Optimising crop-livestock systems in West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

• University of Mataram, Indonesia
• Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian, Indonesia

The economy of West Nusa Tenggara is based on agriculture, which contributes 38% of regional GDP and involves 70% of the population. Rice is the staple crop and maize, mungbean, cashew and coconut are grown as cash crops. Cattle are an important component of the farming systems in the region, with most households owning one to eight head of cattle, which are retained as a source of accumulated wealth and provide cash to meet household needs.
As a result of growing regional demand for beef increasing numbers of cattle, especially females, are being slaughtered. This combined with poor reproductive rates of cattle is causing a decline in cattle numbers in the region. Lower returns for rice and a rapid increase in the price of livestock has generated interest in increasing animal production in these farming systems.
An important socioeconomic feature of Sumbawa is that many farmers have only lived there for about a decade, having shifted as part of government-sponsored transmigration programs, and they have not yet built up a full understanding of the limitations and potential of their farming environment.
Integration of profitable livestock enterprises within smallholder farming systems in the region is particularly challenging because the nutrition of cattle is usually poor during the long dry season, when forages are in short supply and of low quality. The system analysis approach tasken in this project was designed to provide tools to explore a wide range of forage-crop options and trade-offs.

The primary aim of this project was to explore options for increasing the productivity of livestock enterprises in the crop-livestock systems practiced in semi-arid Sumbawa. Specific objectives were to develop a systems analysis framework for simulation of crop-forage-livestock systems relevant to current and potential farming enterprises, and to evaluate livestock enterprise options suitable for the region, including their socio-economic implications. The project would also build capacity of researchers and extension personnel in Mataram and Sumbawa in the areas of systems thinking and simulation modelling.

The basis of this project (and also of AS2/2000/124) was that the development of simulation models can enhance the understanding of crop-livestock systems, the more efficient use of existing resources and identify options for intervention which may be difficult or impossibly by conventional experimentation. While this was a not a new approach, the rationale for this investment was that there are significant similarities in the environments of Eastern Indonesia and Northern Australia, and significant experience and technology in Australia, especially at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. The addition of the livestock component was new in both Australia and Indonesia.
Activities in this project were divided into field surveys of households, collection of new data on livestock and other site-specific factors, computer modelling, and training. Field studies took a case study approach of Kempo, an upland village in Sumbawa, to characterise the existing farming system. Australian and Indonesian economists worked together to develop a framework for socioeconomic assessment and a survey of local households. They collected on-farm data of animal weights, feed and soil composition to input into the models being developed.
The Australian and Indonesian teams developed a set of farming scenarios for simulation and evaluation. The risks and economic consequences of the most desirable farming practices were evaluated in consultation with the research team, extension specialists and a target group of landholders.

There were substantial increases in capacity in the modeling of crop-livestock systems (in this project as well as AS2/2000/124) in both Australia and Indonesia and significant progress towards a functional model based on data collected at the sites in both Sumbawa and South Sulawesi (AS2/2000/124). This is the first time that such an integrated model has been developed. Reviewers commented that sustaining the research effort and its application as an extension training tool would require commitment within Indonesia to retain capacity in the use, development and general support of the systems model. They recommended that a pathway be identified towards a formal agreement between Indonesian counterpart organizations and the providers of software support for the APSIM and related programs.
The integrated model of crop-livestock systems in the tropics has multiple applications for research, training and extension. Reviewers highlighted the urgent need to clarify which of these roles is the primary objective of the project and to engage end-users at the earliest opportunity. This process was being followed up. Feedback from possible Indonesian users during the review indicated that stand-alone components of the full model could have value in themselves and may be more appropriate as training tools.