Design and evaluation of sustainable livestock farming systems in warm regions

Abstract

The processes for designing and evaluating innovative livestock systems in warm regions must take the specificities of these systems into account. In addition to the characteristics of the surrounding environment, these specific features are due to the non-productive functions of the livestock (savings bank on the hoof) and the complexity of management methods (in particular mobility) and are about who is « at the helm ». We discuss approaches to design, with notions of crystallisation, plasticity and development and we present the bases of the evaluation (environmental, chain, technico-economic) and its functions in the design process. We illustrate rule-based or innovative design supported by modelling, using examples in the West Indies (goat farming, mixed crop-livestock far-ming, with a strong biotechnical component), in La Réunion (dairy farming with a participative approach with farmers for building the model) and in Amazonia (decisional component including balances and interaction between farming and cropping activities- parti-cipative approach with territorial players). The diversity of cases underlines the stakes involved in design and evaluation : taking account of the diversity of systems in their technical and human components, participation of players in the approach, bio-technical developments and clarification of decisional processes, and thought given to indicators that are appropriate and relevant for livestock farmers.