Overview of the ifad funded clca project

Overview of the IFAD-Funded CLCA Project

Hichem BEN SALEM

Director DSIPSP

ICARDA Focal Point CRP DS

Annual Consultation Meeting

IFAD - ICARDA

Amman

October 21-22, 2014

Integrated Crop-Livestock Conservation Agriculture for

Sustainable Intensification of Cereal-based Systems in

North Africa and Central Asia

Outline

2

1. Briefs on Integrated farming systems and CA

2. Presentation of the CLCA project

3. Achievements

4. Strengthening partnership

5. Concluding remarks

3

Integrated Crop-Livestock?

Production

• Farms operating on marginal profit

• Economic vulnerability with specialized production

• High cost of fuel and nutrients

• Pests become greater with monocultures

• Yield decline could be overcome with rotation

Environment

• Nutrient recycling could be improved in both systems

(Conventional Agric. and CA)

• Conservation of soil and water possible with sod-based

management systems

Why Conservation Agriculture?

Economic

advantages

Environmental

advantages

Stubble retention

Minimal soil disturbance

Crop • early sowing

• higher yield potential

• savings - time,

machinery, fuel

Soil • better soil structure (OM)

• better soil-water dynamics (porosity)

• better nutrient recycling (NPK)

• improved trafficability

Environment • less pollution

• less erosion

• C sequestration

(1%C = 33t/ha)

High production, profit, sustainability benefits

CA cropping

4

5

Stubbles • for livestock feeding

• to increase OM level in the soil

Take ???? Leave ????

• Can the different components of the farming

system (crop, livestock) be efficiently integrated?

• Livestock and no-till cropping farms may co-exist?

Global challenges

• Are the farmers willing to grow forage legumes or change their

crop rotation pattern?

IFAD-CLCA Project – Countries: Algeria, Tunisia, Tajikistan

– Period: Jan. 2013- Jan. 2016 (3 years)

– Budget: US$ 1,500,000

– Source of Funding: IFAD

6

CLCA project

Objective - Through integrated and participatory

research with farmers, NARES will develop and test

innovative approaches (i.e. reduced tillage) and

management (i.e. improved cropping options) options

and practices (i.e. residue management through

restricted grazing) for the adoption of integrated CLCA

by small holder farmers

7

Among the originalities • CA introduced for the first time in Tajikistan

• Crop-Livestock integration

• Crop-Livestock integration under CA

• CA in small/medium farms

• CA in semiarid areas

Originalities & Challenges

Challenges • No research data on CA in semiarid areas

• No research data on integrated crop-livestock under CA

• Target areas experience short and long term drought

• Changing rainfall patterns

Participatory Approach in This Project

8

M’Sila – Setif

Chouarnia – Laroussa

Rasht Valley

Fergana Valley

Gissar Valley

Communities

farmers

Research

ICARDA

INRAT, INAT, ESAM

ITGC

TRIF, TRISS, TRV, TRIE

Donor

IFAD

CRDA-Siliana

INGC

Administ.

Informal local

institution

Population

- Governorate/district

- Ministry of Agric.

- Etc.

Policy

makers

1 5

4

2

3

Project agenda

Part 1 - Understanding and responding to the trade-offs,

constraints and opportunities for the adoption of the crop-

livestock CA systems in project areas of CWANA

Outputs

1. Ex-ante evaluation for CA based technologies in CWANA,

proposed activities and milestones

2. Enhanced crop-livestock integration in CA through

optimized stubble grazing strategies and increased

fodder availability from forages or fodder shrubs

3. Site-specific conservation agriculture technology

packages fine-tuned and disseminated for enhanced

farm productivity, resource use efficiency and

profitability 9

10

Project agenda

Enhanced capacity development, co-learning, knowledge and

information dissemination in the target areas and across CWANA

Part 2 - Knowledge management and dissemination

4. Enhanced capacity development, co-learning, knowledge and

information dissemination in the target areas and across

CWANA

Output

11

Achievements – Output 1 Ex-Ante evaluation O

utp

ut

1

Summary Tasks Progress Progress

Status -2014 Outputs

Ex-Ante

De

ve

lop

me

nt

of

ba

seli

ne

da

ta o

n f

arm

ing

an

d t

illa

ge

pra

ctic

es,

cro

p c

ho

ice

s, a

nd

farm

er

pe

rce

pti

on

s, i

n t

he

ta

rge

t re

gio

ns.

