Sustainable feeding systems based on the use of local resources Pp Roggero, S Bellon, M Rosales

To cite this version:

Pp Roggero, S Bellon, M Rosales. Sustainable feeding systems based on the use of local resources. Annales de zootechnie, INRA/EDP Sciences, 1996, 45 (Suppl1), pp.105-118. ￿hal-00889602￿

HAL Id: hal-00889602 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00889602 Submitted on 1 Jan 1996

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Sustainable feeding systems based on the use of local resources PP Roggero S Bellon M Rosales3

1 Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie ed Ambientali, Un!versítá di Ancona, via Brecce Bianche, 60131 /4ncona, I!aly; ZINRA-SAD, Ecodéveloppement, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France 3 CIPAV (COLCIENCIAS) Centre para la Investigacion en Sistemas Sostenibles de Produccion Agropecuaria, AA20591 Cali, Colombia

Summary - Sustainability is a socially constructed concept whose meaning often depends on the context. After defining the feeding system and the meaning that can be attached to the concept of sustainability, its application to existing systems is examined. The attributes of sustainability are derived from an analysis of time-tested systems in Mediterranean and tropical regions. Farm organisation, animal intake and product quality are considered to mean more than mere correspondence between feed requirements and crop production patterns. The rational management of rangeland and forestry systems was taken as an example of organisation and planning of the use of renewable local resources. The multiple use of a specific feed resource and the development of mixed pasture-cropping systems, with possible inclusion of fodder trees and shrubs, were considered as examples of diversification and exploitation of local resources. The integration and fractioning of diverse feed resources and the combination of different activities in a given area, are intended to constitute a global approach to land use aimed at reducing off-farm inputs whilst enhancing natural resources and nutrient recycling. This approach should facilitate the development of mixed and diversified systems, with alternative yield objectives, low environmental impact and reduced economic hazards. Examples are reported on the intercropping of forage, food and fuel sources in the tropics, and for cereal and livestock production in the Mediterranean basin. Flexibility of ruminant production and complementarity between animal species are also described as examples of integration and multiple use of local feed resources. The discussion deals with the possible roles of fodder species and the need to combine several activities into dynamic agricultural systems. Attention is also drawn to the vital links between farmers and the wider rural community through coordinated actions that are appropriate to a mosaic of local conditions.

Introduction starting at the grassroots level and taking examples from time tested farm practices. A major objective, both for research and Farm organisation, animal intake and product extension, has often been to increase plant or quality are considered to mean more than animal production and use feed resources mere correspondence between feed more effectively. The question of integrating requirements and feed resources. resources into feeding systems is still pending; it implies the organisation of different combinations of herbivores and feeds in Feeding systems and sustainability management units (livestock farming systems). Therefore, special attention must be given to A feeding system can be defined as an existing situations in which livestock farmers organisation of the allocation of feed resources already use a diversity of resources, and to to groups of animals for at least one production enhancing system adaptability. In addition, cycle. As part of the farming system, the emerging sustainability concerns are feeding system is affected by whatever affects challenging both prevailing situations and our the main system. To analyze feeding systems ability to assess or suggest alternative feeding requires investigations in farm operations systems. where farmers are monitored and interviewed In this paper, the meaning of sustainability about their practices and behaviour in terms of that can be attached to tropical and management, feeding scheme, feed storage Mediterranean feeding systems is examined and supplementation. The aim is to describe the solutions designed and implemented by the farm inputs (Pretty and Howes, 1993). livestock farmer year after year and to Sustainable agriculture involves longer time understand the significance of the observed frames, requires more information than inputs, actions (Guerin et al, 1994; Scoones ,1989). depends more on natural processes, in The feeding systems described this represents more a craft than a recipe or paper have been analysed using the following formula, and often requires cooperation steps: beyond the individual farm (R61ing, 1992). - characterisation of available resources and A review of the feeding systems used in their value in the various of the feeding steps warm climates suggested that the application production cycle; of the sustainability concept to a feeding - identification of possible substitutions and system based on local resources is justified complementarities (opportunity assessment); when it includes:

