Priority needs for improvement of activity data to support MRV in Ethiopia’s livestock sector

To complement an ongoing CCAFS project 'Enhancing capacities for MRV of sustainable livestock action in East Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia)', implemented by UNIQUE forestry and land use, ACIAR is supporting CCAFS to implement a Small Research Activity (SRA) entitled 'Building capacities for an integrated livestock MRV system in Ethiopia'. The objective of the SRA is to support improvements in methods and procedures used to produce and manage the livestock activity data required for measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Ethiopia. The focus will be on administrative data that is needed for periodic MRV (including both the GHG inventory and mitigation reporting), and data gaps that can be filled through surveys. The SRA will be implemented between June 2019 and the end of December 2020. This report is the first deliverable under the SRA and describes the priority needs for improvement of livestock activity data in Ethiopia's national MRV systems

Further evidence that gender matters for GHG mitigation in the dairy sector: Analysis of survey data from central Kenya highlights interactive effects of gender and farm management practices on milk yield and GHG emission intensity

Consumption of dairy products in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase significantly in the coming decades. As production increases, there will be an increasing need to reduce the environmental impacts of dairy production. One way to reduce the carbon footprint of milk production is to increase productivity: more productive cows use a greater proportion of feed energy and protein intake for milk production than less productive cows. Because more milk is produced for a given level of feed intake, the carbon footprint of milk can be reduced. Productivity may be increased by a range of management practices, such as improved breeds, use of higher quality feeds, animal health interventions and more. Often these measures are implemented as technology packages. For example, stall-feeding often involves adoption of improved dairy breeds and changes in feed sources and feed quality. Adoption of more intensive management practices is commonly linked to increased commercialization so that intensive production remains profitable. While most smallholders sell to informal markets, linking smallholders to the formal market (e.g. cooperatives and processing firms) is also seen as one way to incentivize and enable increased milk production. Thus, Kenya’s proposed dairy NAMA intends to promote intensification of production practices on farm to increase milk yields, and link dairy farmers to cooperatives and formal sector milk processors to strengthen market-based incentives for increased milk production (SDL 2017)

A framework for identifying country-specific MRV improvement needs in the livestock sector: Lessons from Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria

The working paper presents a framework for assessing country-specific needs, opportunities and priorities for improving measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of livestock greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emission reductions. The framework consists of 13 guiding questions that are implemented in an eight-step assessment. The steps are: Phase 1: Clarify the context Step 1: Assess current and future expected trends in the livestock sector and their GHG emissions implications. Step 2: Identify policies and measures that are expected to impact GHG emissions. Step 3: Assess how livestock sector trends, policies and measures may affect GHG emissions Phase 2: Assess current MRV arrangements and stakeholders’ demands for MRV improvement Step 4: Build an overview of current MRV arrangements and performance. Step 5: Identify stakeholders’ specific needs for information from MRV systems and gaps between current MRV performance and stakeholders’ information needs. Step 6: Identify specific constraints affecting MRV performance. Phase 3: Identify options, priorities and a roadmap for MRV improvement Step 7: Identify options for MRV improvement. Step 8: Involve stakeholders in developing a roadmap for MRV improvement. This working paper explains the steps and guiding questions in each phase of the assessment and provides illustrative examples based on supporting MRV improvement processes in Kenya and Ethiopia as part of the CCAFS’ Enhancing capacities for MRV of sustainable livestock actions in East Africa’ project. The results of a scoping exercise for livestock MRV improvements in Nigeria were conducted as part of GRA’s support to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s work on short-lived climate pollutants in Nigeria

Priority needs for improvement of activity data to support MRV in Ethiopia’s livestock sector

To complement an ongoing CCAFS project ‘Enhancing capacities for MRV of sustainable livestock action in East Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia)’, implemented by UNIQUE forestry and land use, ACIAR is supporting CCAFS to implement a Small Research Activity (SRA) entitled ‘Building capacities for an integrated livestock MRV system in Ethiopia’. The objective of the SRA is to support improvements in methods and procedures used to produce and manage the livestock activity data required for measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Ethiopia. The focus will be on administrative data that is needed for periodic MRV (including both the GHG inventory and mitigation reporting), and data gaps that can be filled through surveys. The SRA will be implemented between June 2019 and the end of December 2020. This report is the first deliverable under the SRA and describes the priority needs for improvement of livestock activity data in Ethiopia’s national MRV systems

Livestock Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Ethiopia by region: a graphic summary

This report is based on the Inventory of GHG emissions from cattle, sheep, and goats in Ethiopia (1994-2018) calculated using the IPCC Tier 2 approach approved by the Ministry of Agriculture (Wilkes et al., 2020). That national inventory report presented in detail the data sources, methods and results for GHG emissions from cattle, sheep and goats at the national level. This report summarizes the main results for each region in Ethiopia

