Agriculture

Overview of ANIMAL Manure Waste Management IN AFRICA:

INSIGHT FROM NIGERIA

 

Hikimot  Babalola and Roseline Oguche

Location: Nigeria

Livestock Numbers: 10,000 goats, 10,000 pigs, and 20,000 poultry

Introduction

Effective waste and manure management is a vital component of sustainable livestock farming. Properly managed manure can enhance agricultural productivity through soil fertility while minimizing environmental impacts. This research aims to evaluate the current manure management practices for pigs, goats, and poultry on farms in Nigeria and assess the associated greenhouse gas emissions, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O), using IPCC guidelines. The following sections provide an in-depth look at the current practices and a method for calculating N2O emissions.

Poultry Manure Management IN LAGOS (REAL LIFE SCENARIO FROM BIRD FARM IN SHASHA)

System: Poultry

Collection Frequency: Collected weekly or biweekly

Weekly Manure Production from 2,000 Layers:60 bags of 25 kg each

Utilization: Used by farmers as fertilizer for crops

Management Practices

Poultry manure on the farm is managed without the use of litter, meaning the manure is collected directly from beneath the cages or housing units. This practice is common in intensive poultry operations where birds are housed in cages. The collection of manure is carried out weekly or biweekly to manage accumulation effectively.

From 2,000 layers, the farm collects approximately 60 bags of manure, each weighing 25 kg, on a weekly basis. This amounts to 1.5 tons of manure per week. This manure is then stored temporarily before being transported to farmers who use it as fertilizer in crop cultivation. Poultry manure is particularly valued for its high nutrient content, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are essential for plant growth.

Environmental and Nutrient Management

To manage the environmental impacts of poultry manure, regular collection is essential to prevent ammonia buildup and odors. Proper storage facilities should be used to minimize nutrient losses and contamination. Utilizing poultry manure as fertilizer supports sustainable agriculture by recycling nutrients back into the soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.

Pig Manure Management

System: Pit Storage

Daily Manure Production: 4,000 kg

Collection Frequency: Packed daily into sock away

Utilization: Used by farmers as fertilizer

Management Practices

Pig manure on the farm is managed using a pit storage system. In this system, manure is collected and stored in pits located beneath or near the animal housing. This method is effective in managing large volumes of manure produced by pigs, but it requires diligent management to prevent overflow and minimize environmental impact.

The daily collection results in approximately 4,000 kg of manure, which is packed into sock away. Sock away refers to the practice of storing manure in a manner that allows for eventual use or disposal. This stored manure is eventually utilized as fertilizer. Pig manure is rich in nutrients, making it an excellent fertilizer that can significantly improve soil fertility and support robust plant growth.

Environmental and Nutrient Management

Proper management of pit storage systems is crucial to prevent nutrient runoff and groundwater contamination. Covering the pits and ensuring they are well-ventilated can help manage odors and reduce emissions. Additionally, monitoring the nutrient content of the manure and adjusting application rates based on soil and crop needs can enhance the efficiency of manure utilization and minimize environmental risks.

Goat Manure Management

System: Dry Lot

Daily Manure Production: 2,700 kg

Collection Frequency: Packed daily

Utilization: Used by plant farmers as fertilizer

Management Practices

Goats on the farm are managed using a dry lot system, which involves confining the animals in an area with minimal vegetation. This system is particularly suited for intensive farming operations where grazing land is limited. In a dry lot, manure accumulates on the ground and is collected daily. This frequent collection helps in maintaining a clean environment for the animals and reduces the risk of health issues associated with manure buildup.

The daily collection process results in approximately 2,700 kg of manure. This manure is packed daily and made available to farmers who use it as fertilizer in crop cultivation. The use of goat manure as fertilizer is beneficial for plant farmers as it provides essential nutrients to the soil, enhancing soil fertility and crop productivity. Furthermore, the daily packing and removal of manure prevent the accumulation of waste, thereby reducing odors and potential fly problems.

Environmental and Nutrient Management

One of the key environmental concerns with dry lot systems is the potential for soil compaction and nutrient runoff. To mitigate these issues, it is essential to manage the dry lot areas effectively, ensuring proper drainage and possibly incorporating vegetative cover where feasible. Implementing nutrient management plans can optimize the use of manure as fertilizer, balancing the nutrient application rates with the crop needs to avoid over-fertilization and nutrient leaching.

Environmental impact

To further enhance the understanding of the environmental impact of animal waste and manure, a detailed calculation of N₂O emissions from the manure management practices presented in Table 1 according to IPCC calculations and guidelines.

