Assisting smallholder farmers in mixed crop-livestock systems to understand the potential effects of management options and climate change through participatory modeling

Assisting smallholder farmers in mixed

crop-livestock systems to understand

the potential effects of management

options and climate change through

participatory modeling

Patricia Masikati

Beating Famine Conference 14- 17 April 2015

Lilongwe, Malawi

Outline

• Participatory approaches in mixed farming

systems

• Frame work

• Participatory modeling

• Use of approach in Agroforestry systems

• Key messages

• Complex systems with various interacting subsystems

• Productive resources are limited and used inefficiently as evidenced by

continued low production

• Low technology adoption

• Limited integration of diverse viewpoints from experts and specialized

stakeholders during technology development

• Viewed as an important route to increase productvity and sustainability

of small-holder farmers

Integrated crop-livestock systems

• Inclusion of stakeholders in technology

development, implementation and marketing

of the products

• Participatory modeling: combines

participatory research approach and

computer based modeling that engages

stakeholders

• Iterative processes to bring about widely

accepted solutions

• Facilitates cooperative learning and

developments of solutions

Participatory methods

• Iterative process-more widely

accepted solution

• Cooperative learning and

development of solutions

• Improvements as new situations

arise

Framework

Participatory modeling approach

Day 1Day 1Day 2Day 3

On-farm testing

Water efficient farming systems

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Result presentation and discussion

Effect of inclusion of forage crops in current farming systems on total biomass, feed

deficits and total biomass water productivity. System 1 = Maize, Mucuna and Bana

grass, system 2 = Maize and groundnuts.

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Current climate

Future climate

Longterm Impacts of food and feed requirements

Potential Use of Approach in Agroforestry Systems

• Tradeoffs and synergies occurring both on-

and off-site and varying over time

• Involves a number of stakeholder,

• Benefits achieved in the longterm, CSA

Lloyd S et al., 1993

• Agroforestry systems are complex

with various interrelating factors

• Involves multiple products or

benefits (non and intended),

Possible Agroforestry arrangements with 25% tree cover

Lloyd S et al., 1993

• Potential to achieve many of the environmental, economic

and social objectives which field experiments and other

participatory approaches might not be able fathom.

• Targeting of relevant and significant interventions in farming

systems

• Facilitates analysis of individual components to understand

simplistic relationships, evaluation of more complex

interactions and determine overall systems efficiency.

• Ex-ante impact assessments and interactions from increased

management input and increased diversity, along with

determining efficient risk reduction strategies in the context of

climate change

Modeling Agroforestry Systems

• Systems modeling has been used to achieve relevant and

significant interventions in commercial farm management

systems e.g. Australia

• Modeling has not yet received much significant attention in

complex farming systems and decision-making processes in

SSA.

• Constraints to application of this methodology are mainly lack

of data (biophysical, socio-economic), expertise and validated

modeling tools or models.

Constraints

• Use of these tools

• Would significantly contribute to sharpen our understanding

on impacts of different interventions

• Targeting of relevent interventions to improve, systems

efficiency with much less resources as compared to field

experiments.

• Assist in determining profitable and feasible intervention

before implementation.

• As said by Dosskey and Wells, 2000 “Few things disappoint a

landowner such as spending money, time, and effort on a project that

fails…. Especially one like agroforestry, where it can be years before

problems become apparent”.

Avenue worth pursuing

• The complex nature of smallholder farming systems means that

there are many entry points and a wide range of technologies

and strategies on offer

• Computer-based participatory modeling offers scientists,

farmers and specialized stakeholders a tool to develop and

evaluate the impact of interventions at varying scales in time

and space

• The process allows farmers, scientist and other stakeholders

to understand the impact of their decisions, evaluate new

options and define possible production and management

options tailored to their particular circumstances

• However technology adoption is not mainly based on its

agronomic performance but by other factors/uses that would be

important to the overall farm production and household needs

Key messages

THANK YOU