- identification of the most appropriate methods - organisation and planning of the local to utilize, improve, supplement and cultivate resources taking into account their renewal in forages, and obtain and renew resources space and time; (management). - use of the biodiversity and diversification of In this paper, the term resources connotes the resources; the effective use of a production factor. For - integration and multiple use of the resources; instance, as far as grazing is concerned, a - adaptation and development of security resource is recognized as such when intake measures. actually occurs; otherwise it is considered as a These practices are closely related to each potential resource, e.g. a vegetation or a plant other, and their application is the key to many with its own community dynamics. «Local» sustainable feeding systems in warm climate resources are sources of feed (nutrients) that areas. For a better understanding of what are easily accessible to the farmer (e.g. forage, sustainable feeding systems are, practical crops residues, residues of agro-industrial examples will be given of their application in processes, etc.). feeding systems used in tropical and Sustainability is a catchword and an old Mediterranean areas. concept that has been rediscovered in relatively recent times by policy-makers and Organisation and planning scientists (Farrington and Nelson, 1991). The numerous attempts to define it ignore the idea In livestock farming, the farmer’s production that sustainability, like a landscape, is in the plans determine strategies to organize various eye of the observer. Sustainability may be feed resources in time and space for the considered as an additional systems property, different groups of animals, taking into account that differs from productivity, stability and their renewal and evolution. Depending on the equitability (Conway ,1987), or conversely as a farmer’s financial logic, the guiding principle of «package» comprising: viability (economic), «organisation and planning» can be aimed at reproducibility (see resilience and adaptability), «immediate optimalisation» or at «long term» liveability (work aspects) and environmental planning. In the latter case, the management integrity. However, there is almost general skills fixed by the farmers and the choices he consensus about: makes are not based on the immediate - the unsustainable economic, social and financial situation, and leave room for a variety environmental consequences of external-input- of subsequent decisions (Attonaty and Soler, oriented agriculture, because it relies on 1991 The application of the concept of resources being utilized in a way that impedes «organisation and planning» to feeding or restricts the fulfilment of other objectives systems is closely linked to the farming (Ravnorg, 1992); system, and it is suitable when it is vital to - the general directions in which modern system sustainability. Available resources are farming systems can move to become more allocated according to the production sustainable. This economically and objectives and the role assigned to each feed. environmentally viable alternative includes a The farm organisation is the result of the wide spectrum of farming systems where a farmer’s production strategy. It may become more efficient and rational use of labour, more complex when farmers’ objectives are knowledge, and management skills replace off- varied, or when the environmental constraints impose a diversification of the feed sources to highly organized «coppice manipulation secure the feeding system during critical system>. that has been proposed for the periods. Brazilian Caatinga (Hardesty, 1988). Caatinga In the Mediterranean basin, the diversity of woodland covers about 10% of Brazil. It is an rangelands (grass, shrubs and woodlands) and arid region characterized by low rainfall and their combination with other cultivated or poor soils. The vegetation ranges from open «external» resources, calls for a complex parklands with a sparse succulent and cactus organisation, i.e. strategies implemented by understory to dense, closed stands with almost livestock farmers to match heterogeneous, no understory. It is managed under a bush irregular and evolutionary fodder resources. fallow system. The land is cleared by hand, the The Mediterranean feeding systems that are vegetation is burnt, and crops are planted. based on rangelands, are often located in After many years of cropping, productivity regions marked by strong environmental and/or decreases, and the fields are abandoned. socio-economic constraints. In Italy, for During the dry season, livestock (cattle, sheep instance, 90% of the grazing sheep and goat and goats) are forced to survive on the leaf are reared in the central and southern regions litter of the unmanaged Caatinga. The and on the islands (ISTAT, 1994). clearings are difficult to maintain because The following example illustrates how a Caatinga species regenerate from seed and by year-round combination of resources can meet coppice. the needs of an animal production schedule In the «coppice manipulation system·>, based on two lambing periods with a good coppicing is reduced by changing the season level of animal productivity (figure 1 The when trees are cut or by repeatedly removing lambing period is planned to schedule lactation the coppice growth from the stump. during the period of high grass growth. In