Systemwide Livestock Programme

This week in the session of Food Security of the Planet Under Pressure conference in London, Diego Valbuena presented the preliminary results of the SLP residue project. Focusing on biomass use and pressures in mixed crop-livestock systems, the main messages of this presentation were that:

• Mixed systems are dynamic and diverse, with different options and challenges
• Pressures on crop residues needs to look at both production and demand
• Trade-offs between livelihoods and ecosystem services can be avoided
• System research is useful to better understand pressure and options on residue/biomass, but we need more participatory, integrated and coordinate research

The presentation is available on SlideShare:

The first peer-reviewed publication of the Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP) crop residue project is now on-line in Field Crops Research. This paper describes the options and challenges of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in mixed systems by comparing 12 study sites in 9 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Results illustrate that “despite its potential benefit for smallholder farmers across the density gradient, the introduction of CA-based mulching practices appears potentially easier in sites where biomass production is high enough to fulfil existing demands for feed and fuel. In sites with relatively high feed and fuel pressure, the eventual introduction of CA needs complementary research and development efforts to increase biomass production and/or develop alternative sources to alleviate the opportunity costs of leaving some crop residues as mulch”.

This is the result of collaborative research of different CGIAR centers and other institutions: SLP, ILRI, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, IITA, CIP and Wageningen University.

The article is available from Field Crops Research

New Agriculturist has just published an article (in French) on how a dual-purposed variety (food and feed) of groundnuts improved animal feed and dairy production in a district in India. It also describes the options and challenges of seed production and dissemination of crop varieties that have a limited value for the private sector. This article illustrates the the collaboration of different institutes including ICRISAT (International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University and different NGOs.

The complete article is available from New Agriculturist

The CGIAR Consortium, representing the world’s largest global agriculture research partnership aimed at reducing rural poverty and hunger was officially granted International Organization status this week.OK

According to CGIAR Consortium Board Chair, Carlos Pérez del Castillo: “Achieving International Organization status and recognition is indispensable if CGIAR is to be able to speak with one voice at an international level, thereby raising awareness and strengthening its credibility at a time when agricultural research is key to the survival of billions of people.”

More information available from the CGIAR website

This book contributes to the identification, design, and implementation of the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions most likely to strengthen agricultural innovation systems (AIS) and to promote innovation and equitable growth. The Sourcebook provides a menu of tools and operational guidance, as well as good practice lessons, to illustrate approaches to designing, investing in, and improving these systems.

The document can be downloaded from the World Bank website