Ne

w f

arm

su

rve

ys

wil

l b

e c

on

du

cte

d u

sin

g a

rep

rese

nta

tiv

e r

an

do

m s

am

ple

of

the

fa

rmin

g c

om

mu

nit

y i

ncl

ud

ing

da

ta o

n c

rop

resi

du

e m

an

ag

em

en

t, f

ee

din

g s

tra

teg

ies,

re

sou

rce

flo

w m

ap

s fo

r e

x-a

nte

an

aly

sis.

Th

e

surv

ey

wil

l co

ve

r a

bo

ut

40

0 f

arm

s b

y c

ou

ntr

y p

er

targ

et

are

a g

ivin

g a

to

tal

surv

ey

of

12

00

fa

rms.

Collect relevant secondary data Completed Completed by the

countries

Design and piloting of household level (farmer) questionnaires Completed Original copy of the

questionnaire

English (Tajik, Russian, French) translation of questionnaires Completed

Questionnaires in

English, French,

Russian and Tajik are

available

Recruitment & training of enumerators Completed Several trainings in

each platform

Pre-test questionnaires Completed -

Actual data collection, entry and cleaning (1164 surveys)

• Tunisia: 364

• Tajikistan: 400

• Algeria: 400

completed Three databases

available on CD

Workshop methodological training

• Tajikistan team (2 trainees – 1 female)

• Algerian team (10 trainees – 7 females)

Completed

Minutes available

12 trainees (8

females)

Preparation of descriptive statistics and reporting

Completed

Three reports

available (one per

country)

Capacity Building Completed

Two reports

completed

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Achievements – Output 2: Enhanced Crop-Livestock

On-station and on-farm stubble grazing experiments

Country 2013-2014 Achievement %

Algeria 1 farm 20 %

Tunisia 8 farms 60%

Tajikistan N/A N/A

• Biomass uptake by the animal

• Variation of the nutritive value of stubbles

• Body weight change

• Amounts of feces/urine excreted by the animal

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y = -1,6799x + 90,904

R² = 0,7898

y = -1,594x + 91,842

R² = 0,6883

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Yie

ld (

%)

Sampling day

Biomass Conv Agri

Biomass CA

About 25 days

50%

Take half and Leave half – Grazing period 25 days

14


Grazing strategies will be evaluated with regard to meeting

the ewe’s nutritional requirements


Algeria 2 on station trial 100%

Tunisia 4 on station trials 60%

Tajikistan N/A N/A

• Agronomic package

• Soil fertility

Integration and development of

integrated crop-livestock under CA

15


The effect of nutrient recycling (fecal excretion) on

soil fertility will be assessed


Algeria 2 on station trials 30%

Tunisia 1 on station trial 30%

Tajikistan N/A N/A

16


Fast growing high biomass and quality fodder species will be

tested on-station and on-farm for compatibility with annual

crops


Algeria 7 on farm and 1 on

station

70%

Tunisia 7 on farm -1 on station trials

70%

Tajikistan 5 on station 4 on farm trial

70%

Vetch, double purpose barley, shrub species (Cactus, Atriplex num., etc.)

Achievements – Output 3: Fine-tuned CA package

Conduct adaptive trials integrating CA technologies (ZT, crop

rotations, and stubble management) with weed and nutrient

management, and the integration of fodder/grain species in at

least 45 on-farm trials (multi-year, 15 initiated in year one and

an additional 15 initiated each in years two and three), spread

across the three target countries (Tajikistan, Tunisia & Algeria).


