| Title | Nitrogen allocation and recycling in peri-urban mixed crop-livestock farms in Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 24913 |
| Authors | Tadesse, ST; Oenema, O; van Beek, C; Ocho, FL |
| Title | Nitrogen allocation and recycling in peri-urban mixed crop-livestock farms in Ethiopia |
| Year | 2019 |
| Published | Nutrient Cycling In Agroecosystems, 115, 2 |
| Abstract | Mixed crop-livestock (MC-LS) farms are assumed to be more environmental friendly than specialized livestock systems, due to their better options for internal nutrient recycling. However, there are large differences among MC-LS farms in nutrient allocation and recycling. Here, we posit that the relative allocation of nitrogen to crop and livestock compartments, expressed as crop-livestock ratio (CLS), determines the performance of MC-LS farms. Among 300 urban and peri-urban farms studied in 2014, 42 MC-LS farms (Addis Ababa: 20; Jimma: 22) were re-interviewed in 2016, using MonQIt (monitoring tool) questionnaire. The performances of these farms were evaluated using partial nitrogen balance (PNB), N use efficiency (NUE), N recycling index and net farm income (NFI). CLS was negatively related to N input, PNB and NFI. Livestock oriented MC-LS farms had 4-5 times higher N input and 7 times higher PNB than crop oriented MC-LS farms, because they had 2-4 times higher NFI and purchased more external N input. This indicated that N allocation has significant environmental and economic implications. Sensitivity analyses suggested that NUE at farm system level can be improved by 20-25% and N recycling (NR) by 10-20% over the current condition. In conclusion, MC-LS farms are diverse, and much of the diversity can be captured by the CLS indicator. NUE and NR of peri-urban MC-LS farms in Ethiopia can be significantly improved through NUE enhancing measures: targeted exchange of crop residues and manure between crop and livestock activities within and between farms and improving animal NUE through breeding and precision feeding. |
| https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10705-018-9957-z.pdf |
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