this Different species respond in different ways period ewes are stockfed on hay and grain to these methods of management. Some inside a shed while the rest of the flock grazes species that do not normally produce usable on the rangelands. At the time of mating (1 forage are palatable as coppice growth; other month) and lactation (3 months), animals are species, whose leaves are not consumed until fed on cultivated pastures and improved they fall from the tree, are browsed as green rangelands in a rotational grazing system, and coppice. Coppice growth has the ability to are divided into two or three batches. Both retain green foliage longer into the dry season flock maintenance periods (summer and than intact trees of the same species. The winter) are spent on rangelands, with feed result is a more favourable distribution of the supplementation only, if necessary, at the end forage production and quality. The system of each period when the animals due to lamb requires careful planning of what plants to cut, are segregated. The combined management of where and when in order to maintain the crops, woodlands and forest resources species composition and the supply of («organisation») may result in the assignment adequate and sufficient foliage during the dry of multiple functions to the trees and shrubs, season. which are solicited to bridge the «feeding The concept of organisation and planning gaps» of the pasture between seasons also applies to local resource renewal as part («connections») thus securing the feeding of grazing management. In the Mediterranean system and reducing investments (Guerin and areas the cultivated self-reseeding annuals are Bellon, 1989). Practical examples of these protected from grazing in the spring of the livestock systems are reported for the establishment year in order to secure natural mountain regions of southern France, where re-establishment in the following years (Bullitta sheep, goats and cattle are also assigned et al, 1989; Ewing, 1989; Sulas et al, 1993). In multiple functions i.e. forest preservation from Sardinia and other pastoral areas of southern fire and degradation, and maintenance of Italy, the rangeland grazing management is human activities in poor territories, through a planned to give suckling and lactating dairy rational plan to exploit natural and cultivated ewes access to the best pasture as first; they feed resources (INRA Ecod6veloppement and are replaced by the dry animals and/or beef CERPAM, 1990; Bellon and Gu6rin, 1992; cattle as their milk production decreases. In Bellon, 1995). these areas, the feeding system is designed to In the tropics, a good example of this is the provide as much feed as possible from

rangeland grazing and to reduce off-farm feed costs. Similarly, many species that proved to supplementation (Casu et al, 1989; Rubino et be very productive in the semi-arid al, 1995). In some areas, where beef cattle are Mediterranean areas (e.g. valuable perennial reared in the rangelands, the only external grasses, including the so-called warm-season inputs are alkaline phosphate fertilizers (to grasses) are not popular because of the high buffer the soil acidity) and a part-time labour price and relatively poor availability of seed to force. The farmer engages in extra-agricultural the farmers and in some cases because of the activities when the farm size is too small to lack of extensive on-farm testing. guarantee an acceptable income. In the humid savannas of South America, When an altitude gradient is available, Africa and Asia, emphasis has been placed on rangeland grazing can be planned so that increasing biomass through the introduction of animals exploit the early autumn production of more productive grasses and in association the highlands and the late autumn production with N-fixing legumes. Soils in this region are of the lowlands in the winter. Annual forage characterized by low fertility and high acidity, crops (e.g. oats, Italian ryegrass or mixtures of requiring highly adapted fodder species. annual legumes and grasses) are cultivated in Compared to the traditional management, a the autumn on small arable surfaces to provide system of crop-pasture practices (upland rice, winter grazing and one hay cut in May cassava, maize - Andropogon gayanus, (Caredda et al, 1992). Centrosema acutifolium), can boost the production substantially (projected estimates suggest a 44% increase in rice production of Diversification and use of local 44%, and a 15-fold increase in livestock weight biodiversity gain per hectare) (WRI, 1990). In the tropical agroforestry systems, When applied to the feeding system, despite the fact that the list of trees and shrubs diversification is the key to reduce risk with potential use for fodder is vast, many increasing system stability. It is a concept that feeding systems depend on a small number of can be applied at different levels: diet species. The danger of over-dependence on composition, feed resources and their few species has been brought to light by the management, animal species and breeds, crop severe psyllid attack on Leucaena sp., (Moog cultivation, biodiversity of natural and cultivated and Sison, 1986; NFTA, 1987; Moog, 1992a), pastures, etc. (Meuret et al, 1995). It calls for and the disappearance of some valuable complementarity in terms of feed quality, fodder species (Terminalia avicennioides) in production pattern of the various