Tunisia 4 on-farm trials

2 on-station trials

60%

Algeria 12 on-farm trials

1 on-station trial

80%

Tajikistan 10 on-farm trials 30%

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Achievements – Output 3: Fine-tuned CA package

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Country CA Package Status Uptake

Algeria Weed control x rotation x Livestock

Planting date 100 %

Rotation 30 %

Fertilizer management 80%

Herbicide 50%

Livestock management 40%

13 farmers are testing

Not ready

Tunisia Tillage x rotation x Livestock

Planting date 100%

Tillage 75%

Rotation 20%

Fertilizer 80%

Herbicide 100%

Livestock management 60%


Not ready

Tajikistan Tillage x rotation

Planting date 100%

Tillage 10%

Rotation10%

Fertilizer15%

Herbicide 10%

Livestock 0%


Not ready

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Achievements – Output 4: Enhanced Capacity development

• Training courses: 15 courses and 280 trainees

• Field days: 8 events targeting 357 farmers

• Students: 4 PhDs and 4 undergraduate students

• Media: 2 Movies

• Movie on no-till drill broadcasted on National TV

(Tajikistan)

• Publications: 6 conference papers and 1 manuscript (in progress)

• 3 Flyers and 2 posters

Achievements – Output 4: Enhanced Capacity development

Topic Place No Participants Female Outputs Machinery and ZT technologies Algeria 20 0 1

Socio-Economic survey Algeria 23 5 1

Data management and data analysis using

SPSS Algeria 10 7 1

Socio-Economic survey Tajikistan 25 10 1

Socio-Economic Jordan 2 1 1

Socio-Economic Algeria 10 7 1

New techniques for sustainable sheep and

goat production Jordan 16 3 2

Agro-ecological monitoring Jordan 20 5 2

Alley Cropping Jordan 20 5 2

Feed Assessment Tool - FEAST (Conducted

by Jane) Tunisia 21 14 2

FEAST (Conducted by national team) Tunisia 40 0 2

Desgning experimental protocols Tunisia 10 0 2

Weed management, No-till equipment

and forage production Tajikistan 26 2 and 3

Crop production under Conservation

Agriculture Tajikistan 17 3 3

Crop rotation Tunisia 20 0 3

Total 280 60

Training courses

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Tradeoffs

Item Gains Losses Keeping

stubble on

soil

Soil cover Source of animal feeding

Water UE

Enhance soil bio-physico and chemio

caracteristics

Eliminate

plowing

Time

energy More use of herbicides

Enhance soil bio-physical and chemical

characteristics

Rotations Enhance soil bio-physical and chemical

characteristics

Guaranteed market for

cereals

Less weeds Less income

Less diseases

Diversity of food/feed staple

Livestock

integration

Product diversification More labor

Crop diversification (forge crops) More time

Sub products valorization (bales of straw) Management Risks

Manure resource

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Strengthening partnership

National and International institutions/Projects • CANA PROJECT ACIAR, ICARDA, INAT, INGC, INRAT, …

• CRP 1.1 Program

• INGC (a network of fields under CA, even in the targeted zone of

CLCA)

• GIZ and FAO

Linkage with IFAD Development Projects • Tunisia – IFAD funded development project in Siliana (CLCA

involvement to start in the current cropping season)

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Concluding remarks

• This project will be a reference for the integration of crop

and livestock under CA context

• In the absence of literature data, on-station trials are

needed to determine the optimum conditions (e.g. grazing

duration and stocking rates)

• Two cropping seasons are not enough to move from

discovery phase of the technologies/practices (on-station

trials) to pilot phase (on-farm trials, 30 or more farms)

• Linkage with IFAD or other donors funded projects for the

up-scaling phase

• Revise the WP2015 as per the comments of SC members

and IFAD representative

Thank you!

Overview of the ifad funded clca project

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