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Evaluation of Sustainability of Smallholder Dairy Production Systems in the Highlands of Mexico During the Rainy Season
Abstract and Figures
A sustainability evaluation was undertaken with 22 smallholder dairy farms in the highlands of Mexico; following the IDEA method in the agroecological, socioterritorial, and economic scales (all scales are out of 100). Sustainability was highest for the agroecological scale (59/100), intermediate for the socioterritorial scale (53/100), and lowest on the economic scale (43/100). The sustainability of a farm is the lowest score of the three scales. In most farms, the lowest was the economic scale. A cluster analysis led to the identification of five distinct groups: Cluster 1 defined two farms not related to others, cluster 2 farms (4) were those with high agroecological scores, cluster 3 farms (8) were most representative of the area, cluster 4 included two farms with low socioterritorial and economic sustainability scores, and cluster 5 was made up of the remaining six farms with the highest economic sustainability score, but limited by the agroecological and socioterritorial scales. In all farms, there is a high reliance on bought-in inputs. Therefore, given the limited resources of these systems, the better option is to limit the number of cows to those that can be fed mostly with the production of the farm, which increases the economic sustainability. The IDEA method is a useful tool for sustainability assessment of small-scale dairy systems.
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... It includes variables such as economic viability, independence, transferability, efficiency, product and land quality, organization, ethical and human development, diversity, and production methods. Several studies have employed the IDEA approach (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013;Gavrilescu et al., 2012;Ikhlef et al., 2015). These farm-level indexes are very useful in revealing three different dimensions of agricultural sustainability. ...
... According to the Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles (IDEA) method, which was designed with 41 indicators to demonstrate the sustainability of agribusiness, the food safety variable is included in the socioregional dimension and has a weight of 12%, while the biodiversity variable has a weight of 13% in the agroecology dimension (Zahm et al., 2008). Several studies have adapted the IDEA approach and its weights to animal production; dairy in Algeria, Tunisia and Mexico (Attia et al., 2021;Bir et al., 2019;Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013;Ikhlef et al., 2015), sheep in Morocco (Araba & Boughalmi, 2016), and livestock in Romania (Gavrilescu et al., 2012). ...
... Tunisian livestock farms scored 63.5 in the agro-ecological, 54.2 in the socioregional, and 63.6 in the economic dimension, according to the index scores determined using the IDEA approach (Attia et al., 2021). A similar study carried out in Mexico using an IDEA method revealed that the farms obtained 59 points in the agro-ecological, 53 points in the socio-regional, and 43 points in the economic dimensions (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013), and also the average sustainability score of the ten small dairy farms studied in the same country was found to be 55.3 (Torres-Lemus et al., 2021). In dual-purpose livestock farms in Mexico, the scores according to the IDEA approach are 60 in the economic, 73 in the socio-regional, 87 in the agro-ecological dimension and 73 overall (Salas-Reyes et al., 2015). ...
Food security continues to be a global concern and its importance has recently increased for many reasons. Composite food security indices have been widely used to calculate and monitor food security, but farm-level studies are limited. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to construct a Farm-level Food Security Index (FFSI) for dairy farms to assess their contribution to food security, identify potential areas for improvement and guide policy makers. Data were collected from 126 farms in the Thrace Region of Turkey through face-to-face interviews. The FFSI was constructed with four dimensions, briefly called economic, quality, social and natural resources, containing twenty-three variables. Principal component analysis was used for the determination of variable weights, data envelopment analysis for calculating technical efficiency, and the Tobit model for examining the factors influencing FFSI scores. To assess the robustness of the FFSI, Monte Carlo simulations-based uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, dimension extraction approach and Shapley effects sensitivity analysis were performed. With an average score of 56.8, the key result of the FFSI is that dairy farms are using almost half of their potential to fully contribute to food security. Moreover, according to the Tobit model, FFSI scores are significantly affected by the farmer’s age and education level, credit use, livestock unit, fodder crop area and milk marketing channel. The FFSI is robust to weights and sensitive to normalisation, and the social sustainability dimension can cause the largest shift in index scores. Based on these findings, numerous agricultural policy proposals have been developed in this study by identifying the priority areas that need to be addressed to guarantee food security.
