Whole-farm economic and risk effects of conservation agriculture in a crop-livestock system in western China

Adam M. Komarek, LingLing Li and William D. Bellotti

Agricultural Systems, 2015, vol. 137, issue C, 220-226

Abstract: Researchers advocate using conservation agriculture as a tool to improve farmer livelihoods, with crop residue retention being an integral component of conservation agriculture. Crop residues are used for mulch, livestock feed, and fuel material in crop-livestock farming systems. In this article, we conducted long-term simulation modelling to compare the economic effects of different crop residue retention practices for a crop-livestock agricultural household in semi-arid China. We calculated the average profit and net present value (and associated variability) of different crop residue retention practices using planning horizons of 3, 6, 10, and 20 years. Crop residue retention increased grain production, reduced forage production leading to smaller livestock flock sizes, and increased family heating and cooking costs. The net effect was that retaining minimal crop residues gave the highest profits using the three year planning horizon.

Keywords: China; Crop-livestock systems; Crop residues; Simulation model; Variability; Whole-farm economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agisys:v:137:y:2015:i:c:p:220-226

DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2014.10.013

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