Do smallholder, mixed crop-livestock livelihoods encourage sustainable agricultural practices? A meta-analysis
2016
Rudel, Thomas | Kwon, Oh-Jung | Paul, Birthe | Boval, Maryline | Rao, Idupulapati | Burbano, Diana | Mcgroddy, Megan | Lerner, Amy | White, Douglas | Cuchillo, Mario | Luna, Manuel | Peters, Michael | Rutgers University [Camden] ; Rutgers University System (Rutgers) | Hanyang University | International Center for Tropical Agriculture [Colombie] (CIAT) ; Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR) | Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech | McGill University = Université McGill [Montréal, Canada] | University of Virginia | Princeton University | Research for development and conservation ; Partenaires INRAE | Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán - National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran [Mexico] (INCMNSZ) | Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias [Mexico] (INIFAP)
International audience
Afficher plus [+] Moins [-]anglais. As calls for bolstering ecosystem services from croplands have grown more insistent during the past two decades, the search for ways to foster these agriculture-sustaining services has become more urgent. In this context we examine by means of a meta-analysis the argument, proposed by Robert McC. Netting, that small-scale, mixed crop-livestock farming, a common livelihood among poor rural peoples, leads to environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. As predicted, mixed crop-livestock farms exhibit more sustainable practices, but, contrary to predictions, a small scale of operation does not predict sustainability. Many smallholders on mixed crop-livestock farms use sustainable practices, but other smallholders practice a degrading, input-scarce agriculture. Some large farm operators use soil-conserving, minimum-tillage techniques while other large operators ignore soil-conserving techniques and practice an industrialized, high chemical input agriculture. The strength and pervasiveness of the link in the data between mixed crop-livestock farming and sustainable agricultural practices argues for agricultural policies that promote mixed crop-livestock livelihoods.
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