The aim of this project is to integrate environmental, economic and equity considerations into decision making around livestock intensification. To achieve this, we take an innovative step forward in the use of analytical tools for the management of environmental and livelihood change in developing country contexts.
The Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessment for improved Nutrition (CLEANED)- (a secured Environment and sustainable Development along livestock value chains) - tool provides a rapid assessment of livestock production system changes in a data poor environments undergoing fast change. The assessment is in terms of water, land/soil, biodiversity and GHG emissions, and is undertaken at the landscape scale, using modeling to generate maps showing the distribution of environmental change. The project we will explore, through an action research methodology, how CLEANED can be used to secure equity and inclusion in decision making around agricultural intensification. CLEANED will be rolled out in case studies locations in three countries (Burkino Faso, Ethiopia and Tanzania), embedded within a participatory ‘social learning’ process, which is designed to engage all stakeholders. This includes policy makers and those who are frequently marginalized from decision making, such as smallholder farmers and women. As an action-research project, learning will be developed alongside stakeholders who are engaged in assessing alternative intensification scenarios.
This research project addresses three fundamental characteristics of smallholder livestock production that need to be considered to ensure an inclusive and sustainable intensification process.
1. Natural resource use and environmental impacts of livestock production at a landscape scale. Feeds can be cultivated at multiple sites across the landscape and transported considerable distances to where the animals are kept. This is not only true for concentrates including crops like maize or soy, but also for crop residues, hay or other roughage feeds. In addition, often the livestock itself is moving across the landscape to graze and browse. This makes it necessary to address environmental dimensions at landscape scale.
2. Smallholder livestock rearing generates multiple benefits. Classic cost-benefit analyses might not capture all the benefits generated. We will apply a participatory approach that allows the smallholders (and other stakeholders) to define relevant economic indicators. In this way, we will be able to assess the “real” benefits of intensification scenarios from multiple perspectives, including that of smallholder livestock keepers.
3. Inclusive decision making. To achieve sustainable intensification of agricultural production will require trade-offs that consider the balance between production and environmental impact. In a developing country setting there is major risk of exclusion of marginal smallholders in such a process. Applying a participatory and inclusive ‘social learning’ decision process will ensure that these marginalised groups have their interests represented.
The project is part of the ‘Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Research and Learning in Africa Programme’ (SAIRLA), funded by DFID and managed by WYG International and the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at the University of Greenwich, UK
project link: http://www.sairla.nri.org/research/research-and-learning-for-sustainable-intensification-of-smallholder-livestock-value-chains