... En el Estado de México, se han aplicado diversas metodologías para la evaluación de la sostenibilidad de los sistemas de producción, específicamente en los SPLPE del municipio de Aculco, la Evaluación de la Sostenibilidad de los Sistemas Agrícolas y Alimentarios (SAFA), la Respuesta Inducida para la Evaluación de la Sostenibilidad (RISE) e Indicadores de Sostenibilidad de Explotaciones Agrícolas (IDEA), han demostrado las características de los SPLPE y sirven como marco de referencia para el desarrollo de la herramienta TAPE (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013;Prospero-Bernal et al., 2017;Torres-Lemus et al., 2021). Los resultados de estos trabajos de investigación indican que la escala agroecológica (es decir, ambiental) es la más alta, seguida de la escala socio-territorial y que la escala económica es la más baja, debido a una alta dependencia de insumos externos, como la compra de concentrado balanceado comercial o forrajes conservados en forma de heno, paja o rastrojos, característico de los SPLPE del Aculco, Estado de México (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013;Martínez-García et al., 2015;Prospero-Bernal et al., 2017). ...
... En el Estado de México, se han aplicado diversas metodologías para la evaluación de la sostenibilidad de los sistemas de producción, específicamente en los SPLPE del municipio de Aculco, la Evaluación de la Sostenibilidad de los Sistemas Agrícolas y Alimentarios (SAFA), la Respuesta Inducida para la Evaluación de la Sostenibilidad (RISE) e Indicadores de Sostenibilidad de Explotaciones Agrícolas (IDEA), han demostrado las características de los SPLPE y sirven como marco de referencia para el desarrollo de la herramienta TAPE (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013;Prospero-Bernal et al., 2017;Torres-Lemus et al., 2021). Los resultados de estos trabajos de investigación indican que la escala agroecológica (es decir, ambiental) es la más alta, seguida de la escala socio-territorial y que la escala económica es la más baja, debido a una alta dependencia de insumos externos, como la compra de concentrado balanceado comercial o forrajes conservados en forma de heno, paja o rastrojos, característico de los SPLPE del Aculco, Estado de México (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013;Martínez-García et al., 2015;Prospero-Bernal et al., 2017). Sin embargo, la información generada a partir de estos estudios de sostenibilidad está fragmentada, debido a la heterogeneidad de cada método en cuanto a las escalas, contextos y plazos de evaluación. ...
A nivel global, los sistemas de producción agropecuaria enfrentan problemáticas que repercuten sobre los tres pilares de la sostenibilidad: ambiental, económico y social. La adopción de prácticas agroecológicas cada vez más desarrolladas permitiría identificar, generar y proponer estrategias tendientes a una producción respetuosa con el medio ambiente. Para cumplir con ese objetivo, en 2018 la FAO, en conjunto con líderes mundiales, formularon y propusieron la aplicación de una herramienta para la evaluación del desempeño agroecológico TAPE (Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation), cuyo objetivo buscaba evidenciar el impacto positivo de las prácticas agroecologías en los sistemas de producción, y evaluar su desempeño mediante un método homogéneo con datos a escalas y lapsos semejantes, en concordancia con los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible (ODS). Resultados preliminares de la aplicación de la herramienta TAPE en sistemas de producción, evidencian que puede funcionar en una variedad de regiones geográficas y agroecosistemas, además de adaptarse a los diferentes contextos, para evaluar el desempeño agroecológico a partir de elementos que van más allá de los indicadores clásicos de la evaluación de la sostenibilidad, como fue el caso de los sistemas de producción de leche en pequeña escala (SPLPE) del Noroeste del Estado de México.
... Los resultados obtenidos a través de estas evaluaciones han sido alentadores y han servido como punto de partida para el desarrollo de modelos alternativos, particularmente en el contexto de la producción ovina, como se evidencia en el trabajo de Alemán et al. (2007). De esta manera, se abre la posibilidad de contribuir a la promoción de una producción más sostenible, a través de la educación, la extensión y políticas de investigación pertinentes, con la aspiración de que estos enfoques puedan extenderse a sistemas similares en América Latina, como lo han señalado Fadul-Pacheco et al. (2013). ...
... En esta investigación, se empleó la versión 3 del método IDEA, siguiendo el enfoque utilizado previamente por Fadul-Pacheco et al. (2013) y Salas-Reyes et al. (2015). Este método se basa en una estructura compuesta por 17 objetivos subyacentes a cada indicador, tal como lo describen Vilain et al. (2008). ...
