Analysing Nutrient Flows in Mixed Crop-Livestock

Systems to Identify Efficient Practices

a case study on farming systems in the upper Mara River basin,

Western Kenya

Sjoukje Visser

The Mara River Basin

“This year was extremely dry; we

haven’t had a drop of rain for the

last three months!”

• Feeds the Masai Mara

and Serengeti natural

reserves

• River under pressure

• Increased fluctuations

in seasonal flow

• Sedimentation

MaMaSe project

Aimed at improving water safety

and security in the Mara River

Basin.

• structural poverty reduction

• sustainable economic

growth

• conservation of the basin’s

ecosystems

Farmers play an important role

regarding the use of natural

resources and management of

the available water

Content

• Introduction

• Research objective

• Methodology

• Results

• Conclusions

(Source: Bancy M. et al, 2005)

Mara River Basin

Mixed crop-livestock systems

• Densely populated rural area

• Farms are shrinking

• Soils are degraded after decades of intensive use

• Competing uses for organic resources

• Water availability and soil erosion big problem

Research objective

Analyse farm and nutrient management within

mixed crop livestock systems to identify

options for improvement

Main research question How can on farm use of nutrients be improved

in farming systems within the upper Mara

River basin to enhance farmers’ livelihoods?

Case study of the farming systems in the area

– Interviews with stakeholders and local experts

– Visiting farm cooperatives

– Farmer training sessions

– Questionnaires

– Interviews and farm visits

– Build a typology of different farm systems

present in the area

– Analyze the different farming practices

Methodology

“The biggest constraint on my farm are

the eucalyptus trees of my neighbour,

planted along the border of my farm, they

take all the water and nothing grows next

to these trees”

Typology

• External conditions

– Rainfall

– Soil properties

– temperature

• On farm practices

– Livestock management

– Livestock feeding

– Fertilizer use

– Manure management

– Soil- and water conservation

practices

4 Types identified

Range of intensification

In higher area much higher production

Conceptual model

Management decisions

• Soil and water conservation techniques

– Soil erosion control measures

– Water harvesting

• Farm inputs

– Use of manure as fertilizer

– Use of fertilizer

– Use of other chemicals

– Using crop residues for mulch

• Feeding of Livestock

– Only grazing

– Feeding of maize, napier, sorghum

– Use of residues for feed

Livestock systems

• Free grazing

• Compound at night

+ grazing

• Zero grazing

Manure management

Feeding

Free grazing

Feeding:

Grass

1. Mulot Low

Manure

Fertilizer

Chemicals

2. Mulot Upp

Manure

Fertilizer

Chemicals

3. ISEI

Manure

Fertilizer

Chemicals

4. Merigi

Manure

Fertilizer

Chemicals

Free grazing /

Compound at

night

Feeding:

Grass, napier

Compound at night

/ regulated grazing

/ zero grazing

Feeding:

Grass, napier, soja,

maize,

concentrates

Compound at night /

regulated grazing /

zero grazing

Feeding:

Grass, napier, maize

Management practices in the 4 types

Conclusions • Very high variability in farming systems

• Inefficiencies mainly found in manure management systems

• Lack of water is a main constraint, restricting farmers from efficient

production

Recommendations • Strong focus needed on soil and water conservation, tailored for location

• Development of opportunities for alternative sources of income related with

protection of resources, honey production, tree intercropping

• Stimulation of knowledge transfer between farmers

• Cooperation between farmers

References:

Alvarez, S. et al., 2014. Typology construction , a way of dealing with farm diversity General guidelines for Humidtropics. Report for the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics., Plant Scie.

Notenbaert, a. et al., 2013. Identifying recommendation domains for targeting dual-purpose maize-based interventions in crop-livestock systems in East Africa. Land Use Policy, 30(1), pp.834–846.

Rufino, M.C. et al., 2009. Network analysis of N flows and food self-sufficiency-a comparative study of crop-livestock systems of the highlands of East and southern Africa. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 85(2), pp.169–186. Tittonell, P. et al., 2009. Beyond resource constraints - Exploring the biophysical feasibility of options for the intensification of smallholder crop-livestock systems in Vihiga district, Kenya. Agricultural Systems, 101(1-2), pp.1–19. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2009.02.003.

Acknowledgements:

The European Alliance on Agricultural Knowledge for Development

Thank you

for your

attention!