Table 1: N₂O Emission Calculations According to IPCC Guidelines

 

 

Manure Management System (MMS)1	Species/Livestock category	Number of animals	Default N excretion rate	Typical animal mass for livestock category Emission Factors kg CH4 per head per year	Annual N excretion per head of species/livestock category3	Fraction of total annual nitrogen excretion managed in MMS for each species/livestock category	Total nitrogen excretion for the MMS 4	Emission factor for direct N2O-N emissions from MMS	Annual direct N2O emissions from Manure Management
		(head)	[kg N	(kg)	(kg N animal-1	(-)	(kg N yr-1)	[kg N2O-N	kg N2O yr-1
			(1000 kg animal)-1 day-1]		year-1)			(kg N in MMS)-1]
			Table 10.19	Tables 10A-4 to 10A-9	Nex(T) = Nrate(T) * TAM * 10-3 * 365	Tables A4-A8	NEMMS =	Table 10.21	N2O(mm) =
							N(T) * Nex(T) * MS(T,S)		NEMMS * EF3(S) * 44/28
S	T	N(T)	Nrate(T)	TAM	Nex(T)	MS(T,S)	NEMMS	EF3(S)	N2OD(mm)
Dry lot	Goats	10,000	1.37	30	15	15	2,250,000	0.02	70,714.30
W litter	Poultry	20,000	0.82	1.3	0.39	55	429,000	0.002	1348.3
Pit	Pigs / Swines	10,000	1.47	28	15	25	3,750,000	0.001	5,892.90

Reference

National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
Chapter 10: Emissions from Livestock and Manure Management – Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jpPDF

 

 

Agriculture in Africa: An Overview of Selected Countries (Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa)

Ifeoluwa Ola and Emmanuel O. Benjamin

The agriculture sector contributes significantly to the economies of African countries. The sector is instrumental in eradicating poverty and hunger, boosting intra-Africa trade and investments, prompting rapid industrialization and economic diversification as well as ensuring sustainable environmental management (NEPARD, 2013).  More than 20 percent of all employment on the African continent is related to agribusiness making it an important contributor to Gross Domestic Product – GDP (FAO/NEPARD, 2002). Thus, agriculture development and innovation is essential for human security and shared prosperity on the African continent. Subsistence farming system is the dominant system of agriculture on the continent, which comprises 33 million farms of less than 2 hectares, equivalent to approximately 80 percent of all farms, with family being the major source of labor employed in food production (NEPARD 2013). Agricultural production in Africa has experienced modest but steady yield over the last 30 years due to land expansion, labour force growth and/or reduced traditional fallow periods with modest technological adoption (NEPARD 2013). Population growth is also one of the factors that has hindered the impact of the agriculture development. Furthermore, Lack of access to markets, unsustainable resources and ecosystem management, land pressure, climate change and rising food prices, have hindered agriculture development in Africa.

African agricultural systems are vulnerable to climate change owing to their strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture and continued natural resources mismanagement (Benjamin et al. 2018). Compounding this situation is the high levels of poverty, low levels of human capital, low adaptation and mitigation measures and poor infrastructural development (FANRPAN, 2017). Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA) offers an opportunity for Africa to develop and scale-up appropriate technologies and practices that respond to the changing climate and meet increasing food demand. CSA is defined by FAO (2010) as “agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and poverty reduction”. CSA practices ranges from agroforestry to aquaponics.  CSA should also strive to promote gender equity and increase women’s adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change, access to credit and markets, extension services (Benjamin et al. 2016; Benjamin et al. 2018). A number of these practices has been adopted by different African countries and there has been positive outcomes. (Nyasimi et al. 2014; Benjamin et al. 2016; Benjamin et al. 2018). Some facts about the agricultural system in four countries across the continent namely: Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are presented below.

Cameroon

Agriculture’s contribution to the GDP of Cameroon was 14.2 percent in 2018, accounting for the employment of 46.3 percent of the work force either on a full time or part time basis (WDI, 2019). Agricultural activity in the Cameroon in recent times has experienced drawbacks due to civil unrest in certain parts of the country resulting in input shortages and the depletion of households’ productive assets (incl. livestock). However, CSA practices adopted in Cameroon such as sustainable agroforestry management have being observed to provided multiple benefits that increase productivity, sequestrate carbon, rehabilitate degraded lands and build resilience (Nyasimi et al. 2014). It is paramount that subsistence farms and small rural agribusinesses in Cameroon are equipped with sustainable technologies resilient to climate change in increasing productivity. Such sustainable agricultural system, not only in Cameroon but across Africa, must be design in such a way that it gives famers access to well-tailored financial and non-financial services and profitable markets (Benjamin et al. 2016).

Kenya

Agriculture is the second contributor to Kenya’s GDP with 34 percent after the service sector and it employs the highest proportion of the country’s work force, approx. 61.1 percent, hired either on a full- or part-time basis in 2018 (WDI 2019). Kenya’s climatic condition is arid and semi-arid with only 20 percent of the rain-fed land suitable for agriculture production such as tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables etc. (Mati, 2006). Climate change, diseases and pest, poor conditions of infrastructures, soil nutrient depletion and aging technology adversely affect Kenyan agricultural system (KARI, 2019). This is a trend found in a number of African countries. In Kenya, CSA approach that has been used as a risk management strategy and in adapting to climate variability/change (Nyasimi et al. 2014; Benjamin et al. 2016; Benjamin et al. 2018).

Nigeria

Agriculture accounted for 21.2 percent of the Nigerian GDP in 2018 and employed 36.6 percent of the work force or approximately 23 million individuals (WDI, 2019). Agricultural productivity in Nigeria is hindered by problems such as poor infrastructural development, limited research and development, modest processing facility, unsustainable land management, volatile input/output prices, corruption and climate change just to mention a few (Nchuchuwe and Adejuwon, 2012; Olukunle, 2013). Climate change may also be driving the current conflict in the country over scare resources (arable land) between crop producers and pastoralist as well as water stress. To this end, agrarian households in Nigeria have been introduced to diverse CSA trainings and strategies as a means of adapting to the challenging production environment (FAO 2019). In Nigeria, improved variety that increase crop resilience to drought and increase productivity has been introduced as well as carbon sequestration measures, rehabilitation of degraded lands to halt the massive desertification on-going in the country (Nyasimi et al. 2014)

South Africa

South Africa operates an agricultural system consisting sizable commercial farms and subsistence-based intensive crop production, mixed farming and animal husbandry. The agricultural sector contributed 2.2 percent to the GDP in 2018 while employing approx. 5.2 percent of the work force (WDI 2019). Irrigation is the major source of water for crop production with around South Africa has been found to be food secure during a “normal year”, meaning productivity of major agricultural products is well above average and export of surplus (Joshi, 2016). A major challenge to current and future productivity gains in South African agriculture system is the supply of water given the extreme rainfall patterns.  CSA that are related to crop resilience and productivity under drought spells has been introduced to the South African farmers (Nyasimi et al. 2014).

References

Benjamin, E. O., Blum, M., & Punt, M. (2016). The impact of extension and ecosystem services on smallholder’s credit constraint. The Journal of Developing Areas, 50(1), 333-350

Benjamin, E. O., Ola, O., & Buchenrieder, G. (2018). Does an agroforestry scheme with payment for ecosystem services (PES) economically empower women in sub-Saharan Africa?. Ecosystem Services, 31, 1-11.

FAO/NEPARD (2002): Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. Available online at http://www.fao.org/3/y6831e/y6831e-02.htm (Accessed December 2019)

FAO (2010). Climate-Smart Agriculture. Policies, Practices and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation and Mitigation. Vialedelle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy

FAO (2019): FAO tracks climate smart agricultural practices in Northeast Nigeria with support from Norway. Available online at http://www.fao.org/nigeria/news/detail-events/en/c/1188031/ (Accessed December 2019)

KARI – Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (2019): The Major Challenges Of The Agricultural Sector In Kenya. Available online at https://www.kari.org/the-major-challenges/ (Accessed December 2019)

Joshi, M. (2016). New Vistas of Organic Farming. Scientific Publishers.

Mati, B. M. (2006). Overview of water and soil nutrient management under smallholder rain-fed agriculture in East Africa (Vol. 105). IWMI.

Monteiro, Rodrigo Otávio Câmara, Kalungu, Jokastah Wanzuu, & Coelho, Rubens Duarte. (2010). Irrigation technology in South Africa and Kenya. Ciência Rural, 40(10), 2218-2225. Epub October 29, 2010. Available online at https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782010005000175 (Assessed January 2020)

NEPARD (2013) African agriculture, transformation and outlook. NEPAD, November 2013, 72 p.   Available online at https://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/pubs/2013africanagricultures.pdf (Accessed December 2019)

Nchuchuwe, F. F., & Adejuwon, K. D. (2012). The challenges of agriculture and rural development in Africa: the case of Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 1(3), 45 – 61

Nyasimi M, Amwata D, Hove L, Kinyangi J, and Wamukoya G. (2014): Evidence of Impact: Climate-Smart Agriculture in Africa. CCAFS Working Paper no. 86. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Copenhagen, Denmark. Available online at: www.ccafs.cgiar.org

Olukunle, O. T. (2013). Challenges and prospects of agriculture in Nigeria: the way forward. J Econ Sustain Dev [Internet], 4(16), 37-45.

FANRPAN – The Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (2017): Climate-smart Agriculture in Madagascar. Policy Brief 18/2017. Available online at https://www.africaportal.org/publications/climate-smart-agriculture-madagascar/ Available (Accessed December 2019)

WDI – World Development Indicator – (2019). Indicators. Available online at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator (Accessed December 2019)