Revista ESPAMCIENCIA 15(1):1-11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.512 60/revista_espamcien cia.v15i1.420 Resumen La sostenibilidad de los sistemas de producción ovina puede estar en riesgo y debe ser evaluada con el fin de identificar acciones para mejorar su desempeño. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar la sostenibilidad de las unidades de producción ovina en la zona del Altiplano del estado de Michoacán, México. Se utilizó el método de Indicadores de sostenibilidad de las explotaciones agropecuarias, a través de las escalas: agroecológica, socio-territorial y económica. Se evaluaron 40 indicadores, mediante una encuesta semiestructurada en 108 unidades de producción. Los indicadores de cada unidad de producción ovina se concentraron en una base de datos y se obtuvieron los puntajes de acuerdo a la guía del método. Con el propósito de agrupar las unidades de producción ovinas con características similares, se realizó un análisis multivariado de conglomerados utilizando el método jerárquico. Se encontraron diferencias significativas (p ≤ 0,05) en las tres escalas evaluadas con: 42,3; 47,7 y 50,0% unidades de sostenibilidad respectivamente. La principal limitante de la sostenibilidad fue la escala agroecológica, en el componente de organización del espacio. Se obtuvieron cuatro conglomerados de las unidades de producción ovinas con diferentes características. Las unidades de producción ovina de la zona no han alcanzado un estado de sostenibilidad aceptable. La limitada superficie de terreno pone en riesgo su permanencia. Estas unidades de producción logran generar recursos económicos y apoyan el autoabastecimiento familiar, lo que les ha permitido permanecer a través del tiempo, debido a la diversidad de las especies agropecuarias que manejan. Palabras clave: Análisis multi-escala, dimensiones agroecológicas, socio-territorial y económica. Abstract The sustainability of sheep production systems may be at risk and must be evaluated in order to identify actions to improve their performance. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the sustainability of sheep production units in the highlands area of the state of Michoacán, Mexico. The method of sustainability indicators of agricultural holdings was used, through the scales: agroecological, socio-territorial and economic. 40 indicators were evaluated through a semi-structured survey in 108 production units. The indicators of each sheep production unit were concentrated in a database and scores were obtained according to the method guide. In order to group sheep production units with similar characteristics, a multivariate cluster analysis was carried out using the hierarchical method. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found in the three scales evaluated with: 42.3; 47.7 and 50.0% sustainability units respectively. The main limitation of sustainability was the agroecological scale, in the space organization component. Four clusters of sheep production units with different characteristics were obtained. The sheep production units in the area have not reached a state of acceptable sustainability. The limited land area puts its permanence at risk. These production units manage to generate economic resources and support family self-sufficiency, which has allowed them to remain over time, due to the diversity of the agricultural species they manage.
... En México, aproximadamente el 78% de la producción de leche está en manos de pequeños productores (Martínez-García et al., 2012). A pesar de ser una alternativa viable para el desarrollo rural (Espinoza-Ortega et al., 2007), el progreso de estos productores se ve limitado por un bajo índice de adopción de tecnologías agropecuarias y los altos costos de producción (Fadul-Pacheco et al., 2013). ...
p> Background: The adoption of agricultural technologies, such as maize silage is influenced by various factors, as highlighted by studies based on the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. These theories identify key determinants of technology adoption among small-scale dairy farmers in central Mexico, including characteristics like age, experience and production unit conditions. Objective: The aim of this work is to identify factors influencing small-scale dairy farmers to adopt corn silage and to explore the role of their friendship networks in spreading innovation. Methodology: The study was conducted in the municipality of Aculco, State of Mexico. The information was collected through a questionnaire administered to 106 farmers, who were selected through snowball sampling method. Farmers' intention and the three components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB): Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioural Control, were measured using a five-point Likert scale. A hierarchical multiple regression model was conducted to analysed the data. To identify the friendship network among farmers, a binary symmetric matrix was created. It is characterized by an equal number of rows and columns. Each cell contains a value of 1 or 0, where 1 indicates the presence of friendship and 0 indicates absence. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) identified key actors for innovation diffusion based on centrality measures such as degree, betweenness, and closeness. Results: Dairy farmers' intention to adopt maize silage were influenced by their beliefs about the innovation, social referents, age, and the number of lactating cows. A lack of knowledge and training was identified as a significant constraint. Additionally, 79% of farmers were involved in the friendship network. Implications: Two key nodes in the network were identified as potential drivers for disseminating information to other farmers. These individuals could play an important role in promoting maize silage adoption among those who have not yet implemented the innovation. Conclusions: Farmers' intentions were shaped by beliefs, social referents, age, and the number of lactating cows. Additionally, friendship networks emerged as a valuable channel for communicating and spreading information about maize silage adoption, highlighting the importance of social connections in agricultural innovation.</p
... The assessment of the sustainability of SSDS (Fadul-Pacheco et al. 2013) demonstrated that the limiting factor in the sustainability of these systems is the economic dimension, given mostly by high costs due to a reliance on bought inputs. ...
