Biomass harvesting leads to soil acidification: a study of mixed crop–livestock farming systems in Madagascar

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
M. L. Fanjaniaina ◽  
J. Larvy Delarivière ◽  
P. Salgado ◽  
E. Tillard ◽  
L. Rabeharisoa ◽  
...  

Soil acidification and declining fertility are widespread in sub‐Saharan Africa. Nutrient depletion is mainly related to nutrient mining driven by biomass removal without replenishment of nutrients through use of fertilisers. Concomitant acidification is due to the high ash alkalinity of harvested biomass. We determined the nutrient content and ash alkalinity of biomass of the main crops produced in smallholder mixed crop–livestock farming systems in the Malagasy Highlands of Madagascar and calculated the soil acidification/alkalinisation occurring through biomass transfer. Samples of rice and forage were collected from 70 rice plots and 91 cultivated forage plots, and 70 manure samples were collected from farms. Nutrient exports induced by crop harvesting resulted in annual losses of 57 kg nitrogen (N), 6 kg (phosphorus) P and 33 kg potassium (K) ha–1 for rice (grain + straw), and 31–51 kg N, 8–9 kg P and 29–57 kg K ha–1 for each forage cut (with three cuts per year on average). The ash alkalinity of samples, calculated as the difference between cation and anion contents, was 49–100 cmolc kg–1 for forage crops, 31 cmolc kg–1 for rice straw, and only 4 cmolc kg–1 for rice grains. Biomass removal caused a loss of nutrients and an increase in soil acidity. Owing to low nutrient retention efficiency during the handling and storage of manure, the traditional input of manure at 5 t fresh matter ha–1 is insufficient to balance nutrient and alkalinity losses in Malagasy mixed crop–livestock farming systems. Maintaining productive and sustainable mixed crop–livestock farming systems requires greater attention to ensuring a nutrient balance at both plot and farm levels.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deny Anjelus Iyai ◽  
Isti Widayati ◽  
Hendrik Fatem ◽  
Dwi Nurhayati ◽  
Maria Arim ◽  
...  

AbstractStakeholders and its network play prominent roles in development particularly agriculture sector. The involvement of many stakeholders and other parties shaped how farms can sustain in terms of economic, social and environment indicators. Exploring the importance and roles of actors become strategic and vital to recognize. Study was done in Manokwari using focus group discussion towards twenty various represented individuals, groups and mass institutions. The queries discussed concerning background, resources delivery, interconnectivity amongst actors, intervention and innovation. The finding is that the stakeholders in mixed crop-livestock are dominated by individuals’ actors who privately manage the farms officially has laws. These actors are commonly act like stakeholders who are positively important ruled the farms. The threats are real and exist and should be lowering as much as possible to mitigate the turn-back effect. The top five shared resources are access, satisfaction, power, knowledge and time allocation. Those resources will stay longer to sustain strong needs of the farms. The relationship of actors is dominated by positive similarity and the ranges of correlation are varying in between negative, neutral to positive. This is due to actors reluctant to deliver the intervention and innovation. Actors with low interest and low power should then be promote to high interest and power by using aids, guidance and services from each actor in mixed crop-livestock farms business.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntengua S.Y. Mdoe ◽  
Gilead Mlay ◽  
Gideon Boniface ◽  
Aida Isinika ◽  
Christopher Magomba

Livestock is an important component of mixed crop-livestock farming systems in the Singida Region in Tanzania, directly or indirectly contributing to household income, food security and poverty reduction among rural people in the region. This paper examined the effect of livestock on crop commercialisation and farmers’ livelihoods in the region. The complementarity between crops and livestock in the farming systems of Singida needs to be recognised, enhanced and utilised not only by farmers and livestock keepers, but also by local government authorities and development practitioners.


New Medit ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama Ahmed ◽  
Supawat Rungsuriyawiboon ◽  
Sameh Abdelsalam

This study examines the relative technical efficiency of mixed crop-livestock farming systems and assesses their economic performance between the Upper and Delta regions of Egypt. A non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is empirically applied for measuring technical efficiency using farm-level data for 838 mixed crop-livestock farmers. The findings show that the mixed crop-livestock farms in Egypt are operating at a low level of technical efficiency, indicating most farms are unable to catch up with the current production frontier and existing production technologies. Farms in the Delta region perform slightly better than those farms in Upper Egypt. Results also suggest that technical efficiency improvement is positively affected by farmers’ education, having a farm milk production certificate, and being located in the Delta region, whereas farm size negatively affects the economic performance of mixed crop-livestock farming systems in Egypt. ,,


2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amare Haileslassie ◽  
Don Peden ◽  
Solomon Gebreselassie ◽  
Tilahun Amede ◽  
Katrien Descheemaeker

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