Effect of a Multi-Enzyme product on production performance in Broilers

A study was conducted to test the efficacy of a new multi-enzyme product (Fra, multizyme dry, the Netherlands) on the production performance of broilers for 35 days. Two basal diets (wheat and maize) with or without the new enzyme mixture were used for starter, grower and finisher phases. Each diet was offered to 5 replicates each 80 chicks in a randomized complete block design (4 blocks of 4 diets each, n = 1600). Enzyme used in the study was produced by Framelco BV, the Netherlands and the diet also produced by Arkervaat-Twente, the Netherlands and each diet was split into two portions: the new enzyme mixture product was added to one portion per basal diet and the diets were pelleted with steam addition. Data was analyzed using GLM procedure of SAS (2010) for a randomized complete block design, with level of significance set at p = 0.05. Body weight and feed intake were recorded at 10, 28 and 35 days and body weight gain and feed conversion ration were calculated in the aforementioned periods. Body weight (BW) and Body weight gain (BWG) were significantly higher (P0.05) on Feed Intake (FI) during the entire experimental period. No significant differences (P>0.05) were observed for Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) for broilers fed either maize or wheat based diets at 10, 35 and from 0 to 35 days; however, FCR were significantly higher (P<0.0001) for broilers fed maize based diet with enzyme mixture than broilers fed maize without enzyme during the growing period. In conclusion, the new enzyme mixture showed improvement in body weight (3%) and body weight gain (3.5%) for broiler fed maize based diet without effect on feed intake, whereas the test product failed to demonstrate improvement in growth parameters for broilers fed wheat based diet.MscCandidate of Animal Scienc

Variation in the carbon footprint of milk production on smallholder dairy farms in central Kenya

Milk production by smallholders in Africa has a high carbon footprint (CF) and is predicted to increase significantly in the coming decades. This study, based on data from a sample of 382 farms in central Kenya, is the first assessment of the CF of milk production in Sub-Saharan Africa based on a large dataset of actual farm management practices. The aims of the study were (1) to determine whether there are significant differences in the CF of farms with different feeding systems (i.e., zero-grazing, grazing and mixed systems), and (2) to identify factors associated with variability in CF between farms. This analysis is used to identify options for mitigating GHG emissions from Kenya’s growing dairy production. Average CF ranged between 2.19 and 3.13 kg CO2e/kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), depending on the GWPs and allocation method used. Analysis based on variability in farm management showed that CF was similar between farms with zero-grazing and mixed feeding systems, and significantly higher on farms with grazing only feeding systems, but no difference was detected when input parameter uncertainty was considered. At individual cow level, variation in milk yields explained more than 70% of the variation in GHG intensity. At farm level, milk yield explained less than half of variation in CF. CF was correlated with feed characteristics, manure management practices and herd size and composition. In particular, the level of concentrate use was positively correlated with CF, and was the most important factor explaining variation in CF not attributable to variation in milk yield. Our findings suggest that promoting balanced feed rations and feeding concentrate according to cows’ needs across the lactation cycle could provide opportunities to both increase milk production and reduce the CF of milk production on smallholder farms in central Kenya. Supporting smallholder farmers to implement these mitigation options will require interventions at several levels in feed supply chains in the dairy sector

Severe below-maintenance feed intake increases methane yield from enteric fermentation in cattle

The relationship between feed intake at production levels and enteric CH4 production in ruminants consuming forage-based diets is well described and considered to be strongly linear. Unlike temperate grazing systems, the intake of ruminants in rain-fed tropical systems is typically below maintenance requirements for part of the year (dry seasons). The relationship between CH4 production and feed intake in animals fed well below maintenance is unexplored, but changes in key digestive parameters in animals fed at low levels suggest that this relationship may be altered. We conducted a study using Boran yearling steers (n 12; live weight: 162·3 kg) in a 4 × 4 Latin square design to assess the effect of moderate to severe undernutrition on apparent digestibility, rumen turnover and enteric CH4 production of cattle consuming a tropical forage diet. We concluded that while production of CH4 decreased (1133·3-65·0 g CH4/d; P < 0·0001), over the range of feeding from about 1·0 to 0·4 maintenance energy requirement, both CH4 yield (29·0-31·2 g CH4/kg DM intake; P < 0·001) and CH4 conversion factor (Ym 9·1-10·1 MJ CH4/MJ gross energy intake; P < 0·01) increased as intake fell and postulate that this may be attributable to changes in nutrient partitioning. We suggest there is a case for revising emission factors of ruminants where there are seasonal nutritional deficits and both environmental and financial benefits for improved feeding of animals under nutritional stress

Feed Quality and Feeding Level Effects on Faecal Composition in East African Cattle Farming Systems

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