Tropical Animal Health and Production is a journal founded 55 years ago. It is dedicated to the publication of results of original research, investigation, and observation in all fields of animal health, welfare and production which may lead to improved health and productivity of livestock and better utilization of animal resources in tropical, subtropical and similar environments. Research is in strong alignment with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly No Poverty, Zero Hunger, and Good Health and Well-being. To celebrate its 55th anniversary, the editorial board has composed this Editorial article in an effort to address the major challenges that animal and veterinary scientists in the tropics and adjacent regions will address over the next 55 years. The task is accomplished in a systematic fashion addressing the topic species by species (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, poultry, camelids, etc.) and in the context of different groups of health challenges encompassing production, vector-borne, parasitic and transboundary diseases. Challenges are difficult and complex, and the solutions herein proposed may be difficult to implement. It aims to be an informed overview of the major difficulties the sector will experience in the near future, ultimately suggesting tools to address them. Only time will tell if they are accurate, effective or implementable. Nevertheless, Tropical Animal Health and Production Editorial Board, secretariat, reviewers and authors will certainly do their best to contribute to the advancement of animal health and production in the Tropics and the Mediterranean.
O presente artigo operacionaliza-se sobre o termo sustentabilidade, objetivando avaliar a sustentabilidade dos agroecossistemas do Projeto de Assentamento São Francisco, no sul do município de Canutama, Amazonas, comparando as atividades realizadas entre aqueles que estão em transição agroecológica e os que utilizam práticas do sistema convencional. O estudo foi conduzido em 16 agroecossistemas familiares, analisando a sustentabilidade por meio do método IDEA, a partir do comparativo entre as dimensões agroecológica, socioterritorial e econômica, considerando sistemas de produção agrícola convencional e em transição agroecológica. Encontrou-se níveis aproximados na sustentabilidade dos dois grupos. A dimensão agroecológica obteve os maiores percentuais nos dois grupos, enquanto a dimensão socioterritorial foi o fator limitante nos dois sistemas de produção. Observou-se que a ideia de sustentabilidade precisa ser ampliada entre os assentados e o método utilizado precisa de adaptações para aplicação em condições amazônicas.
Food insecurity and poverty are of major concern for farmers and rural households in Tanzania. Innovations to increase the sustainability of households must be carefully investigated by integrating, in the analysis, the effect on crop yields with a holistic view on the overall sustainability and its components. Rainwater harvesting and fertilizer micro-dosing can increase food security, particularly in water-limited contexts, but they can also significantly increase labor requirements and the availability and use of water resources in villages and watersheds. The purpose of this study was to quantify the impacts of rainwater harvesting and fertilizer micro-dosing on environmental, social and economic sustainability of households in two regions in Tanzania-semi-arid Dodoma and semi-humid Morogoro. We selected and calculated 40 sustainability indicators for 892 households in 2013 and 2016, and we applied Difference-inDifference Propensity Score Matching to identify relative changes in household sustainability. We show that in the dry region of Dodoma, economic sustainability increased less for adopters of the innovations in comparison to non-adopters between the years 2013 and 2016, with 6 percentage points and 11 percentage points respectively. In contrast, in the humid region, the adoption of innovations increased food security by 14 percentage points compared to 6 percentage points in the case of non-adoption. These results highlight that innovations must fit the context and should not be scaled without prior analysis of multiple impact dimensions as they may trigger significant trade-offs. By moving the focus from field to farm scale, this study contributes to providing a more rigorous assessment of the spillover effects that in-field innovations can have on the overall sustainability of households, which is a prerequisite for the advancement of sustainable intensification of agricultural production in the region.
Actualmente, aspectos sociales, culturales, educativos, científicos, tecnológicos,
agrícolas, ambientales, políticos y económicos influyen en la producción sustentable
de alimentos y en la soberanía alimentaria de los países en desarrollo de América Latina. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar y reflexionar sobre las
principales problemáticas, retos y oportunidades en la producción de alimentos desde la perspectiva sustentable y su relación con la soberanía alimentaria en América Latina. La metodología se basó en realizar una revisión sistemática de literatura en bases de datos científicos (Science Direct, Scielo, Taylor y Francis, entre otras), utilizando los operadores boleanos “producción sustentable de alimentos”, “soberanía alimentaria”, “América Latina”, considerando como periodo de análisis los años comprendidos entre 2008-2023 para identificar las publicaciones y estudios pertinentes para desarrollar el análisis y reflexión del contexto temático en países en desarrollo en América Latina. Como resultado final, se presentan y discuten las principales problemáticas, retos y oportunidades en la producción sustentable de alimentos y su relación con la soberanía alimentaria. Por tanto, se concluye que la producción sustentable de alimentos y la soberanía alimentaria tiene un papel importante en el desarrollo de los países, cuyo abordaje compete a los ámbitos educativos, empresarial, político, social, tecnológico y de investigación en el contexto actual latinoamericano para aportar soluciones interdisciplinarias.
