Environmental assessment of livestock systems with the Emergy methodology : Efficiency of extensive livestock systems in harsh environments

The livestock sector will need to provide meat and milk for a growing population, while at the same time limiting its environmental impacts. To meet this challenge, more and more studies are being conducted to identify the most efficient systems from an environmental perspective, especially those that use the fewest non-renewable resources in relation to their output.In 2006, an FAO report thus called attention not only to the environmental damage they cause, but also to the lack of efficiency of livestock systems, especially extensive systems in developing countries, whose level of food production remains low.Questioning this report, a recent study conducted by CIRAD in four different regions shows that extensive dairy systems in Mali can be more efficient than intensive systems in Reunion Island, and just as efficient as semi-intensive systems in western France. This result was obtained using the emergy methodology, which uses one type of unit to evaluate all the resources consumed to generate food or non-food products. This methodology takes into account the complex and multifunctional nature of livestock systems, especially extensive ones. Emergy could be a useful tool enabling decision-makers to develop livestock policies adapted to suit individual contexts, and to thereby meet the growing demand for livestock products

A participatory, territory-rooted and change-oriented approach to assess the multi-criteria contribution of an agrifood value chain to sustainable development

Agrifood Value chains (AVCs) can be powerful driving forces for sustainable development. Multi-criteria analysis is particularly useful for supporting decision making on improvement measures in AVCs. Methodological guidelines are still needed to effectively integrate environmental and socio-economical assessment tools and indicators at this level. In this paper, we propose a participatory, territory-rooted and change-oriented framework. The framework is applied to analyse the contribution of the main local poultry AVC in Reunion Island to the sustainable development of the territory. The main stakeholders of the AVC participated in (i) identifying key territory challenges, (ii) selecting corresponding appropriate assessment methods and indicators, (iii) defining the perimeter of the AVC and (iv) the improvement scenarios to be explored, v) providing data inventory, and vi) interpreting the results of the assessment. Both the environmental life cycle assessment and the effect method fit the proposed framework particularly well. They were applied to the same AVC data inventory, improvement scenarios were explored and indicators were spatialized to distinguish the local impacts in the root territory and externalized impacts at the global scale. In the ecological dimension of our case study, most of the effects linked to the AVC activities which threaten resources conservation and ecosystem health are externalized. This is due to strong dependency on foreign resources: in the case of fossil energy and raw materials used for livestock feed, 82% of environmental impacts occur outside Reunion Island. In the socio-economic dimension, the employment created by the AVC is mainly local due to the use of local services, 89% of jobs are provided in Reunion Island. Improvement of on-farm eco-efficiency was shown to be a mitigation option that would significantly affect the impacts of the AVC. Human and ecosystem health, and resources conservation would be improved by respectively +2.2, +9.8 and +4.8,% at global scale. But the AVC industrial network and the community would also be negatively affected, by respectively -2.2 and -3.0%, at local scale. This study underlines trade-offs between the environmental and the socio-economic dimensions and methodological challenges associated with the effective integration of assessment methods originating from diverse disciplines

Climate Smart livestock development in natural and improved savannas of an extensive ranch in Central Africa (RDC). [P37]

In the Central African extensive livestock systems improved management practices and technologies can deliver a significant portion of the Climate smart efforts needed (FAO 2014). The “Kolo” ranch is located 14°45' - 15°00' E, 5°15'- 5°52' S (Bas-Congo, DRC). 20 000 N'dama cattle heads are managed for a production of 1200 tons live weight (LW) on 50 000 ha: 47 500 ha of natural “Hyparhenia” savanna (NS) and 2 500 ha of Brachiaria improved grasslands (BiG). Farm gate LCA methodology and IPCC references were contextualized to the local practices to estimate the level and diversity of non-renewable energy (NRE), GHG emissions and economic efficiencies of the system. The results show an overall NRE consumption of 6 259 MJ t LW-1 year-1. The system based on abundant pasture resources and fire use to stimulate regrowth in NS, using very few inputs and light infrastructures, is low consumer of energy. GHG emissions are important: 30 t CO2-e t LW-1 exported, biomass burning and enteric emissions shares are 50% and 36% respectively of the emissions. On the ecologically intensified surfaces (BiG) of the ranch, where fire use is strictly avoided and where the finishing animals are concentrated, performances are increased due to biomass and forage quality improvement, the carrying capacity is raised from averages of 0,41 on (NS) to 4,51 TLU / ha on (BIG). The annual LW gain per ha is in proportion 12 vs 254 kg ha-1. Related to meat production, we observe a lower energy consumption 7 978 and 4 405 MJ/ton LW Gain and GHG is reduced 51,7 and 8,5 t CO2-e t of LW Gain on average NS and BIG surfaces respectively. The production costs are 2,14 and 1,23 €/Kg carcass eq. LW gain for NS and BIG surfaces respectively. In such tropical environments and livestock systems, grassland improvement and changes of management practices are very probably the most effective Climate smart investments to mitigate climate impact contribution and improve environmental and livelihoods efficiencies. (Texte intégral

