Integration of Farming System components Group

High potential, high market accessAlastair’s group

The (hypothetical) site• Good soils• Two cropping seasons: small rains (barley has low disease incidence) • Maize, wheat, and teff are common• Good market access, including herbicide and fertilizer• More cattle than small ruminants• There is an export market for small ruminants for meat (e.g., Dubai) • Domestic meat market is reduced by fasting; Orthodox Christians fast 2 days/week and 2

months/year for Lent• Vegetables as a high-value crop• Can plant chickpea after maize for double-cropping• Groundnuts are not suitable• Double cropping is done on non-light soils:

– Barley is followed by fava bean or lentil– After wheat, plant fava bean or lentil

• Parts of site have problems with waterlogging during heavy rains• Wheat rust is present• Seed availability is a constraint for wheat, maize, and legumes (no private sector)• High migration rates to cities

Key opportunities – traditional productivity

• Crops that provide better feeds to produce more meat (fattening) and milk (need cold chain)

• Genetic methods to improve livestock quality (selection within sheep and goat breeds)

• Fertilizer and seed choice adapted to rain and soil conditions

• Higher planting density and new varieties increase productivity per unit area

• Facilitate breeding of breeder seed, higher quality and viability

Key opportunities -- nutrition

• Legumes for home consumption• QPM for home consumption improves child

nutrition and reduces stunting• Water harvesting on light soils for vegetable

production in off-season• Fruit trees can be grown on farm

Key opportunities – post-harvest/value addition

• Hermetic metal silos and plastic bags• Plastic bags to prevent pest losses

Key opportunities – soil health

• Residue management to allow adequate cover and use field for appropriate levels of grazing

• Plant cover crop during dry season to keep down weeds (oats, vetch) and then use for fodder

• Planters to enable no-till conservation agriculture and lower labor need

• Forage trees for soil moisture retention, compost, nitrogen fixation

Key opportunities – labor/non-farm income

• Tools to reduce women’s labor include herbicide, mechanical planting, diversification.

• Herbicide use reduces weed pressure over subsequent years of use

• Small threshers• Village-based agro-industries and job creation• Collective action for markets and inputs, storage• Trees can provide on-farm firewood that obviate the

need (for women) to walk for several hours to retrieve fuel

Available technologies• Rust-resistant bread and Durum wheat varieties are

available. They require herbicides and fertilizer for high yields.

• Ten legume varieties are available (fava bean, chick pea, lentil, field pea) for this site

• Five maize varieties (one OPV) for highlands are available, plus one varieiy quality protein maize (QPM)

• Another hybrid maize produces tillers for feed• Farmer typology associated with household priorities• Labor calendar• Forage, fruit, and fertilizer trees

Early wins

• Seed supply for legumes, wheat, maize varieties

• Feeding systems• Herbicide and fertilizer supply• Improve agronomic practices

Tradeoffs

• Crop residue fed to animals is not available for fields. If not fed to animals, manure fertilizer is not available.

• Fodder versus grain production: single purpose and dual purpose

• Labor to cattle gives money to men, and may detract from household income

• Free grazing versus double-cropping in off season• Increased labor may fall to women, who already have

a very full work day• Cash flow to buy inputs

Farmers with small ruminants and cattle

• Improved feed (farmers are more inclined to invest in forage)– Maize with quality stover (dual purpose

food/feed)– Forage legumes (dual purpose food/feed)

• On boundaries or steep land– Trees for fodder (goats) and water retention– Napier grass on bunds and erosion control

Farmers with only small ruminants

• Improved feed (farmers are more inclined to invest in forage)– Forage legumes (dual purpose food/feed)

• On boundaries or steep land– Trees for fodder (goats) and water retention– Napier grass on bunds and erosion control

OutcomesOutcome Indicators and Targets Interventions

Food security Reduce hungry period by 2 months; % of population that is food secure

Cereals variety

Nutrition Reduce child undernutrition by x %

Milk protein; water harvesting for vegetable production

Gender equity % control of household expenditures, % household workload

Eggs and milk consumption and sales; Trees for firewood; Herbicides reduce women’s labor

NRM Trees for water retention and fertility (N); manure for soil; erosion prevention

Poverty reduction Sell milk, vegetables, legumes, meat, surplus cereals, by-products (leather)