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Strategies for improving livestock water productivity

or

Moving beyond the elephant’s trunk

CPWF International Forum on Water & Food

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 9-14 November 2008(A CPWF PN37 output)

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Chronology (We’ve come a long way!)

Before 2003:– Livestock “bad” & largely ignored in water

management

2006: Vientiane (IFWF1):– “Integrating the unusual” (e.g., livestock & fish)

3

2008: Addis Ababa (IFWF2) Agricultural water productivity low

Livestock being mainstreamed

Livestock: part of sustainable water & food solutions

Key message: Livestock can use agricultural water more:

• Effectively, efficiently, productively, profitably, & sustainably

• By integrating agricultural water and livestock investments, development & management.

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Outline

Livestock water productivity (LWP):

What is it & what do we know? So what? What next?

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What is livestock water productivity

(An entry point for INRM, IWRM & IRBM)

Benefits: Meat, milk, hides, traction power, manure, eggs, whole animal sales, drought security, wealth savings, etc.

Depleted water: Transpiration, evaporation, discharge & contamination.

Units: US$/m3 – Better alternatives?

LWP = ∑(Net beneficial outputs)

∑(Depleted water)

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

Agriculture+ ecosystem

Benefits**

Non-productive

losses

Transpiration

Basic water accounting framework

Dep

letio

n

Ground water Infiltration

River basin

Watershed

Community

Household & farm

Herd

Animal

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

Non-productive

losses

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPasture

Livestock water productivity challenge

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

More: •Benefits•Transpiration•Recharge

Less:•Runoff•Evaporation •Contamination

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

Non-productive

losses

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPastureImported feed

Four LWP improving strategies: Feed sourcing

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

1. Select low water cost

feeds

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

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Select low water cost feeds(but consider environmental limits & animals’

nutritional requirements)

Crop residues

Crop by-products

Succulents in dry lands unsuited for crops

Molasses from sugar cane (Sudan)

Crop residues (Teff)

Pastoral Sudan

Examples

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

Non-productive

losses

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPastureImported feed

Four LWP improving strategies: Animal Production

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

1. Selectlow watercost feed

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

2. Enhanceanimal

production

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

Non-productive

losses

Four LWP improving strategies: Animal Production

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

1. Selectlow watercost feed

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

• Genetics• Nutrition• Vet health• Husbandry• Marketing

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPastureImported feed

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Enhance animal production(Reduce stress, mortality &morbidity)

Select drought hardy animals

Promote marketing of dairy products

Adopt zero grazing and watering

Examples

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

DischargeEvaporationContamination

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPastureImported feed

Four LWP improving strategies: Conserve water

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

1. Selectlow watercost feed

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

2. Enhanceanimal

production

3. Conservewater

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

DischargeEvaporationContamination

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPastureImported feed

Four LWP improving strategies: Conserve water

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

1. Selectlow watercost feed

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

3. Manage• soil• vegetation• green water • watering• waste

2. Enhanceanimal

production

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Conserve water(Vegetation and drinking management)

Limit animal access to open water and riparian habitats; use drinking troughs.

Rehabilitate & maintain extensive rangelands; limit animal numbers & re-establish pasture

Before After

Before After

Examples

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Conserve water - Annual croplands

Land-use in Ethiopia Area(%)

Estimated soil loss

% national loss t/ha/year

Mixed crop + livestock 13.1 45.0 42

Extensive grazing 51.0 20.9 5Source: Hurni (1987)

Mosaic of cultivation & local pastures

Phase 2 priority: Increase WP of rainfed farming

– Conservation agriculture – runoff

– Manure management – fuel or soil fertility

– Communal pastures – overgrazing

– Tradeoffs – crop residues for feed or soil?

Example

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow

DischargeEvaporationContamination

GrainResiduesBy-productsFodderPastureImported feed

Four LWP improving strategies: Watering sites

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n

Ground water Infiltration

1. Selectlow watercost feed

Meat, milk,hides, traction,manure, etc.

