A classification of the major ruminant livestock production systems in West Africa is proposed. The proposed typology has two major classes of systems-sole livestock and crop-livestock. The sole livestock class has two systems (rangeland-based and landless) and the crop-livestock class has three sub-classes (annual crop-livestock, tree-crop-livestock and irrigated/flooded cropland-livestock). Within the 3 crop-livestock subclasses 13 systems defined by the dominant crops are identified.

Goat producers in Inhassoro follow traditional management practices that lead to low supply of low quality goats. This has negative impacts on profitability, and on market access. Traders who buy in the Inhassoro locality buy only small volumes, and buyers from external markets are unaware of potential market supply in Inhassoro. This interaction of production constraints and limited information flows in the value chain was addressed using a system dynamics model for various commercialization scenarios.

The Project on Commune Agroecosystem Analysis to Support Decision Making for Water Allocation

for Fisheries and Agriculture in the Tonle Sap Wetland System was undertaken with the aim of

improving fisheries considerations in the Commune Agroecosystem Analysis (CAEA) process

undertaken in Cambodia, to facilitate better planning at the commune level. Under this project a

number of changes were made to the CAEA tools and process and pilot tested in an adaptive,

iterative manner in four communes – two that had conducted a CAEA previously and two that had

Flood-prone ecosystems in South and Southeast Asia are traditionally farmed with deepwater rice followed by post-flood rice culture during the dry season. During the

flood season, the same land is inundated, creating an open-access water body subject to multiple uses by multiple users. Fish production in these areas is based on

Soil erosion is a major problem in the Yellow River Basin: the river is one of the most

sediment-laden in the world. Although there is a rainfall gradient from 750 mm in southern

Shandong, to 200mm per year in northern Ningxia, most of the rainfed cropping area is in

regions with more than 400 mm per year – it is here that the project concentrated.

Conservation agriculture (featuring reduced or zero tillage, mulch retention, crop rotations

and cover crops) offers a possible solution to problems of soil erosion and low crop

Flood-based farming is among the potential options in ensuring access to water for crop and livestock production for small-scale farmers in the arid and semiarid lowlands of sub-Saharan Africa, and Ethiopia in particular. Flood-based irrigation while inexpensive is rooted in tradition in many rural communities which is in contrast to many other irrigation types which are unavailable (in terms of water source, technology or capacity) or are costly to develop.

Shallow groundwater irrigation (SGI) using hand-dug shallow wells and dugouts is expanding, in the WVB, and is becoming attractive to farmers throughout. SGI is farmer-driven and has

developed without any government or donor involvement. The production of vegetables and cash

crops during the dry season utilizing SGI has provided farmers with a supplemental source of

income and an alternative to seasonal urban migration. Although SGI has been increasing

substantially, the extent of this practice is not documented.This project has help assess, the

Using a household bioeconomic modelling approach, this paper analyses the impact of advancing in-kind credit in the form of fertilizer and seed on smallholder farmers with different levels of wealth in the Ethiopian highlands. Cropland allocation and household consumption patterns are examined in relation to credit availability. The paper then explores appropriate policy mechanisms for advancing credit to smallholder farmers in order to encourage intensification.