Agrosilvopastoral Systems

Integrated crop-livestock production systems cushion each sector from external pressure and optimize economic, social and environmental conditions.
Integrated crop-livestock production systems cushion each sector from external pressure and optimize economic, social and environmental conditions.

ICARDA’s integrated approach towards more productive and sustainable crop-livestock systems focuses on farmer- and community-based solutions for improving sheep and goat production, sustainable management and restoration of rangelands, production of water-efficient dryland forages, and better integration of crop and livestock in mixed dryland systems.

Our innovations reduce the environmental footprint of dryland agriculture and aim for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) through restoration measures that adapt to climate change. We also deliver knowledge and skills to rural households to ensure product safety and maximum benefits from value addition.

Our work in resilient crop-livestock systems is carried out by our Resilient Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Systems (RASP) team and its sub-teams, developing integrated innovation packages for livestock-based systems in low rainfall areas to improve livelihoods and increase system resilience. RASP also conducts research related to small ruminant (sheep and goats) genetics, breeding, feeding and health, dryland forages, rangeland ecology and management, and ecosystem restoration.

Watch and learn about our climate smart approaches for sustainable production of forage crops!
 

Our Innovations

 ICARDA innovations help countries and communities strengthen their adaptation to climate change and transition towards food and nutritional security.

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Selected Doyogena ram for use in artificial insemination

 

OUR CROP-LIVESTOCK EXPERTS

Our research teams provide integrated packages that help farmers to implement our innovations and new approaches and allow them to flourish:

Latest News

A pastoralist with his flock of goats in Lebanon – Photo: Mounir Louhaichi/ICARDA
Blog
Pastoral mobility enables herders to adapt to dryland variability by moving livestock in response to shifting forage and water resources. Supporting mobility through flexible land and water governance distributes grazing pressure, restores rangelands, and strengthens ecosystem resilience, making mobile pastoralism a key nature-based solution for sustainable land management in dryland regions.
Goats
News

ICARDA and its partners in Tunisia and Ethiopia launched a new project, “Low-methane genetics expansion to small ruminants in Africa and Asia,” funded by...

National workshop on Small Ruminant Value Chain Transformation (SmaRT) - Ethiopia
News
Policymakers, researchers, universities, development partners, and private-sector actors gathered in Addis Ababa for a national workshop on Small Ruminant Value Chain Transformation (SmaRT).

Featured Innovations