Assessment of Agricultural Biodiversity in the Dryland System CRP in West Africa

Mauricio R. Bellon and Raymond Vodouhe

• Dryland ecosystems harbor rich biodiversity, both wild and domesticated, contributing a range of ecosystem services that are central for the well-being of farmers and pastoralists throughout the drylands.

• Both types of biodiversity are threatened by land degradation, while their loss may accelerate land degradation itself creating an undesirable positive feedback loop.

• There is a little understanding of the links between agrobiodiversity loss and land degradation, and of how agrobiodiversity can be used to restore degraded dryland ecosystems.

Conceptual framework for the assessment

(2) Dietary diversity

(1) On-farm diversity (3) Market diversity

Self-consumption

Sale

Purchase

Income

Food security & dietary quality

Ecosystem & EvolutionaryServices

determinants

determinantsdeterminants

Information flow

Intermediate development outcomes (IDOs)

1. More resilient livelihoods for vulnerable households in marginal areas. 2. More stable and higher per capita income for intensifiable households. 3. Women and children in vulnerable households have year round access to

greater quantity and diversity of food sources. 4. More sustainable and equitable management of land and water

resources in pastoral and agropastoral. 5. Better functioning markets underpinning intensification of rural

livelihoods. 6. More integrated, effective and connected service delivery institutions

underpinning resilience and system intensification. 7. Policy reform removing constraints and creating incentives for rural

households to engage in more sustainable practices that improve resilience and intensify production

Conceptual framework for the assessment

(2) Dietary diversity

(1) On-farm diversity (3) Market diversity

Self-consumption

Sale

Purchase

Income

Food security & dietary quality

Ecosystem & EvolutionaryServices

determinants

determinantsdeterminants

Information flow

Mor

e re

silie

nt li

velih

oods

for v

ulne

rabl

e ho

useh

olds

in m

argi

nal a

reas

Conceptual framework for the assessment

(2) Dietary diversity

(1) On-farm diversity (3) Market diversity

Self-consumption

Sale

Purchase

Income

Food security & dietary quality

Ecosystem & EvolutionaryServices

determinants

determinantsdeterminants

Information flow

More stable and higher per capita income for intensifiable households

Conceptual framework for the assessment

(2) Dietary diversity

(1) On-farm diversity (3) Market diversity

Self-consumption

Sale

Purchase

Income

Food security & dietary quality

Ecosystem & EvolutionaryServices

determinants

determinantsdeterminants

Information flow

Women and children in vulnerable households have year round access to greater quantity and diversity of food sources

Conceptual framework for the assessment

(2) Dietary diversity

(1) On-farm diversity (3) Market diversity

Self-consumption

Sale

Purchase

Income

Food security & dietary quality

Ecosystem & EvolutionaryServices

determinants

determinantsdeterminants

Information flow

More sustainable and equitable management of land and water resources in pastoral and agropastoral.

Conceptual framework for the assessment

(2) Dietary diversity

(1) On-farm diversity (3) Market diversity

Self-consumption

Sale

Purchase

Income

Food security & dietary quality

Ecosystem & EvolutionaryServices

determinants

determinantsdeterminants

Information flow

Better functioning markets underpinning intensification of rural livelihoods.

General objective

• to characterize these three dimensions of ABD – the elements and relationships involved – the exogenous factors that influence them – as the basis for analyzing the roles of ABD in the

lives and livelihoods of rural populations– to identify entry points for designing and

implementing interventions that contribute to improve their well-being

Specific objectives

• To identify and quantify the number of all useful plant and animal species at the household-level that are: a) grown on farm and home garden, or collected from

the wildb) consumed as part of the diet by mothers and childrenc) purchased and sold in the study sites

Including both domesticated and wild speciesFor each species the number of varieties/breeds

Parameters

• Sampling: A statistically-representative sample of households of the study sites based on sampling framework used by CRP

• Unit of analysis: The household, defined as all members of a family that eat from the same pot

Methodology

• Focus group discussion using the four-cell methodology– Elicit as much diversity as possible, particularly at

the tail of the distribution• Questionnaire to a random sample of

households in villages targeted by the CRP and additional ones

An example:Plant species diversity by number of households (grown and

collected) in rural Benin

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Source: Bellon and Ntandou-Bouzitou , unpublished data.

Total number of species= 43Grown/collected > 50% of hh= 2Grown/collected > 10% of hh= 18Grown/collected< 10% of hh= 25

Example of the species produced and consumed in rural Benin

Source: Ntandou-Bouzitou

Modified four cell methodologyMany households

Few households

Larg

e ar

ea/

farm

Small area/farm

Modified four cell methodology:Preliminary results

Many households

Few households

Larg

e ar

ea/

farm

Small area/farm

Pearlmillet (bajra)MothbeanCumin Mustard (sarson/Raida)

Cluster beanCumis (Katcher)Water melon (matira)Sesame (til)Isabghol (ghoda jeera)Tarameera (Black mustard)

MoongbeanCastor (Arandi)Cotton (Kapas)OnionWheatLasoda (gonda) cordiaBerLemonPomegranate Ker (capparis decidua)

cotton

Data to be collected: On-farm diversity

• Species• Place of production/collection:

– farm, home garden, collected in the wild• Objective of production

– Self-consumption, sale in the market, both• Parts used (grains, flowers, stems, leaves, roots, etc.)• Different uses

– For food, medicine, animal feed, building material, processing, etc.• Number of varieties/breeds recognized and used• Seed system

– sources of seed, transactions and social relationships• Water regime

– Rainfed, irrigated, water harvest, etc.• Seasonality• Gender aspects

Data to be collected:Dietary diversity

• Assessment of the diet of a mother and child in the household • alternatively the person customarily preparing the

food• Food frequency questionnaire• Period: last seven days• Includes information on the source of the food– Self-produced, purchased, bartered, payment in

kind, collected

Data to be collected:Diversity in markets

• Information on the markets commonly visited• Objective of the visit: for selling, purchasing or both

by type of product– Agricultural products– Inputs– Foods– Other consumer goods

• Diversity of species derived from information on diversity on-farm (species produced for sale) and dietary diversity (species purchased)

Livelihood outcome indicators

• Food security: Household Food Insecurity Access Scale

• Income: ratings of key species as sources of income

• Risk: attitudes vis-à-vis risk• Vulnerability

Influencing factors• Age• Formal education• Ethnicity• Family size• Type of household• Assets (house building material, transportation, consumer items)• Landholdings• Animal holdings• Water management• Sources of income • Knowledge and participation in formal and informal organizations• Participation in government programs• Gendered decision-making (identify key decisions to query about)

Achievement in 2013

• Agricultural ecological intensification options in the West African Sahel and Dry Savannas: current knowledge and possible scenarios (Desk study).

• Intensification options used by farmers in the West African Sahel and dry savanna zones can be grouped into five main categories:– crop-based systems, – crop-livestock systems, – tree-based systems, – livestock based systems and – soil and water conservation options

Some weaknesses

• Analysis of these systems revealed a number of weaknesses related to lack of scientific knowledge on :

• The genetic resources used by farmers to optimize their production systems;

• The linkage between intensification options and phytogeographical resources;

• The importance of farmers traditional knowledge in optimizing their production systems.

• Based on these lessons learnt, a model for sustainable intensification systems is proposed. In this model, plant and animal genetic resources (crop diversity – tree diversity – livestock) are the basis.

Theoretical model of sustainable ecological intensification in West African Sahel and Dry savannas