Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems

Africa Rising was a five-year project, funded by USAID, that sought to identify and promote solutions for for sustainable intenslfication of the mixed farming systems in the Ethiopian Highlands. The project worked closely with both research and development partner to develop and validate technologies across a range of disciplines (crops, livestock, trees and natural resource management) that could be used in combination to make these systems more productive, without compromising the needs of future generations. Some key technologies that are now ready for scaling include combinations of crops to strengthen production and market participation, approaches for targeting fertilizer recommendations more closely on local conditions and integrated livestock feed production and management options. The project has also been successful in promoting the integration of  some specific new enterprisers, e.g. apples and  avocados into existing systems. A second five-year Phase of the project commences in October 2016 and eill seek to build and backstop strong development partnerships for scaling Africa RISING and complementary technologies.

Presenter: Peter Thorne has 30 years experience in research and research management 
around livestock intensification and the roles of livestock in mixed farming systems. Specific research interests systems simulation modeling, crop-livestock interactions (synergies and trade-offs) and farming systems evolution for sustainable intensification. He is a member of the advisory board of the USAID Sustainable Intensification Innovation Laboratory (Kansas State University).