La lechería familiar representa una alternativa sustentable para reducir la pobreza y contribuir a la soberanía alimentaria de comunidades rurales. En México, la mayor parte de granjas lecheras son familiares y heterogéneas en tecnología y producción; por tanto, resulta importante analizar su diversidad y las estrategias socioeconómicas y ambientales que les brindan su persistencia. El objetivo fue evaluar la sustentabilidad de granjas familiares con distintos niveles de productividad y tecnología en el noreste de Michoacán, para analizar sus estrategias de persistencia y su contribución a la soberanía alimentaria. Mediante la metodología de investigación participativa, se dio seguimiento a indicadores socioambientales y económicos en cuatro grupos de granjas que contaban con distinto nivel técnico-productivo. La elección de las granjas fue mediante muestreo no probabilístico Snowball, además, para evaluar la sustentabilidad se utilizó el Marco para Evaluar Sistemas de Manejo Incorporando Indicadores de Sustentabilidad. Los resultados mostraron que los cuatro grupos obtuvieron promedios similares en sus evaluaciones de sustentabilidad; no obstante, los resultados por atributo fueron contrastantes; aquellas con mayor nivel tecnológico fueron más rentables, mientras que granjas con menor nivel tecnológico fueron más autogestivas, equitativas y amigables con el ambiente. Como conclusiones se resalta que la tecnología no marcó diferencia en el nivel de sustentabilidad de las granjas, ya que cada grupo asume diferentes atributos de acuerdo a sus objetivos y medios de producción para persistir y conservar la capacidad de producir alimentos nutritivos y culturalmente apropiados al territorio.
Fair and safe allocation of natural resources for the Euro-Mediterranean area, especially for semi-arid regions, strongly relies on the adoption of WEFE (Water Energy Food Ecosystem) Nexus strategies. Transitioning to WEFE Nexus requires novel quantifiable assessment for interlinked analysis of the four WEFE sectors. Several indicator-based tools exist for agricultural sustainability at the farm scale. This contribution investigates on the application of such tools in relation for WEFE Nexus approaches. The IDEA method was selected for extending its applicability as a novel WEFE Nexus indicator toolkit and the following challenges are identified: (1) some WEFE aspects need to be reinforced in order to expand the scope beyond the actual agro-ecological focus; (2) the application at the farm scale needs to be articulated with larger scales where the WEFE Nexus displays emerging consistencies; (3) Nexus interactions, trade-offs and synergies could be further accounted for. These three challenges help identify how the IDEA indicator-based tool could be adapted to assimilate the WEFE Nexus approach, and so to allow applications in new agro-hydrological contexts.
La méthode idea est une méthode globale d'évaluation de la durabilité des systèmes agricoles. Largement testée et éprouvée sur le terrain, elle constitue un outil de formation et d'autoévaluation qui montre les faiblesses techniques et les voies de progression possibles. Elle se compose de trois séries d'indicateurs simples et facilement compréhensibles qui caractérisent les systèmes agricoles dans leurs dimensions agroécologiques mais aussi sociales et économiques. Cette édition actualisée et enrichie des nombreux retours de terrain, permet la compréhension et l'analyse de la durabilité des systèmes agricoles dans la diversité de leurs milieux et de leurs combinaisons techniques.
It is estimated that, throughout the world, almost 150
million farm households are engaged in milk production,
the majority of them in developing countries where annual
growth rates in milk consumption averaged 3.5 to 4.0 percent
in the decade 1995-2005. This is at least double the growth
rates of 1.4 to 2.0 percent for major staple foods over the
same period. Therefore, if properly directed, dairy sector
development could serve as a powerful tool for reducing
poverty.
With this in mind, the aim of the present publication is to
provide an overview of the global dairy sector and the forces
shaping its development with a focus on the characteristics
of, and implications for, ‘typical’, mostly smallholder, dairy
farming systems in developing countries.
