Strategies for improving livestock water productivity or moving beyond the elephant’s trunk

1

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)

2

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.

4

Outline

Livestock water productivity (LWP):

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

5

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


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


1. Select low water cost

feeds


9

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


Four LWP improving strategies: Animal Production

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n


1. Selectlow watercost feed


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




• Genetics• Nutrition• Vet health• Husbandry• Marketing


12

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


Four LWP improving strategies: Conserve water

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n




2. Enhanceanimal

production

3. Conservewater

In -

flow

Rain

Surface in-flow



Four LWP improving strategies: Conserve water

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n




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

2. Enhanceanimal

production

15

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

16

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



Four LWP improving strategies: Watering sites

Oth

er lo

sses

Tra

nspi

ratio

n




3. Conservewater

2. Enhanceanimal

production

4. StrategicLivestockwatering

18

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.

19

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?

20

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

21

LWP --- So what?

22

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.

23

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.

24

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.

25

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

26

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!)

27

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

Strategies for improving livestock water productivity or moving beyond the elephant’s trunk

Technology

Transcript of Strategies for improving livestock water productivity or moving beyond the elephant’s trunk