Publication Date

1993

Location

New Zealand

Description

Is there a role for ley farming in the agricultural changes desired across the tropics? Hopes were high after the identification of suitable traits for leys in tropical legumes, Despite agroclimatic-suitability similarities for a wide range of tropical crops and forages, socioeconomic conditions vary across the tropics. Increasing debt problems and low prices for agricultural commodities constrain many countries, particularly in tropical Africa, to achieve the needed agricultural growth rates at the current levels of inputs and subsistence land-use practices, Tropical agriculture's inability to meet the growing demand for food is further compounded by declining land productivity and rapid population growth. Agricultural systems in the tropics need to be changed; proposed strategies have to be quick, focusing on those areas that have the potential for biggest impact at least cost. Agricultural intensification in response to population increase can take different courses but, in all it appears necessary to reduce fallow lengths between crop phases. There is increasing evidence that fast­growing legumes fitted into the crop-rest periods can benefit the soil Gust like prolonged fallows do) and boost livestock productivity, thereby contributing lo higher economic returns. In countries like Australia more leys were planted than wheat when wool price was favourable, suggesting that economic circumstances determine the farming practice. In other parts of the tropics, market opportunities and farmers' ability to adjust production are less developed to provide tangible evidence of the relevance of leys. This paper examines one instance in tropical West Africa where development agents encouraged ley farming as a means of intensifying crop-livestock interactions and improving human welfare without adverse effects on the environment. The response of the farmer to the technology has been mixed. Adoption has been limited by high opportunity costs of growing forages, as well as inadequate technical knowledge and attempts on the part of development agents to export technologies outside their ccozonal limits. Nevertheless, evidence of voluntary and government­credit-backed adaptation of ley farming concepts to producer circumstances is not difficult lo find in such West African countries as Nigeria and Mali. This should not, however, be construed as an indication of future trends in Icy farming, since agricultural production in the region is subsistence-oriented and farmers are content with the present livestock herding practices and sec no urgency to introduce soil restoration alternatives, as there are no visible manifestations of rnpid environmental degradation. Ley farming is a relatively new concept in the tropics. Even countries that pioneered ley farming expended much effort over a long period of time to popularise it among their farmers. Ley forming has features lhat can provide productivity increases at the smallholder level without environmental risks. Has enough been done? Do we have the right forage species and management skills to cater for the different situations in the subsistence-oriented production systems? Should those who adopt a ley strategy in their production systems be given subsidies to conserve soil resources for the future? What are the opportunity costs and policy requirements to implement ley farming, if indeed it is found superior to other alternatives for economic optimisation per unit of land. Answers to these questions may determine the future role of leys in the tropics. In our paper we attempt to give partial answers based on current experience.

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Role of Ley Farming in Crop Rotations in the Tropics

New Zealand

Is there a role for ley farming in the agricultural changes desired across the tropics? Hopes were high after the identification of suitable traits for leys in tropical legumes, Despite agroclimatic-suitability similarities for a wide range of tropical crops and forages, socioeconomic conditions vary across the tropics. Increasing debt problems and low prices for agricultural commodities constrain many countries, particularly in tropical Africa, to achieve the needed agricultural growth rates at the current levels of inputs and subsistence land-use practices, Tropical agriculture's inability to meet the growing demand for food is further compounded by declining land productivity and rapid population growth. Agricultural systems in the tropics need to be changed; proposed strategies have to be quick, focusing on those areas that have the potential for biggest impact at least cost. Agricultural intensification in response to population increase can take different courses but, in all it appears necessary to reduce fallow lengths between crop phases. There is increasing evidence that fast­growing legumes fitted into the crop-rest periods can benefit the soil Gust like prolonged fallows do) and boost livestock productivity, thereby contributing lo higher economic returns. In countries like Australia more leys were planted than wheat when wool price was favourable, suggesting that economic circumstances determine the farming practice. In other parts of the tropics, market opportunities and farmers' ability to adjust production are less developed to provide tangible evidence of the relevance of leys. This paper examines one instance in tropical West Africa where development agents encouraged ley farming as a means of intensifying crop-livestock interactions and improving human welfare without adverse effects on the environment. The response of the farmer to the technology has been mixed. Adoption has been limited by high opportunity costs of growing forages, as well as inadequate technical knowledge and attempts on the part of development agents to export technologies outside their ccozonal limits. Nevertheless, evidence of voluntary and government­credit-backed adaptation of ley farming concepts to producer circumstances is not difficult lo find in such West African countries as Nigeria and Mali. This should not, however, be construed as an indication of future trends in Icy farming, since agricultural production in the region is subsistence-oriented and farmers are content with the present livestock herding practices and sec no urgency to introduce soil restoration alternatives, as there are no visible manifestations of rnpid environmental degradation. Ley farming is a relatively new concept in the tropics. Even countries that pioneered ley farming expended much effort over a long period of time to popularise it among their farmers. Ley forming has features lhat can provide productivity increases at the smallholder level without environmental risks. Has enough been done? Do we have the right forage species and management skills to cater for the different situations in the subsistence-oriented production systems? Should those who adopt a ley strategy in their production systems be given subsidies to conserve soil resources for the future? What are the opportunity costs and policy requirements to implement ley farming, if indeed it is found superior to other alternatives for economic optimisation per unit of land. Answers to these questions may determine the future role of leys in the tropics. In our paper we attempt to give partial answers based on current experience.