Crop residues (CR) have become a limited resource in mixed crop-livestock farms. As a result of the increasing demand and low availability of alternative resources, CR became an essential resource for household activities, especially for livestock keeping; a major livelihood element of smallholder farmers in the developing world. Farmers’ decisions on CR use are determined by farmers’ preferences, total crop production, availability of alternative resources and demand for CR. Interaction of these determinants can result in pressures and trade-offs of CR use.

A training film made by Mojo for Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) project, Marsabit, Kenya.

A training film made by Mojo for Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) project, Marsabit, Kenya.

Livestock are recognized as essential assets for the livelihoods of poor farmers in the mixed crop-livestock systems throughout the tropics, while feed resources have been identified as an important constraint to their productivity. Two international agricultural research institutes, CIMMYT and ILRI, therefore joined forces in a project designed to improve the value of maize as livestock feed with an aim of enhancing the livelihoods of maize-livestock farmers in East-Africa.