (stability, transformation, and reduced vulnerability), the prominent components of resilience (capacities, practices, and resources), and the perturbations that farming systems are exposed to (shocks, exposure, and sensitivity). Collectively, these lenses offer a novel causality framework with a complementary set of causal links between perturbations, components, and outcomes. This paper suggests for the first time that resilience assessment methodologies can be further developed by drawing from the strengths and complementarities of the different perspectives. Hence, this paper identifies five design choices that need to be made in order to rigorously assess the resilience of farming systems. These concern the choice of system traits, of perturbations, of type of resilience, of contributing factors, and of resilience outcomes that will be considered.

The poultry industry in Tanzania has grown steadily over the past decade. We surveyed 121 chicken farming households along an intensification gradient from backyard to semi-intensive and intensive production systems based on rearing system and assumed purpose and poultry breed in the Iringa region. About 30% of households had more than one breed and/or rearing system combination. The subdivision of poultry systems was refined by adding the size of the flocks to highlight variation in scale of operations. On this basis we distinguished 3 main types: 1) subsistence small-scale free-range chicken production; 2) market-oriented small to medium scale semi-intensive and 3) small to medium-large scale intensive systems. ‘Intensification’ involves the transition from keeping indigenous chickens to improved dual-purpose and exotic breeds driven by greater productivity and potential for income generation. The more intensive the production system, the more the intensity and diversity of diseases identified by farmers as their main problem, which was partly attributed to the greater sensitivity of the improved breeds, poor veterinary measures, and the high chicken density facilitating disease spread. Based on the survey we constructed a problem tree to classify the underlying constraints and their interrelations, and to identify common root causes, based on which we propose practical solutions to improve chicken production. Development of medium-large scale systems is particularly constrained by a limited supply of 1-day-old chicks and theft. By contrast, intensification of small-scale systems is constrained by limited access to quality feed, vaccines and medicines, capital, and lack of a reliable market, partly due to the absence of farmer organization. These constraints can be addressed through formation of producer groups and promotion of outgrower and enterprise development models. Enterprise development appears to be the most promising business model for smallholder chicken farmers given that it allows farmers more freedom in decision-making and management while strengthening linkages with input suppliers and output markets to ensure a viable and profitable business.

Sustainable livestock production is important to ensure continuous availability of resources for future generations. Most smallholder livestock farming systems in developing countries have been perceived to be environmentally, socially and economically unsustainable. Farming with livestock that is robust and adaptable to harsh environments is important in developing countries especially in semi-arid and arid environments. This review discusses the different sheep farming systems employed by smallholder farmers and associated sustainability problems facing them. The review also gives an overview of sustainability indicators and limitations to the sustainability for the different smallholder sheep production systems in South Africa. It is argued that genetic diversity is important for sustainability and needs to be maintained in sheep for sustainable production and reproduction performance. The application of traditional breeding and genomics to ensure sustainable production is explored. Animal breeding approaches, specifically genomics can be applied to improve areas of environmental sustainability of smallholder sheep farming systems but must be targeted to the specific production environments, challenges, and opportunities of smallholder production. The genetic traits important for sustainability, the role of genomics in improving these traits and linking these genetic traits to different farming systems in South Africa are discussed.

Currently, the demand for milk products in Tanzania is higher than the domestic production and supply. Milk quality management along the dairy value chain is important to reduce microbial contamination that may cause milk-borne diseases to humans. The main objective of this study was to assess the existing dairy value chain and evaluate different factors affecting milk quality in urban (UR), peri-urban (PU) and rural (RU) locations in Mbeya and Songwe region in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Data were gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire-based survey with 98 dairy farmers, and focus group discussions with a group of seven dairy farmers in each location. Also, a checklist of questions was used to collect information from four identified milk collection centres and traders. Furthermore, a participatory rural appraisal Net-Map approach with 15 actors in the dairy sector was done to assess the existing dairy value chain and analyse the linkages, power in decision making and gaps in the dairy value chain. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and Visualizer 2.1 software’s, respectively. Dairy cattle are mainly kept under a zero-grazing system in all locations, mainly composed of Friesian crosses and non-descript crossbreeds. The informal dairy value chain dominates the UR location while the formal value chain slowly gaining ground in the PU and RU locations (p