resources, Niger, due to the over-utilisation of Gliricidia labour demand, and farm capital allocation sepium (Baumer, 1992). (machinery, buildings, irrigation facilities, etc.). Shrubs and trees, occasionally, can The diverse production, quality and palatability contribute to the sustainability of the system. pattern of various forage resources The South American savannas (Cerrados in (rangelands, woodlands, cultivated species Brazil, Llanos in Colombia and Venezuela) and varieties) can be exploited through the however are not treeless plains; they have combination in space and time of areas of shrubby vegetation and islands of complementary resources, thus reducing forests of medium size trees that form closed supplementation with stored feed (Cereti and canopies (there are Indian tribes in the region Talamucci, 1991). When hypothetical that can recognize some fifteen formations that combinations are to be translated into practice, vary according to the amount of shrub or tree the possible effects of different combinations of cover, the presence of water, and the location feeds on the farm organisation, animal intake with respect to rivers and hills). These natural and products quality, need to be studied. For formations are also known to be a reservoir for example, in the Mediterranean area, fodder birds and mammals like anteaters, wolves, trees and shrubs have been proposed by many deer, armadillos, and peccaries (Gradwohl and authors as a strategic resources that can Greenberg, 1988). The first census recently provide green forage during «critical periods». completed in Venezuela’s western Llanos Nevertheless the cultivation of forage trees and determined the existence of 49 plant species in shrubs has only been developed on an the lowland gallery forests (Stergios, 1995). To experimental basis because of high plantation improve the sustainability of a system for the savannah, local resources should be included reduced economic hazards. as an integral part. Promising fodder plants The quality of the feed resources can from these formations should be studied. A benefit from the integration of feeds that are resource largely ignored and even under threat complementary (e.g. mixture of grass and are the palms of the Astrocayum, Attale and legumes). Each feed source can play a Mauritia genus. They could be integrated in an different role in the feeding system, in relation agroforestry system to provide oil and by- to its nutritional value when it is actually made products or just fruit for pigs and cattle. available to the animals. Winter cereals, for The concept of diversification can be also instance, represent a balanced feed when applied to the multiple use of a given feed grazed in the vegetative stage, while protein resource (Meuret et al, 1995). The spring supplementation is required when it is eaten as production curve of a Mediterranean annual grain, hay or stubble. In nature, livestock grass-based pasture can be smoothed by feeding is achieved through the combination of increasing the grazing pressure on areas while several elements, provided by the natural flora preserving other fields from grazing to provide diversity in space and time, animal selectivity the accumulation of hay or silage, or to and movement. In the «artificial» livestock produce grain or forage seeds (Bullitta et al, feeding systems, the integration of more than 1992; Roggero et al, 1993). Diversification is one feed resource is essential to achieve a also applicable to the whole farming system. In satisfactory feed quality and hence to make a the irrigated lowlands of Sardinia, farmers are feeding system efficient. gradually associating dairy sheep farming with The concept of integration can also be other agricultural activities (open field applied when combining activities to form horticulture, cereal grains), thus improving the integrated systems that avoid concentration on labour force efficiency and income from the lands with higher potentials and abandonment whole farming system. of the rest of a territory. In the South of France, as part of the «extensification» concept, when a farmer retires, neighbouring farmers take Integration and multiple use of the over his land and thereby increase their own local resources farm land. With a new organisation in land use, priority for new lands often goes to more The feeding system, as a sub-system of the productive areas, e.g. for hay production. animal production and farming systems, cannot Conversely, the included rangelands may be be considered as independent of them, but the abandoned. Therefore, in the South of France, characteristic of «being part of» increases its attention has been paid to pastoral land sustainability. Feeding systems can make use improvement (fencing, watering, etc.) in order of outputs from the main system and generate to increase labour productivity and maintain a outputs of use to the main system. The long term grazing capacity. concept of crop-stock integration is a major An intensive livestock production system issue at UICN (World Conservation Union), developed in Colombia, that has been UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) proposed as a sustainable solution for the and the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), when humid tropics, is an example of integration and speaking about «sustainable living», as it is an multiple use of local resources (figure 2). The