Status and trends in the global dairy sector
Based on milk equivalents (ME), average per capita global
milk consumption amounts to about 100 kg of milk per year,
with very significant differences between countries/regions.
Per capita consumption in Western Europe is in excess of
300 kg of milk per year compared with less than 30 kg (and
even sometimes as little as 10 kg) in some African and Asian
countries. In the past, increases in global milk demand have
been mainly driven by population growth, whereas nowadays
they are increasingly also fuelled by rising per capita milk
consumption in some highly populated developing countries.
Increasing income levels are expected to raise the demand for
milk and dairy products by more than 1.8 percent per annum.
Should increases in milk production not follow suit, dairy
prices will rise significantly over past levels.
South Asia and EU-25 are the most important dairy regions,
accounting for 44 percent of global milk production. In
the period 2002 to 2007, world milk production grew by
13 percent, or by an average of 15 million tons of energycorrected
milk (ECM) per year – mainly through production
increases in China, India and Pakistan. Overall, therefore,
developing countries, which rely predominantly on
smallholder dairy production systems, have increased their
share in world milk production.
Milk is likely to become one of the most volatile agricultural
commodities owing to: (a) the strong influence that small
changes in the quantities available internationally have on
world market prices; (b) the length of time required for milk
production to increase in response to rising prices; and (c) the
delayed reaction of consumer demand to changing dairy
commodity prices.
A key determinant of milk prices is the cost of feed, which
directly affects milk production through increased production
costs and, indirectly, higher land values. Demand for grain, an
ingredient of dairy rations, is driven by the need for food, feed
and fuel of a growing world population. Higher incomes in
developing countries raise the demand for food derived from
livestock, leading to more demand for animal feed. Higher
energy prices and policies that promote bio-fuels lead to an
increased use of crops for energy production and, thereby,
push up the prices of feed and land. The Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and
the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)
forecast that, in the long term, feed price levels will increase
to about 50 percent above those of 2002-2006.
The milk:feed price ratio is one of the main factors
determining the choice of dairy production system. The
highest milk:feed price ratio (more than 2.5) is seen in North
America, where, as a likely consequence, the most intensive
milk production systems are found. Farming systems with
lower milk yields, making little use of compound feed, are
generally observed in countries with a milk:feed price ratio of
less than 1.5.
Very few countries are self-sufficient with regard to milk. The
main milk-surplus countries are Argentina, Australia, New
Zealand, USA, Uruguay and countries of the European Union
(EU) and Eastern Europe. The main milk-deficit countries are
Algeria, China, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and Russia. Over
the period1990-2004, global milk exports increased from
4.4 to 7.1 percent of production, while the share delivered to
formal milk processors increased from 14 to 24 percent.
International competitiveness of ‘typical’
dairy farms
Farms representative of various dairy farming systems in
Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru,
Thailand, Uganda and Viet Nam were subjected to detailed
technical and economic analyses. For industrialized countries,
similar analyses were conducted for farms in Germany, New
Zealand and the USA.
Milk returns account for 55 to 95 percent of the returns of all
farm types analysed and range from US36/100 kg
of ECM. Non-milk returns range from US31.4/100 kg, or 56
percent above the average production cost of US31.2/100
kg) is only 30 percent higher than that in the developing
countries (US0.45/hour, which is
45 percent higher than the average local wage of US16.30/hour, which is still
22 percent above the average estimated wage of US$13.30/
hour. These figures indicate that it would be possible for
dairy farming to compete on local labour markets in both
groups of countries. However, milk production quickly loses
its competitive advantage when local wages rise faster than
labour productivity.
Conclusions for smallholder dairy development
The various analyses and case studies presented in this
document indicate that:
small-scale milk production not only improves the food
security of milk-producing households but also helps to
create numerous employment opportunities throughout
the dairy chain, i.e. for small-scale rural processors and
intermediaries; and
small-scale milk producers incur low production costs.
Thus, if well organized, they should be able to compete
with large-scale, capital-intensive ‘high-tech’ dairy farming
systems in industrialized (and developing) countries.
Dairy development may therefore serve as a powerful tool
for reducing poverty. Devising a viable dairy development
strategy for smallholders calls for a detailed analysis of strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats posed by the external
environment. The strengths of smallholder dairy systems
are low production costs; high profit margins; low liabilities;
limited liquidity risk; and relative resilience to rising feed prices
– strengths that enable smallholders to serve as a competitive
source of milk supply. However, smallholder milk producers are
also beset by a number of weaknesses: lack of knowledge and
technical know-how; poor access to support services; low capital
reserves and limited access to credit; low (labour) productivity;
and poor milk quality – all of which limit their ability to take
advantage of market opportunities.