Global livestock production is expected to increase in future decades, and expansion of the agricultural area for feed production is not desired. Hence, increasing livestock production per unit agricultural area is essential. The bio-physical scope to increase production of livestock systems with the corresponding feed crop production (feed-crop livestock systems) could not be assessed generically at the start of this research. In crop production, however, crop models based on concepts of production ecology are widely applied to assess the bio-physical scope to increase actual production. The difference between the biophysical scope and actual production is referred to as the yield gap. The objectives of this thesis were 1) to develop a generic framework to assess the scope to increase production in feed crop-livestock systems based on concepts of production ecology, 2) to develop a generic livestock model simulating potential (i.e. maximum theoretical) and feed-limited livestock production, and 3) to apply this framework and model to feed-crop livestock systems, and conduct yield gap analyses. Concepts of production ecology for livestock were specified in more detail. Feed efficiency at herd level was a suited benchmark for livestock production only, and production of animal-source food per hectare for feed-crop livestock systems. Application of the framework showed that the yield gap was 79% of the potential beef production of a cow-calf system, and 72% of a cow-calf-fattener system in the Charolais region of France. The model LiGAPS-Beef (Livestock simulator for Generic analysis of Animal Production Systems – Beef cattle) was developed to simulate potential and feed-limited production of beef cattle using input data about animals’ genotype, climate, and feed quality and availability. The model consists of sub-models describing thermoregulation, feed intake and digestion, and energy and protein utilisation. Model evaluation under different agro-ecological conditions indicated live weight gain was estimated fairly well (15.4% deviation from measured values). LiGAPS-Beef was coupled with crop growth models to simulate potential and resource-limited production of twelve grass-based beef production systems in the Charolais region. Resource-limited production combines feed-limited production of cattle and water-limited production of feed crops. Yield gaps were on average 85% of potential live weight production per hectare, and 47% of resource-limited production. Yield gaps were attributed to feed quality and quantity limitation (41% of potential production), water-limitation in feed crops (31%), the combination of sub-optimal selling or slaughter weights, culling rates, calving dates, age at first calving, and stocking densities (9%), and the combination of prolonged calving intervals and calf mortality (2%). Improved grassland management and an earlier start of the grazing season may increase live weight production per hectare. Furthermore, the resource-limited production of bulls was simulated to increase by 6-14% from 1999-2006 up to 2050 due to climate change. From the results of this thesis, it can be concluded that 1) a generic framework using concepts of production ecology is available now to assess the bio-physical scope to increase production in feed-crop livestock systems per unit area; 2) the mechanistic model LiGAPS-Beef simulates potential and feed-limited production of beef cattle fairly well; 3) combining LiGAPS-Beef with crop growth models allows to quantify yield gaps in feed-crop livestock systems, and to analyse these yield gaps. The method described in this thesis can be used subsequently to identify options to mitigate yield gaps, and to increase livestock production per unit area, which may contribute to sustainable intensification of agriculture.