appropriate way to recycle nutrients that would system is based on the use of sugar cane become pollutants if crops and livestock were (planted at high density) intercropped with separated (UICN-UNEP-WWF, 1991). In this multipurpose trees and water plants, as context, an integrated system could be defined sources of biomass to provide feed for different as a global approach to land use for animal species and food and fuel for human agricultural production, with an attempt to consumption. This system is composed of reduce external inputs (auxiliary energy, several viz. biomass, monogastric, ruminant chemicals) while improving the use of natural and fuel sub-systems that can be introduced resources and regulatory processes (e.g. separately or integrated. It is directed at nutrient recycling through the use of trees). resource-poor farmers but has been adapted This would lead to mixed and diversified for use on a commercial scale (Preston and systems, which could result in moderate yield Murgueitio, 1992a). In this model, after removal objectives, lower environmental impact and of the tops, the sugar cane is separated into juice and bagasse in a three-roller mill. The Murgueitio, 1992b). On the other hand, the juice is used as a replacement for cereals. It is fractionation of the sugar cane into tops, juice combined with the fresh water fern Azolla and bagasse and of the trees into leaves and filiculoides and whole soybean grain, and fed stems is an example of multiple and efficient to pigs and ducks. Local fodder tree species use of the resources. Tops, when adequately i.e. Gliricidia sepium, Trichanthera gigantea or supplemented, will support high liveweight Erythrina fusca, are used; the choice is based gains in ruminants. Feeding whole cane will on their capacity to adapt to local conditions have the same effect, but the possibility of (Preston, 1992). The tree foliage is harvested feeding monogastrics with the same resource and the leaves are used as a source of protein is lost (Meija et al, 1991). to supplement the sugar cane tops for feeding There are numerous examples of sheep. The animals are confined so that their integrated systems for the tropics where excreta can be collected through the ponds grazing is integrated into a cropping system. and plastic-bag biogas digesters and recycled Several approaches to involve both crops and to provide fuel. Pressed stalks and stems are grazing animals are briefly considered below. also used as fuel. In this integrated system, The food-feed intercropping system is been waste products are kept to a minimum, and the undertaken in Philippines and Thailand. This local resources are efficiently used. Fuel system provides a viable method for providing production is an added benefit of integration for food, cash and/or income for humans and as the family and the environment (Preston and well as feed for animals. The strategy is to integrate within the rice cropping pattern rangelands are confined to the non-arable soils (intercropping and relay cropping) other feed and are very low in quality and productivity, producing crops and forage crops without while the arable soils are periodically cultivated reducing the area of land used. So while the with cereals and forage crops. Originally, this food crop, usually rice (other crops used with system was based on transhumance, the the aim of increasing the production of animal flocks being driven by the shepherds from feeds include cowpea, maize, groundnut, mountains that are too cold in the winter to the pigeon pea, sorghum and sweet potato), is lowlands to graze the cereals during winter (i.e. grown during the wet season, forage lambing and lactating season) and back to the production, grasses and feed legumes, from mountain rangelands in the summer. intercropping provides feed throughout the dry Nowadays, even where long distance (>100 season. The supply of feeds for animals can be km) transhumance has disappeared, dairy further increased when a second crop is sheep and cereal production are still combined. planted into the first before harvest (relay On farms where cereal and livestock are not cropping). Another approach is the three strata combined, lands with stubble (summer) or the forage system, for dryland farming areas, grass (winter) are often rented to shepherds. In which is been developed in Bali. The system the mixed farms, the winter growth potential involves grasses and ground legumes (first and forage quality of local landraces of oats stratum), shrub legumes (second stratum) and and barley is exploited by grazing up to mid- fodder trees (third stratum). When compared February, with almost no negative effects on with a non strata system, the three strata grain yield (Bullitta and Spanu, 1977). In the forage system increased forage and fuelwood rainfed lowlands of Sardinia, the dairy sheep production, liveweight gain, stocking rates and production cycle is adjusted to the annual reduced soil erosion. Integrating grazing cereal forage production pattern. The main ruminants (mainly small ruminants) with tree lambing season occurs in November, and more crops such as coconuts, oil palm and rubber is scattered lambing (ewe-lambs and ewes that another important system, common in humid were not pregnant in the late spring mating and in sub-humid regions of the tropics, season) occurs from end January to March. In especially in Asia (although it has not been