Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Eliel GONZÁLEZ-GARCÍA, Laurence FORTUN-LAMOTHE, Magali JOUVEN,Davi SAVIETTO, Marielle THOMAS,
Jean-Yves DOURMAD, Christian DUCROT, Muriel TICHIT and Bertrand DUMONT
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE (INRA), FRANCE
Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in Europe and Central Asia Budapest -- November 23-25th, 2016
Livestock and Agroecology Redesigning animal production systems
in the 21st century
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Climatic Change
Decline of « fossil energy era »
Economical and financial crises
Globalisation
Loss of agricultural land and biodiversity (ex. erosion, desertification, wars…)
Context and challenges
World population growth and demands
Urbanization
Poor population and hungry
A complex and unfair world…
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
AGRICULTURE (& animal production sector) => highly concerned!!
In terms of:- Food and nutrition security- Land occupation and efficiency of natural resources use- GHG emission, biodiversity and environment conservation- Employment generation- …..
… BUT Animal sector is urged to change its practices
societal pressure: considered a major cause of world’s most pressing environmental problems
14.5%of world GHG
emissions(cattle 9.3%)
35%of crop production 30%
of ice free land
1.3billion ‘jobs’
Proteins, manure, draught power,
bank, social roles, etc.
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
A pertinent and adapted approach for planning future development of agricultural sector
=> considering major economical, environmental and societal issues
However, paradoxically, animal sector has been largely ignored until recently in the agroeocological paradigm (i.e. focus on agricultural sector)
‘The problem lies not in the animals themselves or in the consumption of animal
products, but rather in the way they are integrated into agroecosystems. […]
Understanding the integration of the animal in its agroecosystem provides levers to
ensure sustainable environmental and economic concerns’ (Gliessman 2007)
Agroecology => for a required change
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Contribution of INRA researchers for filling this gap
A multidisciplinary team carried out a deep and consensual work looking for:
- Defining key principles on which animal production systems (APS) must focus to achieve the required agroecological transition
- Proposing the main research issues deserving the attention of animal science community (a “research agenda”)
By carrying out:
- Updating the state of the art (sounds literature reviews) and taking into account the “feeling” and position of all stakeholders- Deep collective reflection (i.e. brainstorming and feedbacks with the
scientific community)
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
5) Preserving biodiversity by
adapting management
practices
4) Enhancing diversity for increasing
system resilience
2) Reducing inputs by relying
on natural processes
3) Decreasing pollution by optimizing
“metabolic” functioning of
farming systems
1) Adopting integrated
management of animal health
1) Five ecological principles (Dumont et al., 2013; inspired from Altieri, 2002)
Animal (2013), 7:6, pp 1028–1043
5 principles
Connect, diversify & integrate!
Be autonomous!
Be clean!
Protect and defend local natural and cultural richness!
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Principles may be combined in a range of farming systems (ruminants, pigs, poultry, aquaculture…) and intensification levels
IMPORTANT: Agroecology and industrial ecology can be seen as part of a continuum to ensure livestock farming sustainability without refusing technological progress!!!:
role of biotechnology Livestock precision farming technologies
Animal (2013), 7:6, pp 1028–1043
Animal (2014), 8:8, pp 1382–1393
System components
Designof agro-
ecological systems
Scaling-up agroecological
APS
Evaluation
2) A RESEARCH AGENDA WITH PRIORITY ISSUES
Increased knowledge will put the animal sector in a
better position to cope with the coming
challenges (not yet fully investigated from an
ecological perspective)
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Designof agro-
ecological systems
Evaluation
Scaling-up agroecological
APS
System components
Resources
Housing
Animals Economy
Environment
Social
Rules for scaling-up
Social and ethical issues
Public actionEXAMPLE of questions
Animal and flock level
Animal (2014), 8:8, pp 1382–1393
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Animal adaptive capacities: A HIERARCHICAL APPROACH
Transversals, interdisciplinary actions
Genome
Organ
Individual
Flock
Farm-Environment
Epigenetic marks contributing to adaptations
Improving digestive capacity
Robustness: - Adaptation to heat stress- Efficiency in body reserves administration
- Learning processes- Group selection
Managing for resilience: adapting farming systems to risks and alias
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Designof agro-
ecological systems
Evaluation
Scaling-up agroecological
APS
System components
Resources
Housing
Animals Economy
Environment
Social
Rules for scaling-up
Social and ethical issues
Public action
System design
Animal (2014), 8:8, pp 1382–1393
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Valuing interactions among system components Propose context-appropriate combinations of plant and animal
components under “human monitoring and control”
Key words:Þ Biomass and
nutrient recyclingÞ Life cycles
interactionsÞ System components
complementaritiesÞ Short-, medium and
long-term visionÞ quantification of
ecosystem servicesÞ …
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
Final considerations Agroecology for moving APS toward sustainability:
a pertinent scientific and operational framework implies a more dynamic and integrative perception of
each system component and their interactions requiring a paradigm shift: putting ‘Knowledge as central
and key input! interdisciplinary research (animal sciences, ecology,
social sciences…) in connection with local initiatives Promoting coexistence of AE principles with those of
industrial ecology, urban agriculture…, to reach common objectives!!!
Animal Physiology & Livestock Systems
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in Europe and Central Asia Budapest -- November 23-25th, 2016
Livestock and Agroecology Redesigning animal production systems
in the 21st century