Mixed crop-livestock integration in a context of limited access to synthetic inputs in mid-altitude tropical environments

Abstract

In the Middle West, in the Vakinankaratra region of Madagas-car, farms have an increasing need for fertilizers and fodder, and at the same time severe economic constraints to access mineral fertilizers and animal feed. This study shows how crop-livestock integration (CLI) has helped to alleviate part of the difficulty of access to industrial agricultural inputs and contributed to farming intensification. Surveys were conducted with 20 farms. Using principal component analy-ses and a classification based on thirteen variables, three structural (cultivated surface area, number of cattle, number of family labor) and ten functional (production of organic manure, purchase of organic manure, purchase of mineral fertilizers, application of organic manure, rainfed rice yield, maize yield, availability of crop residues, use of crop residues, cattle supplementation, grazing duration), five types of farms were characterized: one type of small farms with a high level of CLI, two types of medium-sized farms with a medium and low level of CLI, and two types of large farms with a medium and low level of CLI. Cattle supplementation, number of cat-tle, and grazing duration best differentiated the farms. The energy and protein feed requirements of cattle were covered on a yearly basis for all farms. Nitrogen exports by crops were compensated by inputs on farms with the highest level of CLI. In conclusion, in this context of very limited access to industrial inputs, producers turned to CLI strategies, on the one hand, to allocate the organic manure produced on demanding crops (rice and maize) and, on the other hand, to cover cattle feed requirements.