Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T07:33:56.716Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ASSESSMENT OF THE LIVESTOCK-FEED AND WATER NEXUS ACROSS A MIXED CROP-LIVESTOCK SYSTEM'S INTENSIFICATION GRADIENT: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE INDO-GANGA BASIN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2011

AMARE HAILESLASSIE ,
MICHAEL BLÜMMEL ,
FLORIANE CLEMENT ,
KATRIEN DESCHEEMAEKER ,
TILAHUN AMEDE ,
ANANDAN SAMIREDDYPALLE ,
N. SREEDHAR ACHARYA ,
A. VENKATA RADHA ,
SABA ISHAQ  and
MADAR SAMAD
...Show all authors
AMARE HAILESLASSIE*
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, Hyderabad, India
MICHAEL BLÜMMEL
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, Hyderabad, India
FLORIANE CLEMENT
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, South Asia Regional Office, c/o ICRISAT, Patancheru 502324, India
KATRIEN DESCHEEMAEKER
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute/International Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
TILAHUN AMEDE
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute/International Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ANANDAN SAMIREDDYPALLE
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, Hyderabad, India
N. SREEDHAR ACHARYA
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad, India
A. VENKATA RADHA
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad, India
SABA ISHAQ
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad, India
MADAR SAMAD
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad, India
M. V. R. MURTY
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, Hyderabad, India
M. A. KHAN
Affiliation:
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Patna, India
*
‡Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Projections suggest that annual per capita water availability in the Indo-Ganga Basin (IGB) will reduce to a level typical for water-stressed areas. Producing more crop and livestock products, per unit of agricultural water invested, is advocated as a key strategy for future food production and environmental security in the basin. The objective of this study was to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of water requirements for livestock feed production, attendant livestock water productivity (LWP) and implications for the future sustainable use of water resources. We focused on three districts in the IGB representing intensive (higher external inputs, e.g. fertilizer, water) and semi-intensive (limited external input) crop-livestock systems. LWP is estimated based on principles of water accounting and is defined as the ratio of livestock beneficial outputs and services to the water depleted and degraded in producing these. In calculating LWP and crop water productivity (CWP), livestock, land use, land productivity and climatic data were required. We used secondary data sources from the study districts, field observations and discussions with key informants to generate those data sets. Our result showed that the volume of water depleted for livestock feed production varied among the study systems and was highly affected by the type of feed and the attendant agronomic factors (e.g. cropping pattern, yield). LWP value was higher for intensive systems and affected by agricultural water partitioning approaches (harvest index, metaolizable energy). LWP tended to decrease between 1992 and 2003. This can be accounted for by the shift to a feeding regime that depletes more water despite its positive impacts on animal productivity. This is a challenging trend with the advent of and advocacy for producing more agricultural products using the same or lower volume of water input and evokes a need for balanced feeding, by considering the nutritive value, costs and water productivity of feed, and better livestock management to improve LWP.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 47 , Issue S1: Improving Water Productivity of Crop-Livestock Systems in Drought-prone Regions , January 2011 , pp. 113 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D. and Smith, M. (1998). Crop evapotranspiration guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.Google Scholar
Blümmel, M., Samad, M., Singh, O. P. and Amede, T. (2009). Opportunities and limitations of food–feed crops for livestock feeding and implications for livestock–water productivity. The Rangeland Journal 31: 207–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clement, F., Haileslassie, H., Ishaq, S., Blümmel, M, Murty, M, Samad, M., Dey, S., Hiamangshu, and Khan, M. A. (2010). Enhancing water productivity for poverty alleviation: roles of capital and institutions in the Ganga basin. Experimental Agriculture 46 Suppl.: 00–00.Google Scholar
DAHDF (2006). Basic Animal Statistics. Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Krishi, Bhaven New Delhi.Google Scholar
Descheemaeker, K., Amede, T., Haileslassie, A. and Bossio, D. (2010). Analysis of water productivity gaps and effects of interventions on livestock water productivity in mixed crop livestock systems. Experimental Agriculture 46: Suppl.00–00.Google Scholar
Erenstein, O., Thorpe, W., Singh, J. and Varma, A. (2007). Crop livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Indo-Ganga Plain, India: a regional synthesis, CYMMIT, Mexico.Google Scholar