Major opportunities for smallholder producers engaged in
dairy production are: (i) growing demand for dairy products
in developing countries; (ii) probable milk price increases;
(iii) potential to increase milk yields through relatively few
additional inputs; (iv) potential to increase dairy labour
productivity; and (v) employment generation in the dairy
value chain (for example, absorbing family labour released by
higher on-farm labour productivity). However, smallholders
in developing countries also face major threats, namely (a)
policy support for (and competition from) dairy farmers in
OECD countries; (b) increased consumer demand for food
safety; (c) environmental concerns (low-yield dairy systems are
estimated to have higher carbon footprints per 100 kg of milk
produced than high-yield systems); (d) increasing local wage
rates; (e) intergenerational discontinuity (children of the betterperforming
farmers leave the system); (f) under-investment
in dairy chain infrastructure; and (g) inappropriate dairy
development policies and investment plans.
Given the increasing ‘interconnectedness’ of global agriculture,
the ability of smallholder milk producers to participate in the
dairy market in a profitable manner will depend not only on their
own competitiveness, mainly determined by production costs,
but also, and to an increasing extent, on the efficiency of the
dairy chains of which they are part. Therefore, recommendations
for smallholder dairy development must include strategies
to increase the competitiveness in all segments of the dairy
chain, namely, input supply, milk production, processing,
distribution and retailing. In other words, to be successful, any
dairy development strategy must be based on the principle of
‘creating value’ in each and every segment of the dairy chain. This
makes formulation of a dairy development strategy a complex
task, involving a large number of stakeholders and requiring
comprehensive analysis and continuous reassessment.
This article explores the relevance of sustainable business development for society and the state. Sustainability of enterprises can be defined as demonstrating the ability to be capable of continuing the same type of business in the lifetime of the next generation. In the case of Swiss dairy farms, this type of sustainability may also depend on the willingness of the government and society to make the necessary financial adjustments. Sustainability indicators for such farms are, therefore, related to ecological and social benefits rather than simply to economic success. To evaluate the role of Swiss dairy farms, a system with economic, ecological and social indicators for measuring their sustainability would be valuable. This approach creates an integration of sustainability life-cycle assessment factors of enterprises, on the one hand, and purely economic business indicators, on the other. The approach developed in this article would be of interest to all sectors that depend on public support.
This contribution examines the extent to which farm size affects the sustainability of dairy farms in Austria. Correlations between sustainability indicators and farm size are calculated on data from accounts voluntarily provided by a network of farms. The results show that in large farms income from agriculture and forestry per unpaid family work unit was higher and the proportion of direct payments in income was lower. Smaller farms, on the other hand, tend to exhibit a higher proportion of diversification and generally contribute more to the regional economy. Moreover, smaller farms tend to provide greater environmental services than larger ones per unit agricultural area. Note, however, that larger farms show higher values of certain environmental indicators, when these are related to the produced output. This study concludes that boosting efficiency and increasing output reflects a trade-off with environmental and social services provided by the agricultural sector.
The on-farm evaluation of three feeding strategies for smallholder campesino dairy herds was undertaken in the highlands of Central Mexico with cooperating farmers: traditional, alternative and intermediate feeding strategies. All three incorporated grazing of cultivated pastures, but concentrate use was 4.0 and 7.0 kg per cow per day in the rainy and dry seasons respectively for the traditional feeding strategy, 3.3 for the alternative feeding strategy in both rainy and dry seasons and 5.0 and 9.0 kg per cow per day in the rainy and dry seasons respectively for the intermediate feeding strategy. Feeding during the dry season was based on maize straw in the traditional strategy, on pasture complemented with maize silage in the alternative feeding strategy, and with some maize silage but mostly maize straw in the intermediate feeding strategy. The trial ran between 25 September 1996 and 24 September 1997, divided by season into four, thirteen-week periods. Milk yields were recorded once per week, and live weight and body-condition score, every 28 days. Three cows per strategy that completed each period were blocked according to stage of lactation and used for the statistical analysis of a split-plot design with feeding strategies as main plots and weeks as split-plots. Overall mean milk yields were 15.5±2.05, 13.4±2.43 and 12.4±2.37 kg milk per cow per day for alternative, intermediate and traditional feeding strategies respectively, with significant interactions (P<0.05) for autumn, winter and summer. The alternative feeding strategy (with over 50% less concentrate) produced milk yields 0.24 and 0.38 higher than the intermediate and traditional feeding strategies in the dry season. In the rainy season, milk yields with the alternative feeding strategy (30% less concentrates) were 0.09 and 0.16 higher than the other two strategies. Margins per day of family labour were: alternative feeding strategy US9.22 per day and the traditional feeding strategy US$9.11 per day, although in the case of the last two there were two family members in charge of the dairy herds. Results demonstrate the successful integration of grazed pasture and maize silage for the efficient production of milk, and provide evidence on the productive use of limited campesino land resources in the face of unviable economic conditions for maize grain production.
