SLP - multimedia
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Item Crop residue trade-offs project: Tools lessons and gaps(Video, 2010-12-10) International Livestock Research InstituteFrom 9-10 December 2010, Researchers in a project carrying out four regional cases studies of 'crop residue trade-offs in crop–livestock systems' met in Addis Ababa to review progress and plans. We recorded the reporting back sessions that discussed lessons and gaps related to the content focus of the project, the process followed so far, and the tools used. Here, Nils Teufel reports on the tools and technical software used in the project, including SPSS, CSPRO, Google Earth. A big issue across the tools was training and we need to, for instance, draw on people with specialist knowledge across the project. Data management and archiving was discussed and some lessons from the questionnaires and survey tools were derived. The meeting was organized by the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP).Item Crop residue trade-offs project: Process lessons and gaps(Video, 2010-12-10) International Livestock Research InstituteFrom 9-10 December 2010, Researchers in a project carrying out four regional cases studies of 'crop residue trade-offs in crop–livestock systems' met in Addis Ababa to review progress and plans. We recorded the reporting back sessions that discussed lessons and gaps related to the content focus of the project, the process followed so far, and the tools used. Here, Diego Valbueno report on the discussions of the process lessons and gaps. First, such a regional study needs someone to really facilitate coordination, harmonization and information sharing (among the regions and not just between regions and the central project coordination). We needed a common understanding of the tools we are using, and why. Very important - how are we going to disseminate information - to farmers, to policy? Are there some better ways in which we could have developed our framework and instruments? Perhaps we could have had a better picture of our analysis steps before we devised our data collection instruments? The meeting was organized by the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP).Item Crop residue trade-offs project: Content lessons and gaps(Video, 2010-12-10) International Livestock Research InstituteFrom 9-10 December 2010, Researchers in a project carrying out four regional cases studies of 'crop residue trade-offs in crop–livestock systems' met in Addis Ababa to review progress and plans. We recorded the reporting back sessions that discussed lessons and gaps related to the content focus of the project, the process followed so far, and the tools used. Here, Alan Duncan, reports on the content discussions. Some 'gaps': Are the survey tools capturing sufficiently the higher-level policy and institutional environment? Are we capturing more open questions about how farmers make decisions? On the lessons: we need to better integrate the social with the technical; and we need to keep our eyes on the global drivers, as well as the regional ones. The meeting was organized by the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP).Item Improving water productivity of mixed crop-livestock smallholder systems(Video, 2009-12-02) Descheemaeker, Katrien K.During the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Katrien Descheemaeker (IWMI/ILRI) introduces her project that looks to improve water productivity of mixed crop-livestock smallholder systems in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.Item Livestock water productivity - integrated approaches to crops and livestock and integrated policies(Video, 2009-12-02) International Livestock Research InstituteSpeaking at the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Tilahun Amede (ILRI/IWMI) argues that livestock, although both a major source of livelihoods and user of water, are overlooked in policy-making on water productivity. This IWMI/ILRI research project in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe aims to understand the dynamics - and the strategies - that can improve water and livestock productivity, while minimizing land degradation. He shares three lessons emerging: First, that we need to improve the integration of crop and livestock; second, we meed to move policies from sectoral to integrated ones; and third, we need to ensure that the many useful technologies that exist actually reach the farmers.Item Improving the performance of crop-livestock systems - John McDermott on the SLP meetings(Video, 2009-12-02) McDermott, John J.John McDermott, ILRI Deputy Director General for Research introduces the CGIAR System-wide Livestock Programme (SLP). He argues that its focus on the intensification of crop-livestock systems is critical: More than a billion people in developing countries are involved in these smallholder systems. The SLP brings together 12 CGIAR centers, and, he mentions, "one of the key things we've been struggling with is how to improve the performance of these [crop-livestock] systems" - so people can get more income and more benefits from them; also so the systems can be more sustainable. Reflecting on the just-completed SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, he highlights one of the major issues under discussion: how the crop biomass from these systems can be used more effectively - as food, as animal feed, and as fuel. Furthermore, how the crop residues can be fed back into the soil. "Now we are turning our attention more to this tradeoff between whether you actually feed these residues to animals or whether some of them should stay with the soil."Item Understanding the drivers behind increased use of crop residues in Southern Africa(Video, 2009-12-02) Rooyen, Andre F. vanReflecting on the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Andre Van Rooyen (ICRISAT) outlines why ICRISAT is interested in this project: "Our interest in the slp project is to understand the main drivers behind increased use of crop residues and at what point will farmers begin to buy and sell them." He sees the