Climate Resilience Through Dual-Purpose Crops for Small-Scale Dairy Farming in Benin
Date
2022-10
Authors
Montcho, Marthe
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
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.