Small-scale dairy farming has been suggested as a rural development option for Mexican campesino communities. However, there is a lack of information on how dairy farming systems operate. The objective of this paper is to analyse the social, productive and economic characteristics of small-scale dairy production systems in the central highlands in the northwest of the State of Mexico. These three characteristics were analysed on 69 farms using factor and cluster analysis. Five factors accounted for 68% of cumulative variance. Cluster analysis yielded three well-defined groups. A Kruskal–Wallis test was performed on the arable land area and the number of animals, and analysis of variance for milk yield. Economic analysis was undertaken using activity budgets. Results showed the relationships between scale and management methods and their effects on the income for the family. Families in only one of the three groups receive incomes from dairying that were above all Mexican poverty indices. This outcome is explained by the intensification in the management of their herds, which is reflected in higher milk yields, higher incomes and better access to government support schemes. Enhancement of milk production in the area studied needs differential policies which take in to account differences between the groups identified.
Smallholder livestock keepers represent almost 20% of the world population and steward most of the agricultural land in the tropics. Observed and expected increases in future demand for livestock products in developing countries provide unique opportunities for improving livelihoods and linked to that, improving stewardship of the environment. This cannot be a passive process and needs to be supported by enabling policies and pro-poor investments in institutional capacities and technologies. Sustaining intensification of smallholder livestock systems must take into account both social and environmental welfare and be targeted to sectors and areas of most probable positive social welfare returns and where natural resource conditions allow for intensification. Smallholders are competitive in ruminant systems, particularly dairy, because of the availability of family labour and the ability of ruminants to exploit lower quality available roughage. Smallholders compete well in local markets which are important in agriculturally-based or transforming developing countries. However, as production and marketing systems evolve, support to smallholders to provide efficient input services, links to output markets and risk mitigation measures will be important if they are to provide higher value products. Innovative public support and links to the private sector will be required for the poor to adapt and benefit as systems evolve. Likewise targeting is critical to choosing which systems with livestock can be intensified. Some intensive river basin systems have little scope for intensification. More extensive rain-fed systems, particularly in Africa, could intensify with enabling policies and appropriate investments. In more fragile environments, de-intensification is required to avoid irreversible damage to ecosystems. Attention to both social and environmental sustainability are critical to understanding trade-offs and incentives and to bridging important gaps in the perspectives on livestock production between rich and poor countries and peoples. Two specific examples in which important elements of sustainable intensification can be illustrated, smallholder dairy systems in East Africa and South Asia and small ruminant meat systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, are discussed.
The IDEA method ( Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles or Farm Sustainability Indicators) is based on research work conducted since 1998 and is one way of giving practical expression to the concept of sustainable farms. Based on 41 sustainability indicators covering the three dimensions of sustainability, this method is designed as a self-assessment tool not only for farmers but also for policy makers to support sustainable agriculture. The scientific approach is based on identifying three different scales of sustainability. The application of the IDEA method is illustrated using French case studies. Linking the IDEA method with the Farm Accounting Data Network is noted as an interesting possibility to assess the sustainability level of different farming systems. The conclusion is that there is not just one farm sustainability model, and therefore the indicators must be adapted to local farming before using the IDEA method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
The sustainability of 30 dairy farms was evaluated using IDEA method "Indicators of durability of farms". Based on statistical methods (PCA, ACH), the three scales of sustainability (agro-ecologic, socio-territorial, and economic) have been characterized for the surveyed farms and has allowed to build groups. "Production system" typology is relevant for describing farms by agro-ecological and economical scales. The socio-territorial scale gives the limiting sustainability value for most farms. Inside this scale, the main way of progress relies on employment and services improvement (services, contribution to employment and collective work). Economically, sustainability is determined by the level of efficiency and depends on financial independence. Socio-territorial scale is the only one which is not linked to production system and is based on farmer's way of life. On the other end, global sustainability evaluation of farm as well as creating collective references mean to be able to analyze links between the three scales of sustainability.