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Improving Africa's Livestock farming practices for sustainable development

by | 28-06-2015 02:22 recommendations 0

  Agriculture is still the backbone of many African economies, on average around 30% of her GDP is derived from this sector. Africa increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation will continue to reduce crop productivity and emergence of water and vector borne diseases therefore Climate change represents a direct threat to their food security and livestock-based livelihoods. Livestock production includes meat, milk and eggs , roughly 70 % of the rural poor in Sub-Saharan Africa are at least partially dependent on livestock to sustain their livelihoods (LID, 1999) either directly as source of food or income.

According to a report by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Cattle are the biggest source of greenhouse gases (GHG) accounting for more than three-quarters of all emissions from the global livestock,even though research has proved that GHG emissions from industrial-scale factory farming in rich countries  outweigh small-scale family farming and herding practices in poor countries ,livestock keeping methods in Africa are a key subject.

In recent months, a joint effort by researchers from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi ,Kenya , and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , published a study tilted Biomas Use, Production, Feed efficiencies and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Global Livestock Systems in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The study established a link between high GHG?s, mainly methane and carbon dioxide from livestock to poor livestock management on the continent. The study shows that most livestock in the developed world consume feeds of higher quality in form of concentrates and grains, compared to developing nations where livestock rely mainly on low quality natural pastures and crop residues .

Studies on environmental cost of livestock indicates that cattle bred for meat and daily in some poor countries can emit 100 times more GHGs than those in rich countries for each kilogramme of protein (milk, meat)produced ( Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences(PNAS) also an article by  IRIN(2013) indicates that Cattle grazing in the arid lands of Ethiopia ,Somalia and Sudan, for example can release the equivalent of 1,000 kg of carbon dioxide for every 1kg of protein they produce  Article b IRIN .It is therefore clear that livestock keeping methods have to change ,as population continue to rise and  more people move to the city , the demand for meat and dairy products will increase in developing countries .Therefore investing research in better diets, feeds and feeding techniques can reduce the methane released during digestion as well as amount of methane and other green house gases released in the atmosphere . Scientists have identified several grasses such as Bracharia Sp to help poor countries to reduce their livestock –sector emissions as well as increase their productivity.

Proper management of cattle manure by using it to produce renewable energy such as biogas will reduce GHG emissions as well as cut the farmers cost on energy services mostly in for cooking and heating .Embracing alvernative forms of energy such as  biogas technology among small-scale farmers will increase the forest cover in most countries in Sub-Saharan African countries.

 

 
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4 Comments

  • Luiz Bispo says :
    Thanks for sharing mate. keep it up!
    Posted 07-07-2015 14:09

  • says :
    Thank you for the insightful article, Samuel :) The closer it gets to natural the more eco-friendly it becomes. Modern mass production of meats makes cows lives miserable... They are forced to eat what's not natural for them to eat making them emit enormous methane gas into the air. Grass-fed(if the space and cost allows) is the most eco-friendly way I guess.
    Posted 29-06-2015 14:16

  • Arushi Madan says :
    Proper upkeep and management of livestock is indeed very important as they are important source of food like meat, milk , eggs etc and also they are source of livelihood for many as you mentioned. They are also big contributor to GHG emission as your report pointed.
    The main sources of GHG emissions from livestock are: feed production and processing , outputs of GHG during digestion by cows , and manure decomposition and finally processing and transportation of animal products.Therefore ,there is a need of wider adoption of sustainable practices and technologies in feeding, health and husbandry, and manure management . Greenhouse gas emissions by the livestock sector could be cut by as much as 30 percent through sustainable livestock management.
    Thanks for an informative report.
    Posted 29-06-2015 03:52

  • says :
    Such an informative finding by the researchers from ILRI and CSIRO. Of course agriculture is the backbone of many countries globally. In Nepal the major GHG emissions is from the agriculture practice, I guess traditional technology is the responsible factor behind.
    Me myself being a veterinarian will try my best to make livestock farming more efficient and sustainable.
    Thank you for sharing this informative report dear Samuel :)
    Posted 28-06-2015 16:08

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