Crop-Livestock Intensification in the Face of Climate Change: Exploring Opportunities to Reduce Risk and Increase Resilience In Southern Africa Using an Integrated Multi-Modeling Approach.
Monday, November 4, 2013: 10:35 AM
Marriott Tampa Waterside, Grand Ballroom H, Second Level
P. Masikati1, O. Crespo2, Katrien Descheemaeker3, S. Walker4, S. Homann Kee Tui1, Lieven Claessens5, S. Famba6, A. van Rooyen1, Arthur Gama7 and C. Lennard2, (1)ICRISAT Bulawayo, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (2)University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa (3)Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands (4)University of Free State, South Africa (5)ICRISAT, Nairobi, Kenya (6)Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique (7)Bunda College of Agriculture, Lilongwe, Malawi
Teams of crop, economic, and climate scientists in Southeastern Africa are exploring opportunities to reduce risk and increase resilience in Southern Africa using an integrated multi-modeling approach. The project characterizes selected mixed farming systems in Southern Africa in terms of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics, develops and evaluates crop-livestock management and climate change adaptation strategies that increase food production, agro-diversity and economic returns, and explores the interactions and synergies of increased diversity and integration and their contribution to reduce risk and increase system resilience.
The project will increase understanding of challenges and opportunities in the current mixed farming systems of Southern Africa for better targeting of interventions to increase systems resilience and reduce climate-induced risk. It will also improve understanding of the interactions and synergies of production system components, such as which combinations bring about profitable production systems and how to use these to facilitate development along sustainable pathways.
