Theme 5-2: Drought Management and Climate Change--Poster Sessions
Description
Global animal production requires about 2422 Gm3 of water per year. Most of this volume is used by cattle, with 30% used in the beef sector and another 19% in the dairy sector. At the same time, four billion people suffer from severe water scarcity, raising the flag on diverting an important part of the water globally to livestock production. Livestock-water interactions have therefore gained a prominent profile and fuelled discussions on the water footprint of livestock. A series of studies on the most important components of the livestock water footprint have shown that globally more than 90% of the footprint was due to feed production. Despite huge geographical heterogeneity and large differences in terms of livestock production system, feed production thus is a major target to implement water use efficiency strategies. In the tropics, crop-livestock systems and pastoral systems are the most common livestock production systems, and offer several options to diversify the feed basket and increase feed water productivity. Inclusion of improved forages, adapted to specific environments, can further minimize the demands of water for feed production. Indeed, several advantages can be expected: (i) “water saver” forages increase the amount of quality biomass available per drop of water, (ii) synchronization with fertilizer and manure application decreases the contamination of water bodies by a more efficient use of soil available nitrogen, and (iii) growing forages has positive impact on soil water retention through decreased evaporation, improved texture and erosion mitigation, increasing therefore the amount of water available to plants. This is particularly the case in dry seasons, when alternatives would be irrigated or conserved feed, or concentrates. Policies should focus on facilitating the access of farmers to adapted planting materials, and on providing land use guidance to sustainably intensify livestock production in dedicated zones.
Citation
Douxchamps, S.; Notenbaert, A.; Cardoso, J. A.; Romero, M.; and Peters, M., "The Role of Improved Forages in Solving the Water Scarcity Issue of 4 Billion People" (2022). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 20.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/24/5-2/20
Included in
The Role of Improved Forages in Solving the Water Scarcity Issue of 4 Billion People
Global animal production requires about 2422 Gm3 of water per year. Most of this volume is used by cattle, with 30% used in the beef sector and another 19% in the dairy sector. At the same time, four billion people suffer from severe water scarcity, raising the flag on diverting an important part of the water globally to livestock production. Livestock-water interactions have therefore gained a prominent profile and fuelled discussions on the water footprint of livestock. A series of studies on the most important components of the livestock water footprint have shown that globally more than 90% of the footprint was due to feed production. Despite huge geographical heterogeneity and large differences in terms of livestock production system, feed production thus is a major target to implement water use efficiency strategies. In the tropics, crop-livestock systems and pastoral systems are the most common livestock production systems, and offer several options to diversify the feed basket and increase feed water productivity. Inclusion of improved forages, adapted to specific environments, can further minimize the demands of water for feed production. Indeed, several advantages can be expected: (i) “water saver” forages increase the amount of quality biomass available per drop of water, (ii) synchronization with fertilizer and manure application decreases the contamination of water bodies by a more efficient use of soil available nitrogen, and (iii) growing forages has positive impact on soil water retention through decreased evaporation, improved texture and erosion mitigation, increasing therefore the amount of water available to plants. This is particularly the case in dry seasons, when alternatives would be irrigated or conserved feed, or concentrates. Policies should focus on facilitating the access of farmers to adapted planting materials, and on providing land use guidance to sustainably intensify livestock production in dedicated zones.