spring, some parts of the cultivated fields are adequately exploited). A specific example of exclosed to animals in order to produce grain this integration concerns the case study of an and/or hay; the whole flock is confined on the oil palm state in Malaysia. In this case, the remaining cultivated fields or in the rangelands, state allocated a portion of the plantation to the where a high grazing pressure fits in with the workers for grazing their animals. A spring flush. In the summer, the stubble is comparison between grazed and not grazed grazed by early-pregnant ewes. The flexible areas (for four years) showed that there was a and multiple use of the oats and barley significant increase of fresh fruit bunches in the (grazing, hay, sometimes silage, grain, by- grazed areas (Devendra, 1991). The system products) is a way to achieve consistent labour can be enhanced by the presence of a legume production objectives and allows the farmer to cover to have all the complementary make a decision on the type of management at advantages of an agro-forestry system; forage the right time, in relation to the available feed production, supply of fuelwood and tree stocks, the weather at hay-making, the products, improvement of soil fertility and rangeland production and the grain price. Crop maintenance of permanent soil cover rotation is often based on the succession of (Devendra, 1993). winter cereals and the «grazed-ploughed- An example of crop-stock integration can fallow», fallow that is often represented by be seen in the combination of grain cereals palatable weeds. and ruminant livestock. In the Mediterranean In arid Mediterranean areas (e.g. The basin, oats, or barley in the drier areas, provide Middle East and North African regions with good quality forage during tillering, and the <350 mm annual rainfall), the cereal system is stubble can be efficiently grazed or fed to often based on barley and weed-fallow. The confined animals when supplemented with integration of a hard-seed annual self- proteic feeds (e.g. Guessous et al, 1989). reseeding legumes in the fallow year (ley These systems are usually located in the farming system), if properly managed (e.g. lowlands (400-500 mm in 4-8 months): shallow ploughing), was recognized to be beneficial to livestock and grain production and between animal species whose feed to soil fertility (Cocks and Gintzburger, 1993). requirements are complementary. In the The hard seed mechanism retards the Mediterranean area the dairy sheep are often germination of the ripe seeds over the years, integrated with free-ranging beef cattle, thus and guarantees the natural development of a contributing to exploiting low quality and woody legume &dquo;seed-bank&dquo; in the soil that allows the pastures and increasing the labour force germination of a sufficient number of seedlings efficiency (Casu et al, 1989). during the fallow year. The multiple uses of forage legumes in the livestock farming systems have been discussed by many Adaptation and development of authors (e.g. Besse and Sebillotte, 1986; security devices Robson, 1990; Bellon, 1993), and as the ley farming system is reviewed, improved and Adaptation to local environmental conditions is adjusted to local conditions, it is becoming part of the concept of physical sustainability more flexible (Reeves and Ewing, 1993). (Spedding, 1995). It can be applied to the The balance between crop and livestock in animal species and breeds, forage species and these systems is dynamic since it predicates varieties and to the socio-economic context. on erratic seasonal rainfall and cereal pricing When forage species and varieties are (i.e. government subsidies, stock fluctuations). concerned, adaptation means productivity and Rangelands and woodlands usually represent persistence, but also matching the utilisation a secondary feed resource, but their role is pattern with the feeding calendar, suitability only important in the autumn, when the cereal with flexible management and the achievement fields are freshly sown and cannot be grazed of specific resources (Meuret, 1993). In the (Sulas et al, 1994). Mediterranean area, local ecotypes have often Although cereal-sheep mixed farming is proven to be much more productive and diminishing in rich areas, it still exists in areas persistent than commercial varieties (e.g. of extensive cultivation such as Aragon Franca et al, 1995). Farmers’ criteria for (Spain), Provence (France), southern Italy and choosing species and varieties may well be Mediterranean islands. Cattle is even different from those of the technicians; they increasing in Alentejo (Portugal) where cereal often prefer to multiply local ecotypes and farming systems are dominant. The question is landraces rather than to buy costly certified whether mixed farming should evolve towards seed that is not always suitable to the local the specialized extensive livestock system or, conditions (Roggero et al, 1990). conversely, if it should lead to a functional The African palm (Elaeis guineensis, Jack.) balance for various objectives: income stability, is an interesting and important alternative for number of jobs to maintain on the farm, etc. the development of integrated livestock However, mixed production systems must be production systems based on crops, and a compatible with increased labour productivity. good illustration of the principles of adaptation This entails a limited