In response to population growth, rising income and urbanisation, the demand for livestock products, such as milk, meat and eggs is growing in Ethiopia. The growing demand for milk products offers opportunities for smallholders to realize better livelihoods. Whereas the growing demand for milk products in Ethiopia is widely recognised, the dairy sector has not been able to produce adequate milk to satisfy this demand, mainly due to low productivity of dairy animals. The use of technological inputs, such as improved breeds of dairy cows and cultivation of improved forages, is often seen as a prerequisite to increasing livestock productivity and resource use efficiency in the smallholder dairy sector. However, adoption of such technologies has been low, despite numerous efforts to disseminate the technologies in the past. This poses a question as to why the majority of smallholders have not adopted livestock technologies in the Ethiopian highlands. The overall objective of this study was understanding the factors affecting adoption of technologies that enhance the productivity of livestock production and water use efficiency in the Ethiopian highlands, with particular emphasis on dairy production. The study was intended to deepen the understanding on the role of factors at the levels of farm households, value chains and macroeconomic institutions and policies on farmers’ decision to adopt technologies. The study employed interdisciplinary approach to analyse micro and macro level constraints that affect adoption of technologies in livestock production. The findings in the empirical chapters show that low adoption of the technologies that enhance the productivity of livestock production and water use efficiency stem from farmers’ limited access to farm resources, differentials in potential welfare impacts of the technologies, lack of effective and reliable supply chains for inputs and outputs, inadequate physical infrastructure and weak institutions and policies. The findings show that smallholders have been subjected to multiple constraints. Given the multiple constraints at different scales and the associated transaction costs facing smallholders in rural Ethiopia, the returns to investment for the technologies may be too low to justify widespread adoption of the technologies. Therefore, adoption of technologies in the dairy sector requires interventions at production, storage, transportation, processing and marketing chains and at macroeconomic institutions and policies. In the short and medium term, dairy development programs in Ethiopia will have a better chance of success if they target farmers who have better resource endowments and who are connected to better-functioning value chains rather than blanket technology scaling-up strategies targeting the majority of smallholders. Future agricultural research needs to shift the focus from predominantly developing new biophysical technologies towards social science research that assesses issues at value chain, macroeconomic institutions and policies that influence adoption of technology.

De afgelopen 50 jaar is de veehouderij in schaalgrootte toegenomen en geïntensiveerd. Tegelijkertijd zijn Westerse samenlevingen meer verstedelijkt en hebben minder mensen familieleden in de landbouw. Als gevolg daarvan hebben weinig burgers kennis van of directe ervaring met de landbouw. Duurzame ontwikkeling is een omstreden concept en wordt in veel gebieden bediscussieerd en op verschillende manieren gedefinieerd. Deze studie richt zich op burgerpercepties van de veehouderij om inzicht te krijgen in de sociaal-culturele aspecten van een duurzame veehouderij.

Many organizations in Ethiopia have promoted exotic multipurpose fodder tree species particularly Sesbania sesban for livestock feed and soil improvement. Despite the apparent benefits, the number of farmers planting these trees was low. Moreover, some farmers feeding Sesbania sesban reported reproduction problems in sheep. The latter was supported by a few short term reproduction studies conducted in Ethiopia. The present thesis was conducted to assess farmers’ perceptions about multipurpose fodder trees and about constraints to adoption, and to study effects of long-term feeding of Sesbania sesban on sheep performance. The farmers’ perception was studied by a field survey among 235 farm households from three district with different dominant farming systems (wheat, teff or coffee as the major crop) and the sheep performance studies were a series of experiments at the International Livestock Research Centre in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. Farmers planted exotic multipurpose fodder trees for their feed value. The valuation for other purposes (soil and water conservation, use as fuel wood) depended on cropping system, vegetation cover and availability of alternative local fodder trees. Major constraints to adoption were agronomic problems, low multipurpose value, and land shortage. Farmers’ decision making criteria to adopt multipurpose fodder trees encompassed multiple objectives: farmers preferred local fodder trees to exotics for biomass production, multi-functionality, life span, and compatibility to the cropping system. In terms of feed value, ease of propagation, and growth potential local fodder trees were ranked lower than or comparable to exotics. A significant correlation was observed between farmers’ feed value score of a fodder tree species and the crude protein content assessed in the laboratory. The number of Sesbania sesban trees currently planted on-farm was about 30% of the recommended number for meat or milk production. Despite some farmers (11.8% of users) reported reproduction problems in sheep, the feed value of Sesbania sesban was appreciated across farming systems. However, the feed value was appreciated more in the wheat- and the teff-based farming systems than in the coffee-based farming system. From the results of the series of on-station experiments conducted for one whole reproductive cycle from post-weaning up to first lactation it was observed that supplementation of Sesbania sesban at 30% of the ration (0.98% of body weight) improved basal and total feed intake and digestibility, growth rate and the overall reproductive performance of sheep. No observable adverse effects of possible anti-nutritional factors in Sesbania sesban were found in this long term study. We conclude that the introduction of exotic multipurpose fodder trees need consideration of farmers multiple criteria, of local resources and knowledge and of the diversity of the farming systems. Introduction should be accompanied by practical training of farmers and of extension agents. The studies show that Sesbania sesban is a potential protein supplement that can be used to substitute commercial concentrates for smallholder farmers in the Ethiopian highlands.