Erenstein, O. and Thorpe, W. (2009). Crop–livestock interactions along agro-ecological gradients: a meso-level analysis in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India. Environment, Development and Sustainability 12: 669–689.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerbens-Leenes, P. W., Hoekstra, A. Y. and van der Meer, Th. (2009). The water footprint of energy from biomass: A quantitative assessment and consequences of an increasing share of bio-energy in energy supply. Ecological economics 68: 1052–1060.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregory, P. J., Ingram, J. S. I, Andersson, R., Betts, R. A., Brovkin, V., Chase, T. N., Grace, P. R., Gray, A. J., Hamilton, N., Hardy, T. B., Howden, S. M., Jenkins, A., Meybeck, M., Olsso, M., Ortiz-Monasterio, I., Palm, C. A., Payn, T. W., Rummukainen, M., Schulze, R. E, Thiem, M., Valentin, C. and Wilkinson, M. J. (2002). Environmental consequences of alternative practices for intensifying crop production. Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment 88: 279–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haileslassie, A., Peden, D., Gebreselassie, S., Amede, T. and Descheemaeker, D. (2009). Livestock water productivity in mixed crop–livestock farming systems of the Blue Nile basin: Assessing variability and prospects for improvement. Agricultural Systems 102:33–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrero, M., Thornton, P. K., Notenbaert, A. M., Wood, S., Msangi, S., Freeman, H. A., Bossio, D., Dixon, J., Peters, M., Steeg, J. van de, Lynam, J., Rao, P. P., Macmillan, S., Gerard, B., McDermott, J., Seré, C. and Rosegrant, M. (2010). Smart investments in sustainable food production: revisiting mixed crop-livestock systems. Science 327: 822–825.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
IITA (2010). Balancing livestock needs and soil conservation: assessment of opportunities in intensifying cereal legume livestock systems in West Africa. CGIAR System Wide Livestock Program (SLP) project final report. Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).Google Scholar
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (1996). Guidelines for National Greenhouses Gas Inventory: reference manual. IPCC Technical Support Unit, Hadley Center, UK.Google Scholar
Kearl, L. C. (1982). Nutrient requirements of ruminants in developing countries. International Feedstuffs Institute, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, Longan Utah.Google Scholar
King, J. M. (1983). Livestock water needs in pastoral Africa in relation to climate and forage. ILCA Research Report 7. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Molden, D. (1997). Accounting for water use and productivity. SWIM Paper 1. International Irrigation Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.Google Scholar
Molden, D. (ed.) (2007). Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Parthasarathy, R. P., Birthal, P. S., Dharmendra, K., Wickramaratne, S. H. G. and Shreshta, H. R. (2004). Increasing livestock productivity in mixed crop livestock systems in South Asia. Project report, National Center for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi, India, and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India.Google Scholar
Parthasarathy, R. P and Birthal, P. S. (2008). Livestock in mixed farming systems in South Asia. National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi, India; International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India.Google Scholar
Peden, D., Tadesse, G. and Misra, A. K. (2007). Water and livestock for human development. In Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, 485–514 (Ed Molden, D.). London: Earthscan and Colombo: International Water Management Institute.Google Scholar
Raes, D., Greerts, S., Kipkorir, E., Wellens, J. and Sahli, A. (2006). Simulation of yield decline as a result of water stress with a robust soil water balance model. Agricultural Water Management 81: 335–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramachandra, K. S., Taneja, V. K., Sampath, K. T, Anandan, S. and Angadi, U. B. (2007). Livestock Feed Resources in Different Agroecosystems of India: Availability requirement and their management. National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore India.Google Scholar
Rodell, M., Velicogna, I. and Famiglietti, J. S. (2009). Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India. Nature. 460: 999–1002.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singh, R. (2005) Water productivity analysis from field to regional scale: integration of crop and soil modeling, remote sensing and geographical information. Doctoral thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Singh, O. P, Sharma, A., Singh, R. and Shah, T. (2004). Virtual water trade in dairy economy irrigation water productivity in Gujarat. Economic and Political Weekly, 3492–3497.Google Scholar
Sikka, A. and Gichuki, F. (ed.) (2006). Indo-Ganga Basin: Enhancing Agricultural Water Productivity Through Strategic Research. Technical Report No. 2, Challenge Program on Water and Food, Colombo, Sri Lanka.Google Scholar
Thomas, D., Zerbini, E., Parthasarathy, R., P. and Vaidyanathan, A. (1997). Increasing animal productivity on small mixed farms in South Asia: a systems perspective. Agricultural Systems 71: 41–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar