The document outlines a framework for researching crop-livestock production systems, emphasizing two major steps: understanding current performance and exploring future trajectories. Key issues include assessing farmers' livelihood objectives, examining system feedbacks, and analyzing external factors like climate change. The aim is to identify viable scenarios for enhancing performance and ensuring system feasibility.

1. April2013
Framework for crop-livestock production systems research
Two Major Steps in Crop-Livestock System Research
I. Understanding present performance and state of the system [Figure1 (green and blue colours )]
II. Exploring future trajectories of the system [Figure1 (grey colour )]
Unlocking livestock development potential through science, influence and capacity development
ILRI APM, Addis Ababa, 15-17 May 2013
Key Issues to Explore Trajectories of the Future Crop-Livestock Systems
I.Understand the livelihood objectives of farmers and how this match with the present livelihood outcomes.
II.Study positive or negative feedbacks of the present system-functions and trajectories to the major system drivers.
III.Identify options/scenarios to modify or change the system to achieve higher level of performances.
IV.Examine effects of external factors ( e.g. climate change, migration, market) on system performances and options to move
the system in the desired direction.
V.Explore whether the proposed scenarios are technically, socially and economically feasible.
Figure 1: A simplified framework for agricultural production system research :
illustrating agricultural system components, their interactions, driving factors,
livelihood outcomes, strategies and feedbacks
Key Issues to Understand the
Present Performances of Crop-
Livestock systems
I.Structural components of the system and
their interactions (e.g. edaphic, biotic,
abiotic) across scales and livelihood
dimensions;
II.Functional components of the system
(e.g. input levels and types and output level
achieved over time);
III.State of the system (e.g. stability, risk and
uncertainty factors).
Amare Haileslassie12, Peter Craufurd1, Michael Blümmel2, Ramana Reddy2
1 International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ( ICRISAT), 2 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence May 2013