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Farm Management in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia

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Farm Management in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia Farm management in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia Assefa Abegaz Tropical Resource Management Papers Documents sur la Gestion des Resources Tropicales 701 Farm management in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia Assefa Abegaz Farm management in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia To My mother, Menen Amede and to the memory of my father, Abegaz Yimer and godfather, Mekonnen Seyoum Abstract In the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia, one of the least-favored areas in East Africa, farming systems are characterized by the integrated management of crop and livestock components, in which resources, such as nutrients and energy are cycled within the system. The overall objective of this study was to increase insight in the functioning of these farming systems, with special attention for the heterogeneity among farm households and farm fields, and the influence of farm management regimes on soil nutrient dynamics and livestock production, as a basis for formulation of recommendations for technological innovation leading to increased farm productivity, conservation of the natural resources and improved livelihoods for the farming population. Crop production is limited by indigenous soil nutrient supply and water availability, as concluded from the results of an on-farm field study on barley on three soils classified as Cambisol, Luvisol-1 and Luvisol-2. Results of this study were also used to calibrate the QUEFTS model that can serve as a tool to quantify indigenous soil nutrient supply as a basis for determination of the best fertilizer combinations for targeted (barley) yields in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia. To quantify the possibilities for animal production, knowledge of on-farm available feed resources and their quality is fundamental. Our results show that crop residues comprise the major source of animal feed, in addition to roughage from natural pastures. Availability and quality of forage and hence live weight dynamics of the animals show a distinct seasonal pattern. In the late wet season, September to November, cattle graze natural pasture, and the high availability and quality of this feed resource is reflected in high rates of live weight increase. Starting December, cattle graze aftermath in crop fields, and the lower feed availability (in both quantity and quality), results in lower live weight gains. From April onwards, animals loose live weight, with the maximum loss observed in August. Observed live weight gains (LWG) were close to the potential for well-endowed farm households, implying favorable nutritional conditions, whereas for medium and poor farm households they were significantly lower, associated with low quality feed. The relationships between feed availability (quantity and quality) and feed intake on the one hand and animal performance, in terms of live weight and milk production, manure production and draught power, on the other, indicate that currently manure and draught power are the major production targets, attained by maximizing herd size (HS). Our results suggest that maximum live weight production and milk production would be associated with selective use of the better feeds at strongly reduced HS. Partial balances of the macronutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were studied at farm level, and the results indicate that soil nutrient depletion proceeds at an alarming rate at both ‘farm field’ and plot scales. Nutrient depletion rates differ significantly among farmer wealth groups, with the highest rates recorded for the rich farm group, followed by the medium and poor farm groups. Current levels of organic fertilizer input are much lower than required to maintain a dynamic equilibrium in soil organic matter content. Thus, availability of organic inputs is a crucial constraint for attaining sustainability in terms of nutrient elements. Results of a simulation study on long-term dynamics of soil C, N and P and the consequences of alternative farm management practices for crop-available N and P indicate that to maintain current levels of soil N, organic carbon and P, external inputs in the form of inorganic fertilizers and/or animal feed (concentrates) are indispensable. In this study, attention focuses on the bio-physical aspects of sustainability in terms of soil qualities, with special attention for nutrient elements. Adoption of more sustainable farm management practices however, is constrained by the (socio-) economic environment. Key Words: nutrient dynamics, fertility management, feed availability and quality and livestock production, Northern Highlands of Ethiopia ii Contents page Chapter 1 General introduction 1 Chapter 2 Nutrient dynamics on smallholder farms in Teghane, northern highlands of Ethiopia 27 Chapter 3 QUEFTS for fertilizer management for barley in three soils of the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia 53 Chapter 4 Forage availability and livestock performance at farm level in Teghane, Northern Highlands of Ethiopia 89 Chapter 5 Feed resources, livestock production and soil carbon dynamics in Teghane, Northern Highlands of Ethiopia 119 Chapter 6 Soil nutrient dynamics under alternative farm management practices in integrated crop-livestock systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia: A simulation study 143 Chapter 7 General discussion 181 Summary 203 Samenvatting 211 PE & RC PhD Education Statement 221 Curriculum vitae 222 RESPONSE LOGO 223 iii Acknowledgments I am grateful to the RESPONSE programme for granting me a sandwich Ph.D. fellowship. I also thank Mekelle University for allowing me the study leave and for support in Ethiopia in the course of data collection. My profound and special sincere thanks and appreciations go to my highly esteemed promotor, Prof. dr. Herman van Keulen, who efficiently guided me throughout the thesis work. He has invested his precious time, energy and scientific ideas and knowledge in the various stages of my work; proposal development, data collection in Ethiopia and write-up of the thesis. His keen interest in the subject, unreserved support, encouragement and patience have positively and significantly impacted on the completion of my study and this thesis. I extend my profound sincere thanks to Dr. Simon J. Oosting, my co-promotor, for his motivation, daily guidance and supervision, excellent suggestions and comments in the course of data collection and the thesis work. I also extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr. Mitiku Haile, the local supervisor at Mekelle University, for his encouragement and field supervision in Ethiopia and his assistance in the soil survey of the study area. Many thanks also to Prof. dr. Ken E. Giller, Head of the Plant Production Systems Group of Wageningen University, for his supports and encouragement, during field visits in Ethiopia and in the course of my study at Wageningen. Prof. Giller also provided important comments in the analysis of feed resource use and livestock production (Chapter 5). Sincere thanks are also due to Fokje Steenstra, Animal Production Systems Group, for drawing the illustrations of nutrient flows (Chapter 2) and resource flows in the integrated crop-livestock farming systems (Chapter 4). I am very grateful to Drs. Nico de Ridder, Bert Janssen, Peter Leffelaar, Huib Hengsdijk and Alfred Hartemink for their assistance during various stages of the study. I extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Ruerd Ruben, coordinator of the RESPONSE project for his encouragement, facilitation and unreserved support, both in Ethiopia and in Wageningen. Many thanks to Henny Hendrikx, administrator of the RESPONSE project, for her excellently organized services and support. I am very grateful to the staff of the Plant Production Systems Group of Wageningen University for their unreserved support. I thank my fellow-students, Santiago Lopez-Ridaura, Mohammed Shibu and Pablo Tittonell, at the Plant Production Systems Group, for their encouragement and assistance during various phases of the study. v I would like to express my profound gratefulness to Diress Tsegaye and Desita Workelul, Mekelle University, for their assistance in vegetation inventory and sample collection in the study area and to Zerihun Demissie for his assistance in laboratory analyses in Mekelle University. I am also grateful to Dawit Negassa and Mulugta Habtemichael, International Livestock Research Institute, Addis Ababa and Abebe Abayi, National Soil Research Centre, Addis Ababa for plant and soil laboratory analyses. I am very grateful to Tesfay Asfha, manager of Atsbi World Vision for his assistance in data collection and his support and encouragement. Thanks are due to my colleagues at Mekelle University, Girmay Tesfay, Lulseged Tamen, Solomon Hishe, Biadglign Demissie, Genet Tsegay, Berhanu Getahun, Sintayehu Kassaye, Berhanu Gebremichael and other staff members of the Departments of Geography & Environmental Studies and History, for their encouragement and assistance in various capacities. In Mekelle, many other friends have encouraged and supported me and my family and I am grateful to all of them. My thanks to the “Atsbi Wonberta” district administration office for facilitating administrative linkage with farmers of Teghane for data collection and further support. I am very grateful to the farmers of Teghane and field assistants for their cooperation in data collection. My dearest gratitude goes to my wife, Tigist Abate and my son, Natnael Assefa for their patience, wholehearted support and encouragement in the
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