Forage options for smallholder livestock in water–scarce environments of Afghanistan

About

Approximately 75% of the Afghan population lives in rural areas, where they subsist on crop and/or livestock farming. In water-scarce environments, providing enough food for animals can be a severe constraint to livestock production. This project aims to improve livestock farmers’ livelihoods by evaluating appropriate options for improving forage and fodder production, develop community-based seed enterprises and build the capacity of Afghan researchers in forage and livestock systems research.

Impact

Goals

The overall goal of the project is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder livestock farmers in the mixed crop/livestock areas of Afghanistan which have limited access to water resources. The project will increase the availability of feed resources adapted for low water use as supplementary feed in the crop-livestock systems of Afghanistan which are increasingly constrained by water.

Objectives

The project has the following objectives: (i) assess the main constraints for forage production and identify appropriate technologies to overcome/ reduce them. (ii) Evaluate forage and fodder production options targeting smallholder livestock systems. (iii) Expand the scope of existing community-based seed enterprises to include feed and forage seeds, vegetative propagation of shrubs and planting materials. (iv) Develop the capacity of Afghan researchers in forage and livestock system research.

Impact pathways

The key objective of this initiative is to develop economically sustainable forage production systems in order to reduce winter feed gaps within the water-constrained provinces of Baghlan and Nangarhar of Afghanistan. This is being achieved through the deployment of an innovation systems approach to enhance the broad uptake of research outputs through more effective linkages between national and international research systems and pluralistic (public, private, civil society) input and service providers. A review of forage seed systems with particular emphasis on the structures and determinants of seed markets will be undertaken during the first year. This will enable the team to design and provide appropriate interventions and establish a sustainable forage seed delivery system. This will be coupled with assessing the profitability and sustainability of forage seed and planting material production and marketing by both, village-based seed enterprises (VBSEs) and private seed enterprises presently operating in the target provinces. For shrubs and other vegetatively propagated crops of potential use, alternative options through a network of nurseries (seeds or cuttings, mother plant fields) would be used for the production and marketing of high-quality products. Linking the agricultural research system with VBSEs and then with crop/livestock farmers is fundamental to the success of the project. The introduction of improved forage varieties and bringing VBSEs and farmers together for the multiplication of introduced forage seeds will facilitate the dissemination and adoption of the results of the project. This will help in out-scaling the technology with spillover effects throughout Afghanistan. Another important feature of the project will be related to capacity building. The capacity of farmers, researchers and service providers needs to be strengthened to provide a more sustainable forage production system. It is important to strengthen the institutions that provide service in the agricultural sector in Afghanistan. It is proposed to achieve this through in-country and overseas short/long-term courses and hands-on trainings at the project sites. These interventions and strategies will contribute to the qualitative and quantitative improvement of forage in feed in Afghanistan. The latter will produce positive impacts on the overall livestock production, income, market prices and food security.