Developing Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems with Resilience to Climate Change

Dear Colleagues,

The effects of current and projected phenomena connected to climate change on agriculture and livestock farming systems are known only at a large-scale dimension. At the same time, little is known about interactions among climate change components with agroecological, e.g., soil, water, crops, forages, animals, biodiversity, and socioeconomic components. Under such a scenario, there is an increasing demand for food at world level, especially for animal-sourced food, due to the massive population growth and the improvement of economic condition in some large and populous areas. The key challenges for the agricultural sector in the next decades will be to give an answer to the demand for more food, adopting production systems inspired by the three pillars of sustainability that can at the same time guarantee productivity and profitability under climate change conditions, taking into consideration also environmental and social issues. Diversification and integration of farming systems has been gaining increased interest in recent years from scientists, technicians, and producers, as a model effective in counteracting vulnerabilities and uncertainties, more sustainable compared to segregated and specialized farming systems coming from the industrial revolution developed over the last few decades.

Integrated crop–livestock farming systems (ICLS) have the potential to reduce the environmental impact, representing a possible buffer against environmental degradation, compared to specialized farming systems. The development of biophysical and biochemical simulation models is necessary for a better definition of indices useful for the measurement of resources use efficiency, soil carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emission, and soil and water quality. Not negligible are the potential ecosystem services associated to ICLS, such as the increase of the wildlife habitat connected to good farming practices. The economic efficiency of ICLS can be measured on the basis of overall diversified incomes, also taking into account, among all costs, the reduction of production costs and the reduction of risks due to market fluctuation. The future development of ICLS under a scenario of climate change should be driven by agroecological principles, with the objective of an environmentally sustainable intensification. Forages and correct forage utilization (e.g., appropriate grazing management systems) is expected to play a central role in ICLS, for agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability; livestock nutrition; and quality products. Strong effort should be directed towards the study and reproduction of seeds of local forage varieties adapted to the environment. There is also a need for the study and adoption of appropriate crop varieties, tolerant to stress (drought, salinity, pests) and useful to improve agriculture productivity and resilience. In this context, further studies are necessary to find new solutions for crop residue utilization and valorization. Considering the negative direct and indirect impacts of climate on livestock animals, particularly heat stress, research should be addressed at finding synergic solutions for mitigation and adaptation at farm level. ICLS also include the practices of agroforestry, which represents an interesting perspective in many parts of the world, both in tropical and in temperate areas. The global importance of ICLS at world level is not well known, as well as the roles they are playing for local economies, and the particularity and complexities of each system as a result of interactions among many physical, social, and agronomic components. Such comprehension is necessary before planning, prioritizing, and implementing actions for national and subnational plans. Very often, there are some barriers for the adoption of ICLS, which require the involvement of farmers and the adoption of a participatory evaluation approach.

The success of ICLS will depend largely on the possibility to apply agricultural and environmental policies that incentivize mixed crop–livestock farming, with an adequate knowledge support system (e.g., precise farming and climate smart options), encouraging the development of farming technology and innovative management practices.

Prof. Bruno Ronchi
Guest Editor

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mixed farming systems;

crop production;

livestock farming;

food security;

climate change;

environmental impact;

adaptation;

resilience;

mitigation;

risk reduction;

sustainability;

sustainable intensification;

productivity and profitability;

ecosystem services;

farming technology;

management practices;

agricultural policies;

knowledge support;

research and extension;

agroforestry;

forages;