Abstract
Livestock production is a key income source in eastern Africa, and 80% of the total agricultural land is used for livestock herding. Hence, ecological and socio-economically sustainable rangeland management is crucial. Our study aimed at selecting operational economic, environmental and social sustainability indicators for three main pastoral (P), agro-pastoral (AP), and landless intensive (LI) small scale livestock production systems for use in sustainability assessment in Ethiopia. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through grey literature and semi-structured interviews, assessing livestock and feed resources, production technology, land tenure, financial and gender issues. Our results suggested that feed shortages (FS) are directly related to grazing pressure (G) and inversely related to grass recovery rates (R). According to our indicators, AP was the most sustainable while P and LI were only conditionally sustainable production systems. 93% of 82 interviewees claimed that private land ownership was the best land tenure incentive for efficient rangeland management. Farmers perceived Prosopis juliflora expansion, sporadic rainfall, and disease infestation as the most significant causes for decreasing livestock productivity. Landless intensive farmers had the highest equality in income distribution (Gini Index: GI = 0.4), followed by P and AP (each with a GI = 0.5). Neither educational background nor income seemed to determine grazing species conservation efforts. We claimed that sustainability indicators are valuable tools to highlight shortcomings and strengths of the three main livestock production systems and help with future livestock management in Ethiopia. Selecting suitable indicators, however, is crucial as data requirements and availability can vary across livestock systems.
Highlights
The importance of livestock for the subsistence and economic development of Sub-Saharan countries has long been recognized [1]
For the systems to be sustainable water availability must be assessed even if it is beyond the control of the farmer, the issue is whether the water is available for its role or not? We suggest a separate study on how farmers in this region can work to minimize reliability on rainfall as a major water source in an effort to attain sustainable annual water supply in livestock production
Agro-pastoralism (AP) reached the highest sustainability score compared to purely pastoral (P) and landless intensive (LI) systems but all systems had room for improvement to enhance their environmental, economic and social sustainability as they were all within 26%–34% below the maximum attainable sustainability standards of 90% agreed during group interviews
Summary
The importance of livestock for the subsistence and economic development of Sub-Saharan countries has long been recognized [1]. In order to feed this larger, more urban and richer population (excluding food used for bio-fuels), production must increase by 70% [10], in the livestock sector. Such developments and increase in food production must not occur at the expense of future generations own capacity to feed themselves [11]. Creation: Improving the Husbandry of Livestock Kept by the Poor in Developing Countries; Kitalyi, A.J., Jayasuriya, N., Owen, E., Smith, T., Eds.; Nottingham University Press: Nottingham, UK, 2005; pp. In Livestock and Wealth Creation: Improving the Husbandry of Livestock Kept by Resource Poor People in Developing Countries; Kitalyi, A.J., Jayasuriya, N., Owen, E., Smith, T., Eds.; Nottingham
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