extension of such and flexibility. This example is also closely systems in the Mediterranean Europe, since related to the concept of multiple use. The few farms have sufficient land to develop system can be adapted to different conditions several activities (Pluvinage, 1995), except if and is suitable for all size producers. It offers land utilisation patterns are consistently different possibilities that can be combined to modified and/or are suitable for complementary various extent depending on situations uses (e.g. sylvopastoral systems, new (Ocampo, 1995): functions assigned to farming, etc.). In the 1. Commercial production. All the fruit is used large farm units of the lowlands of Provence to extract and refine the oil. African hairsheep (France), the problem to achieve a sufficient are used to control weeds and do not affect overall gross margin at farm level, in order to palm oil production. Mud and effluent, when pay employees’ wages or family-labour led to the oil content is near 8-10%, can also be used the decision to maintain animal productions in as animal feed. order to exploit the less intensified farm areas 2. Rejected fruit. 20 to 30% of the harvested or the crop by-products (aftermath, stubble, fruit for oil production is rejected because of its etc.). low quality (unripe and recent plantings fruits) Another example of integration is that and used for animal feeding. Using rejected fruits as animal feed enables the system to call for rapid appraisals and answers, i.e. support a higher stocking rate. adaptability. 3. Inter cropping with fodder trees. The inter- «Connections» are ensured through row area is used to cultivate fodder trees that interseason crop shortage compensation to provide proteins and contribute to increasing deal with low forage availability at season’s soil nitrogen content. end. This may occur when resources become 4. Palm oil for livestock feeding. Up to 30% of available after the expected date, especially the crude oil can be used in animal feed, thus during transition periods (e.g. winter to early allowing for an increase in the number and spring or summer to autumn in the types of animals (ruminants and mono- Mediterranean region). One way to cope with gastrics). This provides an alternative to the this gap would be to allow animals into producer when the market price for palm oil is woodlands late in the summer on lands that low. Livestock thus produced can cost less had been scheduled for use in winter. than in systems based on grain feeding. 5. Reduced crop density and additional crops. When the microclimate is favourable to crop Perspectives of sustainable feeding production, the diversification of the cropping systems in warm climate regions system reduces dependence on the palm oil market. The system involves 20-30% of the Towards a sustainable feeding system as crop for animal feeding and additional crops an alternative to tropical deforestation such as fruit crops (e.g. lemon, tangerine, orange, etc.) cowpea, aromatic essences, The tropical rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, cassava, sugar cane, chili pepper, cocoa, Peru, Indonesia, peninsular Malaysia, fodder trees and bananas. Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Kenya, West Africa and Central 6. Integrated system. In this case the palm Madagascar, Uganda, America are under continuous from crop is not intended for oil extraction, but as a pressure strategic base of the productive system. The uncontrolled slash-and-burn shifting cultivation, and cattle To the fruit is produced as animal feed, and all the logging ranching. protect forests, a in national elements described previously are integrated in remaining change policies is to settlements, a system similar to the biomass required discourage wealthy high investors and the cleared production system described above. corporations; already lands should be transformed into buffer zones. Thanks to its capacity of adaptation and For these zones, all future livestock production flexibility, the palm system can produce mainly system should reflect the principles set out in for oil or for livestock, on the current depending this It should be with economic trend (Ocampo, 1995). paper. fully integrated crops, trees and other animal species to This of is an essential of type security part maximize the use of local resources and sustainable systems: apart from feeding minimize waste production; it should have the «cores», globally stable and controlled, other capacity to adapt, to be flexible and to cope resources are «buffers» for certain periods with economic and ecological constraints; and which fluctuates. during forage availability it should have a high degree of organisation These are secured and periods by «regulation» and planning of sustainable long term actions «connection» and Bellon, practices (Gu6rin to allow such a system to exploit the local 1989). biodiversity of plant and animal species. There are to Regulation practices designed are increasing reports in literature on the alleviate fluctuations. unexpected production evaluation of fodder resources (shrubs and Two main types of regulations can be trees) from these ecosystems: 16 species from identified: (i) those involving biological the Philippines, (Moog, 1992b); 45 from Costa processes, for instance the mobilisation and Rica, 40 from Guatemala, (Benavides, 1994); constitution of animal body reserves, that need 