3. Conservewater

2. Enhanceanimal

production

4. StrategicLivestockwatering

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Balance feed & water distribution to increase LWP (Landscape &basin scales)

Low LWP near water points– Overgrazing – Rain produces little feed. 

Low LWP far from watering points– Drinking water constraints prevent grazing

Solution– Limit grazing near

water.– New water points

near surplus feed.– Difficult but needed.

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Example LWP estimate Mixed crop-livestock farms

Blue Nile highlands: (Curtis 2007)

Net-back analysis Economic price for water Activity’s economic revenue and cost Does activity benefit exceed water cost? Addresses water-use tradeoffs Is activity economically viable?

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Example LWP estimate Mixed crop-livestock farms

Blue Nile highlands: (Curtis 2007)

 Net Back Value of Water Mean(USD/m3)

Livestock

Irrigated 0.33

Rainfed 0.19

Total 0.27

Crop

Irrigated 0.09

Rainfed 0.08

Total 0.09

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LWP --- So what?

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CPWF experience: LWP

– Useful communication tool.

– Helps systematic thinking about livestock & water.

– Useful within systems to compare management practices and intervention options.

– Suggests limits to system improvement.

But:– Cross system comparisons questionable.

– Need to disaggregate animal species.

– Trends more important than numbers.

– LWP: A partial WP.

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Evidence suggests: 100 to 1000% LWP increase possible.

Simultaneous adoption of LWP strategies.

Potential contribution high:

– Rainfed & irrigated systems

– Multiple uses of water

– Benefit sharing

– Adapting to and mitigating climate change.

LWP related to poverty, land tenure, markets & land degradation, use and potential.

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What next? R&D challenges

Move from LWP to MUWP. Start at system scale – not livestock scale. Standardize definitions & methods within

scales.• Manure, crop residues, roots – To partition or not?• Spatial & temporal boundaries• Denominator – price? volume? or?• Numerator – monetary units? Kg? DW? or?• Gender disaggregation.

Split ET into E and T Coherent methods across scales. Institutional and policy research. Adoption, scaling up, outcomes, impacts.

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2008: Addis Ababa (IFWF2)

More:– Effectively

– Efficiently

– Productively

– Sustainably

– Profitably

By integrating water and livestock:– Research– Investments– Development– Management

Livestock being mainstreamed Part of sustainable W&F solutions Livestock can use agricultural water

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2009 – 2013

LWP

Domestic

GenderEcosystems

Climate

Crops

Water

Poverty

Economics

Fish

Soil FoodHealth

MUWS

Rainfed WP

Benefit sharing

Drivers of change

Phase 2: Many elephants(Many integrated issues!)

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Thank youall!

**Abiye Astatke**Aklilu Alemu**Amare Haileslassie**Befikadu Alemayehu**Brian Owoyesigire**Carlos Sere**Christoph Studer**David Molden**David Mutetikka**Degefa Birru**

**Dejene Aredo**Denis Mpairwe**Doug Merrey**E.N. Sabiiti** **Eline Boelee**Elzubair Bashir Taha**Esther van Hoeve**

**Everisto Mapezda**Faisal Awad Ahmed**Fitsum Hagos****Francis Gichuki**Gabriel Kiwuwa**Genet Delelegne**Girma

Taddesse**Hamid Faki**I. El-Dukheri**I.A. Goreish**J.A. van de Steeg**Jane Gitau**Jean Ndikumana**John

Bennet**Joseph Kyambadde**Kai Sonder**Katrien Deschmaeker**Kim Geheb**Kinde Engida**Lori Curtis**M.O. Fathelbari**Mario Herrero**Mengistu Alemayehu **Michael

Iwadra**Mohamed Abdel Meguid**Mulugeta Tulu**Musa Tibin Musa**Mutasim Mekki**Paulo van Breugel**Salvador Fernandez**Seleshi Bekele**Shirley Tarawali**Simon

Cook**Solomon Gebreselassie**Swidiq Mugerwa**Teferi Abegaz**Tesfaye Kumsa**Tilahun Amede**Wagnew

Ayalneh**Yassir Mohamed**Zziwa Emmanuel