project playing an important role to help ICRISAT in Southern Africa position itself to better serve farmer needs in the future.Item Quantifying the tradeoffs between different crop residue uses(Video, 2009-12-02) Wijk, Mark T. vanDuring the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Mark van Wijk (WUR) and colleagues presented some modelling work that could help quantify the tradeoffs between uses of crop residues - either incorporated in the soil to maintain soil fertility or fed to cattle. He emphasizes that the models help to quantify the consequences - 'what if' - of different decisions or strategies.Item En Afrique de l'Ouest la commercialisation des résidus de culture procure des rentrées financières(Video, 2009-12-02) Abdoulaye, TahirouTahirou Abdoulaye, socio-économiste l'IITA, a expliqué durant sa participation à la réunion du Systemwide Livestock Programme d’Addis Ababa : "Une évolution claire dans la régions est le développement rapide des marchés et l’émergence des marchés pour les aliments du bétail, concernant principalement les résidus de culture… ces marchés procurent un bénéfice immédiat pour les agriculteurs. L’utilisation des résidus pour l’alimentation du bétails entre en compétition avec un bénéfice à plus long terme qui concerne la conservation de la productivité des sols. Les agriculteurs ont naturellement tendance a favoriser les bénéfices à court terme."Item Crop residue markets in West Africa provide short term gains to farmers(Video, 2009-12-02) Abdoulaye, TahirouReporting on his research project at the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Tahirou Abdoulaye (IITA) explains: "What is clearly coming out is the role of market where feed markets, crop residue markets, are emerging ... and the immediate benefit is for farmers to give more of their crop residues to their livestock because the other gains, in terms of soil fertility, tend to be more long term oriented, and farmers tend to focus more on the short term gains."Item Innovation networks to overcome fodder scarcity(Video, 2009-12-02) Puskur, RanjithaAlongside the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Ranjitha Puskur (ILRI) shares some lessons coming out of the DFID-funded Fodder Innovation Project. Similar to the Fodder Adoption Project, it looks at fodder scarcity and how to address it, but from the perspectives of capacities, policies and institutions. This current second phase of the project, she says, emerged from the realisation that the availability of technologies is not really the limiting factor, policy and institutional factors are the major bottlenecks. She briefly introduces the innovation systems approach that underpins the project: Essentially, the aim is to form and facilitate a network of different actors in a chain or continuum of knowledge production and its use, mobilizing all their various resources and capacities to address a problem. What outcomes and changes has she seen? At the farm level, farmers are changing their livestock feeding and management practices; there is an emerging demand for technologies, inputs and services that, ironically, were earlier promoted without success. "Farmers are seeing the need for knowledge and can articulate demands to service providers." She emphasizes that "getting a network of actors isn't an easy process, it takes time". Different organizations with different interests and motives have to be brought around the table to contribute and benefit. "It needs great facilitation skills and negotiating skills which are not very often core competences of researchers like us." Beyond facilitation of this network formation, "we also see that linkages don't happen automatically" ... we need a facilitating or broker organisation to create them. In her project, they work through key partner organisations: "This works well, but they needed much support and mentoring from us." She concludes with two final observations: Policies are a very critical factor and it is important to engage policy makers from the outset, ensuring that we know what they really want, and that the evidence base is solid. Traditional project management approaches don't seem to work in such projects: We need nimble financial management, and very responsive project management. "Very traditional logframes and M&E systems seem very inadequate." More information opn this project: http://www.fodderinnovation.org/Item From 'no-win' to 'win-win' - managing the tradeoffs between forages as feeds or for soil improvement(Video, 2009-12-02) International Livestock Research InstituteSpeaking at the December 2009 SLP meeting in Addis Ababa, Michael Peters (CIAT), introduces a project in Nicaragua to study tradeoffs between using specific forage plants either as feeds for animals or for soil improvement and soil fertility maintenance. The project explores three issues: feed for cows, soil fertility, and longer term sustainability. The aim of the research is for the farmer to go from a "no-win to a win-win situation." Peters emphasizes that the farmers themselves are aware of the tradeoffs and will sometimes aim for a production effect (for cattle), and at other times for an environmental effect (on their soils). One interesting dimension is that "'we as researchers have to caution sometimes the farmers' not to be too enthusiastic" about the new technology they co-created.Item Tradeoffs between uses of crop residues a focus for SLP policy discussions(Video, 2009-11-30) Gerard, Bruno G.Bruno Gerard, Coordinator of the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP) introduces the SLP and a major topic of discussion at the December 2009 meeting of its Livestock Programme Group: Researching tradeoffs between the uses of residues for livestock and for soil improvement. The meeting is "very much on pressure on biomass use in systems." It looks especially at tradeoffs in the use of crop residues - they can be used to feed livestock, or to sustain soils and prevent erosion. It concerns choices in investment between the immediate return of using resideues to feed livestock and longer term sustainability returns.