20 from Colombia, (Rosales et al, 1992) just to sufficient foresight and therefore a planning mention a few. Given the diversity of fodder capacity; (ii) those involving more direct trees, there is an urgent need to study and to interventions on flows, for instance a change in recommend promising species, both in terms the use of a plot during the year (grazing/hay of plant productivity and nutritional value, for making), supplementary feed, flexibility in specific agro-ecological environments and livestock movement and stocking rates. They animal production systems. Evolution of sustainable feeding systems in hence the need for costly stability devices like the Mediterranean basin feed storage, supplementation etc. (Delgado, 1992). This is particularly true for farming In the past, complementarity between systems based on annual crops and for the Mediterranean lowlands and highlands was double cropping system (e.g. winter cereal- enhanced through transhumance and helped based forage mixture + corn/sorghum) that is to meet the consumption needs of a dense developing in many irrigated lowlands. This is rural population. In addition, rangelands were also the guiding principle of a zero-grazing the basis of fertility transfers towards cultivated system named «unifeed» that is being areas based on a two- or three-course rotation. developed for dairy sheep and goats. It has From the early XXth century, the development proven to be as an efficient feeding system per of transport facilities and market economies se, but much less efficient than a system opened the way to regional differentiation and based on the grazing of perennial forage crops marginalisation of the hinterland (Jarrige, (Molle et ai, 1994). The improvement of the 1979). The EU agricultural policy is now grazed/supplementary feed ratio appears reconsidering the public support to production, relevant to the sustainability of intensive and some leading segments of public opinion Mediterranean lowland systems as the climate underline the negative effects of certain allows grazing almost all year round, thus farmers’ practices and of territorial improving animal welfare, and product quality specialisation: artificialisation, concentration (Pirisi et al., 1994), and minimizing costs, (with consequences on animal welfare) and environmental impact and power needs. pollution of productive areas on the one hand and, on the other, the abandoning of large parts of the rural countryside, with negative Conclusive remarks effects such as landscape deterioration, reduction of regional biodiversity and increased The attributes of sustainability have to be fire hazards in the Mediterranean region. The applied to real farming situations, with thought primary role of the livestock producer’s activity, to both the historical perspective (e.g. pastoral therefore, should be integrated with other systems that exist since biblical times) and to activities that are more consistent with the the current evolution of agriculture, with its new socio-economic context, with priority being paradigms: from «productivity» to «sustaina- given to achieving an acceptable quality of life bility». In this context there is a clear need for for the farmer and his family. On vacant rural greater use of «local» resources: identification areas, the hinterland is facing new challenges of new utilisation patterns, integration, and uses; rangelands are being assigned new combinations to fit the feeding calendar, social values (reservoir for rare species and improved labour productivity, and downstream support for biodiversity, recreation facilities, thereof, system «viability». etc.) and new functions are being assigned to The Mediterranean feeding systems and livestock producers (Hubert et al, 1995). related livestock farming systems are facing Rangelands, however, are still being new challenges that overlap or substitute the utilized for traditional animal productions (i.e. «traditional» ones: unreliable market for milk, cheese, meat, beef cattle), particularly in products and production factors (e.g. seed), the southern part of the Mediterranean basin. environmental concerns (fire hazards, wildlife These areas can offer opportunities for and vegetation preservation, soil conservation, production systems designed to use diversified pollution of water tables, subsidies for territories, all the while organizing interfaces biological agriculture), urban society demands between the feed resources and the flock. The (product quality, amenities, peri-urban overall objective is to elaborate a sustainable dwelling).The development of a feeding system production project that depends more on must take into account the farmer’s knowledge internal system flexibility than on external and the society’s aspiration that are parts of factors (Meuret et al, 1995). the models to design (Jean, 1995). Many The intensification of animal production practices and systems that are sometimes systems, especially in south Mediterranean considered obsolescent can be reassessed in areas (e.g. through irrigation), can increase the the light of current technology and new interseasonal fluctuations of production, and paradigms, with a view to also improving labour productivity and other attributes. To face methods to increase pastureland production in these challenges, the systems and Mediterranean marginal areas. 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