Beef value chain analysis in Zimbabwe

Conducted between September 2017 and April 2018, this analysis of the Zimbabwe beef value chain addressed the questions: What is the contribution of the value chain to economic growth? Is the economic growth generated by the value chain inclusive? Is the value chain socially sustainable? and, Is the value chain environmentally sustainable? The historical background for the Zimbabwe beef value chain is important as it provides context for the current situation. During the colonial and post-colonial period the key objective for the beef sector was intensive commercial farming and exploitation of market access opportunities under the Lome Convention. Following this Zimbabwe underwent a period of intensive land reform with large-scale transfer of farm land from Commercial (white) farmers to small-scale (black) farmers. Somewhere between 161,500 and 300,000 households have resettled on about 4.9 million hectares (Scoones et al, 2010). Commercial farms (white) have declined from 4,000 to about 725. However, various categories of 'new' (black) commercial farms have been developed pre-and post-land reform (11,000+ households). During this period the national disease control system failed and exports ended. Causes of this collapse include: co-habitation of buffalo and cattle; and, un-restrained movement of cattle from high-risk areas. Illegal exports and imports are also reported. Currently, Zimbabwe aims to reinstate centralised veterinary control to manage transboundary diseases. This has, so far, been unsuccessful with regular outbreaks of food-and-mouth disease occurring, including during the period of this research. A high proportion of the Zimbabwe population is poor (72.3%) and extremely poor (16.2%). Malnutrition affects 33.8% of children between 6-59 months of age. Rural Zimbabwe is poorer than urban areas by some margin (30.4% of households are extremely poor in rural areas vs 5.6% in urban areas). This drives migration and emigration. Livestock are essential for resilience and coping; cattle holding and maize yields closely correlated. Farms without livestock are the most vulnerable. Beef consumption is declining: from 13kg to 4 or 6kg per capita reflecting income changes and the availability of cheap chicken meat. Zimbabwe is a semi-arid country with 85% of the area receiving less than 800mm of rain a year. Resource endowment is high, but distribution skewed and sustainability is questioned by many. Key environmental issues include: land degradation, largely through poor land management; deforestation, through land clearance and fuel use; water scarcity, due to over extraction and urbanisation; pollution of water and air, through mining, urbanisation and intensive agriculture; biodiversity loss, through agricultural expansion and habitat loss; and, climate change and variability, resulting in higher temperatures and lower/variable rainfall

Les rôles agronomiques de l'élevage dans la contribution à l'adaptation et l'atténuation du changement climatique au Nord et au Sud

Les systèmes d'élevage (SE) du Nord et du Sud connaissent des changements importants en raison de facteurs multiples et interdépendants, d'ordre écologiques, climatiques, économiques, sociaux, politiques, sécuritaires ou encore sanitaires. L'ampleur des changements auxquels ces systèmes sont et vont être confrontés est considérable et leurs interactions avec les activités d'élevage posent question. D'une part, l'ensemble du secteur animal est un contributeur majeur des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, et il en subit d'autre part les impacts. Pour y répondre, l'élevage a de réelles capacités d'adaptation, tout en offrant également des potentialités d'atténuation significatives et multiples. La contribution nécessaire et évidente à la sécurité alimentaire de larges populations et la réponse à la demande future en produits animaux rendent la contribution animale incontournable dans la conception de systèmes agricoles climato-intelligents. Les développements attendus de l'élevage dans les Suds seront d'autant plus concernés que c'est dans ces socio-écosystèmes qu'auront lieu les plus grandes dynamiques économiques, sociales, techniques, politiques et environnementales