Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T17:17:10.177Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

DOES CROP-LIVESTOCK INTEGRATION LEAD TO IMPROVED CROP PRODUCTION IN THE SAVANNA OF WEST AFRICA?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2010

A. C. FRANKE ,
E. D. BERKHOUT ,
E. N. O. IWUAFOR ,
G. NZIGUHEBA ,
G. DERCON ,
I. VANDEPLAS  and
J. DIELS
A. C. FRANKE*
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
E. D. BERKHOUT
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
E. N. O. IWUAFOR
Affiliation:
Ahmedu Bello University - Institute for Agricultural Research (ABU-IAR), Zaria, Nigeria
G. NZIGUHEBA
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
G. DERCON
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
I. VANDEPLAS
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
J. DIELS
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
*
§§Corresponding author. Linus.Franke@wur.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Integrated crop-livestock farming in the Guinea savanna of West Africa is often assumed to lead to synergies between crop and livestock production, thereby improving the overall productivity and resilience of agricultural production. Whether these synergies actually occur remains poorly studied. On-farm trials were conducted in northern Nigeria over a period of four years to assess the agronomic and economic performance of maize-legume systems with and without the integration of livestock (goats). Groundnut-maize rotations with livestock achieved the highest carry-over of nutrients as manure from one season to the next, covering approximately one-third of the expected N, P and K uptake by maize and reducing the demand for synthetic fertilizers. However, the advantage of lower fertilizer costs in rotations with livestock was offset by higher labour costs for manure application and slightly lower values of maize grain. Overall, no clear agronomic or economic benefits for crop production were observed from the combined application of manure and synthetic fertilizer over the application of synthetic fertilizer only, probably because the amounts of manure applied were relatively small. Legume-maize rotations achieved higher cereal yields, a better response to labour and fertilizer inputs, and a higher profitability than maize-based systems with no or only a small legume component, irrespective of the presence of livestock. Livestock at or near the farm could nevertheless make legume cultivation economically more attractive by increasing the value of legume haulms. The results suggested that factors other than crop benefits, e.g. livestock providing tangible and non-tangible benefits and opportunities for animal traction, could be important drivers for the ongoing integration of crop and livestock production in the savanna.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , October 2010 , pp. 439 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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

Agbenin, J. O. and Goladi, J. T. (1997). Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics under continuous cultivation as influenced by farmyard manure and inorganic fertilizers in the savanna of northern Nigeria. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 63: 17–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvey, S., Bagayoko, M., Neumann, G. and Buerkert, A. (2001). Cereal/legume rotations affect chemical properties and biological activities in two West African soils. Plant and Soil 231: 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bagayoko, M., Buerkert, A., Lung, G., Bationo, A. and Römheld, V. (2000). Cereal/legume rotation effects on cereal growth in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa: soil mineral nitrogen, mycorrhizae and nematodes. Plant and Soil 218: 103–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franke, A. C., Laberge, G., Oyewole, B. D. and Schulz, S. (2008a). A comparison between legume technologies and fallow, and their effects on maize and soil traits, in two distinct environments of the West African savannah. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 82: 117–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franke, A. C., Schulz, S., Oyewole, B. D. and Tobe, O. K. (2008b). The role of cattle manure in enhancing on-farm productivity, macro- and micro-nutrient uptake, and profitability of maize in the Guinea savanna. Experimental Agriculture 44: 313–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, F. M. A. (1998). Farm-level assessment of the nutrient balance in northern Nigeria. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 71: 201–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IITA (1982). Automated and semi-automated methods for soil and plant analysis. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Iwuafor, E. N. O., Aihou, K., Jaryum, J. S., Vanlauwe, B., Diels, J., Sanginga, N., Lyasse, O., Deckers, J. and Merckx, R. (2002). On-farm evaluation of the contribution of sole and mixed applications of organic matter and urea to maize grain production in the savannah. In Integrated plant nutrient management in Sub-saharan Africa. From concept to practice, 185–198 (Eds Vanlauwe, B., Diels, J., Sanginga, N. and Merckx, R.). Wallingford: CAB International.Google Scholar
Jones, M. J. (1971) The maintenance of soil organic matter under continuous cultivation at Samaru, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 77: 473–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laberge, G., Franke, A. C., Ambus, P. and Høgh-Jensen, H. (2009). Nitrogen rhizodeposition from soybean (Glycine max) and its impact on nutrient budgets in two contrasting environments of the Guinean savannah zone of Nigeria. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 84: 49–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntire, J., Bourzat, D. and Pingali, P. (1992). Crop-livestock interaction in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank, Washington, USA.Google Scholar
Moll, H. A. J. (2005). Costs and benefits of livestock systems and the role of market and nonmarket relationships. Agricultural Economics 32: 181–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okogun, J. A., Sanginga, N., Abaidoo, R., Dashiel, K. E. and Diels, J. (2005). On-farm evaluation of biological nitrogen fixation potential and grain yield of Lablab and two soybean varieties in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 73: 267–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, J. M., Ikpe, F. N. and Somba, Z. C. (1999). Crop yield and the fate of nitrogen and phosphorus following application of plant material and feces to soil. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 54: 215–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, J. M. and Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. (1999). Nitrogen and phosphorus transfers in a crop-livestock system in West Africa. Agricultural Systems 25: 261–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanginga, N., Dashiell, K. E., Diels, J., Vanlauwe, B., Lyasse, O., Carsky, R. J., Tarawali, S., Asafi-Adjei, B., Menkir, A., Schulz, S., Singh, B. B., Chikoye, D., Keatinge, D. and Ortiz, R. (2003). Sustainable resource management coupled to resilient germplasm to provide new intensive cereal-grain-legume-livestock systems in the dry savanna. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 100: 305–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savadogo, M. (2000). Crop residue management in relation to sustainable land use. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Smith, J. W., Naazie, A., Larbi, A., Agyemang, K. and Tarawali, S. (1997). Integrated crop-livestock production systems in sub-Saharan Africa: an option or an imperative. Outlook on Agriculture 26: 237–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarawali, S. A., Keatinge, J. D. H., Powell, J. M., Hiernaux, P., Lyasse, O. and Sanginga, N. (2004). Integrated natural resource management in West African crop-livestock systems. In Sustainable Crop-livestock Production for Improved Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management in West Africa, 80–89 (Eds Williams, T. O., Tarawali, S. A., Hiernaux, P. and Fernandez-Rivera, S.). Ibadan: IITA.Google Scholar
Tiffen, M. (2004). Population pressure, migration and urbanization: impacts on crop-livestock systems development in West Africa. In Sustainable Crop-livestock Production for Improved Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management in West Africa, 3–27 (Eds Williams, T.O., Tarawali, S. A., Hiernaux, P. and Fernandez-Rivera, S.). Ibadan: IITA.Google Scholar
Van Heemst, H. D. J., Merkelijn, J. J. and van Keulen, H. (1981). Labor requirements in various agricultural systems. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 20: 178–201.Google Scholar
Vandeplas, I. (2001). Enhancement of maize-based production systems through rotation with grain-legumes in northern Nigeria: a participatory approach. Msc. Thesis. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.Google Scholar
Von Jahn, R., Herrmann, L. and Stahr, K. (1995). Die Bedeutung äolischer Einträge für Bodenbildung und Standortseigenschaften im circumsaharischen Raum. [The importance of Aeolian additions for soil genesis and site qualities in circum-saharan areas]. Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie Teil I H 3/4: 421–432.Google Scholar