Key Words: nutrient dynamics, fertility management, feed availability and quality and livestock production, Northern Highlands of EthiopiaIn the Northern Highlands of Ethiopiaone of the least-favored areas inEast Africa,farming systems are characterized by the integrated management of crop and livestock components, in which resources, such as nutrients and energy are cycled within the system.The overall objective of this study was to increase insight in the functioning of these farming systems, with special attention for the heterogeneity among farm households and farm fields, and the influence of farm management regimes on soil nutrient dynamics and livestock production,as a basis for formulation of recommendationsfor technological innovation leading to increased farm productivity, conservation of the natural resources and improved livelihoods for the farming population. Crop production is limited by indigenous soil nutrient supply and water availability, as concluded from the results of an on-farm field study on barley on three soils classified as Cambisol, Luvisol-1 and Luvisol-2. Results of this study were also used to calibrate the QUEFTS model that can serve as a tool to quantify indigenous soil nutrient supply as a basis for determination of the best fertilizer combinations for targeted (barley) yields in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia To quantify the possibilities for animal production, knowledge of on-farm available feed resources and their quality is fundamental. Our results show that crop residues comprise the major source of animal feed, in addition to roughage from natural pastures. Availability and quality of forage and hence live weight dynamics of the animals show a distinct seasonal pattern. In the late wet season, September to November, cattle graze natural pasture, and the high availability and quality of this feed resource is reflected in high rates of live weight increase. Starting December, cattle graze aftermath in crop fields, and the lower feed availability (in both quantity and quality), results in lower live weight gains. From April onwards, animals loose live weight, with the maximum loss observed in August. Observed live weight gains (LWG) were close to the potential for well-endowed farm households, implying favorable nutritional conditions, whereas for medium and poor farm households they were significantly lower, associated with low quality feed. The relationships between feed availability (quantity and quality) and feed intake on the one hand and animal performance, in terms of live weight and milk production, manure production and draught power, on the other, indicate that currently manure and draught power are the major production targets, attained by maximizing herd size (HS). Our results suggest that maximum live weight production and milk production would be associated with selective use of the better feeds at strongly reduced HS. Partial balances of the macronutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were studied at farm level, and the results indicate that soil nutrient depletion proceeds at an alarming rate at both 'farm field' and plot scales. Nutrient depletion rates differ significantly among farmer wealth groups, with the highest rates recorded for the rich farm group, followed by the medium and poor farm groups. Current levels of organic fertilizer input are much lower than required to maintain a dynamic equilibrium in soil organic matter content. Thus, availability of organic inputs is a crucial constraint for attaining sustainability in terms of nutrient elements. Results of a simulation study on long-term dynamics of soil C, N and P and the consequences of alternative farm management practices for crop-available N and P indicate that to maintain current levels of soil N, organic carbon and P, external inputs in the form of inorganic fertilizers and/or animal feed (concentrates) are indispensable.In this study, attention focuses on the bio-physical aspects of sustainability in terms of soil qualities, with special attention for nutrient elements. Adoption of more sustainable farm management practices however, is constrained by the (socio-) economic environment.