Mixed System, Feed from Farm:
Environmental Risks and Opportunities (intensification)

This table indicates the most common environmental risks and opportunities associated with the mixed system characterised by the cultivation of feed on the farm.

Resource base | Risks and Opportunities | Underlying factors
Land: | (-) Soil mining of area under fodder crop cultivation. (+) Soil protection through vegetation cover and roots from fodder species. (+) Increase Organic Matter content soil under fodder (-) Accelerated decline soil fertility and sheet erosion on further away fields | Increase of local human and livestock populations, sedentarisation, land privatisation, intensification of land use, leading to fodder production on farm. Benefits from livestock integration in land use and crop cultivation (soil protection, intensive land use, quick recycling of plant nutrients through rumen digestion). Repeated cultivation with insufficient manure supply. Draught Animal Power (DAP) facilitating an expansion of area under cultivation, shorter fallow and longer cultivation periods
Water | (-) Ground and surface water pollution with Nitrogen and Potassium from manure; feed additives and residues from pest control (-) pollution of water sources with faeces, urine and dirt (-) pollution of water with agro-chemicals | Large numbers of high productive animals result in high levels of residues from feed and from pest and hygiene control in affluent farm production units Poor management of animal wastes Increased competition for water for human needs, livestock and irrigation Increase in irrigated agriculture and use of agro-chemicals
Air | (-) Increase in Methane (CH4) emission | Increasing number of ruminants feeding on fodder. More carbohydrates decomposed by livestock less by wild and soil life or through burning
Vegetation | (+) Increase in tree and shrub vegetation on field boarders | Multipurpose role of fodder plants, shrubs and trees. Increasing demand for intensification and diversification of natural resource use.
Bio-diversity | (-) Decrease in tree and shrub vegetation on field boarders (+) Increase of habitat for certain wild life and plant species (+) Change in habitat (-) Loss of genetic diversity in domesticated species | Intensification of land use leading to increased field size and reduced field numbers. Increased demand for fodder, soil protection and fire wood from a diverse set of plant species.. To prevent a habitat of unwanted species Loss of diversity in ecological and socio-economic settings in which animals are kept

Crop-Livestock Integration - Policy Pressures and Policy Options

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