Climate Resilience Through Dual-Purpose Crops for Small-Scale Dairy Farming in Benin
Abstract
In response to livestock feed constraints, farmers are increasingly exploring new
options to improve the productivity and efficiency of their crop-livestock enterprises
(Snapp et al, 2018). One such option is dual-purpose crops, which has a high potential
to simultaneously improving grain yields and livestock feed availability and quality
(Erenstein, et al, 2013; Hassan et al, 2015). A promising method of enhancing crop and
livestock productivity is increasing the availability and quality of cereal residues as
livestock feed (Amede et al., 2009; Alkemade et al., 2012). Dual-purpose crops provide
food and income to households, while crop residues are an essential fodder source
for livestock (Tarawali et al, 2011; Salmon et al, 2018).Compared to grain-only crops,
dual-purpose crops help to significantly improve the profitability, environmental
sustainability, and resilience of the whole farm system (Tarawali et al, 2011). It is
recognized that dual-purpose crops have positive effects on nutrition and adaptation
to climate change. However, policy recommendations do not consider climate
variability across the country and the tolerance of each dual-purpose crops to the
various climate regions. This policy brief aims to share evidence for dissemination
of appropriate use of dual-purpose crops on dairy farms across the various climate
regions of Benin.