Potential of Forage Legumes in Land-Use Intensification Towards Sustainable Crop-Livestock Production Systems in West Africa

van Velthuizen, H.T., Fischer, G., Mohamed Saleem, M.A., Kassam, A.H., Kaufmann, R. von, & Shah, M.M. (1995). Potential of Forage Legumes in Land-Use Intensification Towards Sustainable Crop-Livestock Production Systems in West Africa. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-95-080

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Abstract

Poverty, high population pressure on land-use, and the inability of maintaining fertility through traditional farming and land management practices are contributing to land degradation and decline in agricultural productivity in most West African countries. Improved farming practices and land management alternatives that can raise productivity and protect the agricultural resource base are urgently required to meet future food demands.

It was in this context that the potential of forage legumes in crop-livestock systems in West Africa was examined by International Centre for Africa (ILCA). The ability of forage legumes to biologically fix nitrogen and provide livestock feed of good quality are potential benefits offered by adapted legume fallows compared to natural fallows used in traditional systems. These are important considerations in effective management of nutrients and soil fertility through crop-livestock systems.

Previous work in West Africa has considered forage legumes mainly from a viewpoint of their potential contribution to livestock feed improvement; their potential contribution to soil management has not been systematically assessed. This joint International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/IIASA work addresses the potential of both.

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