Challenges and prospects of integrating livestock into smallholder organic pineapple production in Uganda

S Nalubwama, M Vaarst*, F Kabi**, M Kiggundu**, F Bagamba**, C Odhong***, A Mugisha and N Halberg****

Department of Livestock and Industrial Resources, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala
drnalubwama@gmail.com
* Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark.
** Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala
*** College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 29053, Kenya
**** International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS), Denmark http://www.icrofs.org/

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate challenges of integrating livestock into organic pineapple farming so as to develop strategies to enhance integration of livestock for purposes of improving soil fertility for sustainable organic pineapple productivity among smallholder farmers. Such sustainable integrated production of crops and livestock was envisaged to improve quality of organic pineapples and animal products that can easily tap into niche organic markets. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, individual interviews were conducted among selected smallholder certified organic pineapple farmers in Kayunga and Luwero districts of Uganda.

Results showed that the organic pineapple farms in the study area varied widely. Average farm sizes were 4.8 acres in Kayunga and Luwero district. Farmers in both districts used family labor (72%) for most farm activities. However, hired labor was employed during periods of planting, weeding and harvesting of pineapples. The farms kept different livestock species mainly cows, goats, pigs and chicken. Majority of the organic farms in Kayunga (37.8%) and Luwero (41.5%) had two livestock species of mostly indigenous breeds. Tethering was the most common management system for ruminants while chicken and pigs were kept on free range. Chi-square tests showed a significant (P<0.05) relationship between management system and the breeds of cattle kept in the study area. Most indigenous breeds were tethered while cross breeds were zero grazed. The most common animal feed resources were natural pastures and crop residues.

Challenges encountered by the smallholder farmers were mainly feed shortages in the dry season, livestock pests, diseases and limited knowledge on organic husbandry practices. The major pests and diseases included helminths, ticks, East Coast fever and Newcastle disease. Despite being organic farms, the use of synthetic chemical drugs still remained the major intervention for animal disease control. The presence of non-organic herds and certified organic pineapple crops within the same production unit as well as pests and disease challenges to livestock production were identified as major obstacles for integrated crop-livestock production among the smallholder organic farmers. A move towards having organic farms orientated towards organic livestock production will possibly enable farmers benefit from a fully integrated organic system with the benefit of accessing niche markets for the organic animal products. Infrastructural development, research and improving farmer’s education are suggested strategies that might support integrated smallholder organic pineapple production.

Keywords: certified, farming system, nutrient recycling, organic principles, productivity, organic livestock production

Introduction

The world is under substantial pressure to reduce food insecurity, soaring food prices and deepening poverty due to the projected increase in human population of about 8.3 billion by 2030 (UNPP 2008). Increased population will certainly result into increase in demand for food and shelter which will otherwise impact on agricultural farming systems. There will be a need for more intensified systems as a result of multiple and competing pressures for producing feeds for livestock and food for human consumption (Herrero et al 2009a; McDermott et al 2010; Udo et al  2011). Since much of livestock production is generally more resource demanding, there is a great need to ensure that it develops in an economic but sustainable way which includes integrating animal production into existing crop farming systems and ensure local nutrient cycles. The newly established livestock-crop farming systems should then lead to increased food production without degrading the natural resources. Well-integrated systems may also be more environmentally friendly by producing animal feed or using by-products as feed, rather than transporting them over large distances. Livestock production systems are considered sustainable if they also support and promote animal welfare and health.

Crop-livestock systems are a backbone of sustainable pro-poor agricultural growth in tropical countries and they provide majority of the world’s milk and meat (Herrero et al 2009b; Herrero et al 2010; Wright et al 2011). Integrated crop-livestock systems revolve around the interactions of crop and livestock enterprises, for example with livestock providing draft power to cultivate the land and manure to fertilize the soil, and a diversity of crop residues as feed for livestock. However, in some instances mixed crop-livestock systems are not necessarily integrated especially where livestock production is only considered as a way of averting risk in case of crop failure. In both cases smallholder farming systems with mixed resources are challenged with how to ensure increased food production without compromising natural resources and rural livelihoods (Herrero et al 2010). Organic agriculture and food systems provide an interesting case of smallholder farmers’ intensification which not only gives possibility for income generation when markets involving premium prices for organic high value foods are available but also provide improved food security and natural resource management (Halberg et al 2006; Badgley et al 2007; Bolwig et al 2009; IAASTD 2009).

In Uganda, the majority of smallholder farmers operate mixed crop-livestock systems. The National Livestock Census revealed that 4.5 million households kept at least one type of livestock with the major ones being cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry (UBOS 2012). Smallholder organic pineapple farmers keep livestock, however, their livestock production is rarely certified as organic and some of the animal husbandry practices  do not live up to the organic principles (ie. confinement under zero grazing without room for exercise, spraying against ticks using inorganic acaricides and use of inorganic anthelmintics to control internal worms). In addition, there is no market pull for organic milk or meat. This trend needs to be solved so as to develop integrated organic farming systems. Presently, there is paucity of documented information on practices in these organic farming systems. Understanding the practices and the limitations to integration of livestock into organic crop production will give an insight into the future prospects of integrated and sustainable organic systems. This will enable development of innovative strategies to enhance integrated organic production, which will not only improve production of high value organic crops due to enhanced soil fertility, but also improve animal product quality and thus tap into the niche organic products market. The objective of this study was therefore to identify and document the practices, challenges and prospects of smallholder certified organic pineapple farmers who also keep livestock in two selected districts of central Uganda.

Materials and methods

Description of the study area

The cross-sectional study was conducted in Luwero and Kayunga districts in central Uganda. Both districts are principle areas for pineapple production in the country (UEPB 2005). Kayunga district is bordered by 6 districts with Luwero district to the west, it is situated about 74 km east of Kampala by road at an altitude of about 1000-1200m above seas level. Agro-economically the area relies mainly on agriculture which represents 90% of total employment. Luwero district is bordered by 5 districts including Kayunga district to the east. It is located about 75 km north of Kampala by road at an altitude of about 1082-1372m above sea level. Agriculture is also the mainstay of the district economy. Farmers in these two districts rely on rain fall for cultivation. The rainfall pattern is bimodal with the rainy seasons in March to May and October to November.

Sampling and data collection

Purposeful and snowball sampling methods were used to select the study site and population, respectively, as described by Broom (2005) and Gill et al (2008). Purposeful sampling was used to select farmers engaged in production of organic pineapple but also kept livestock. A total of 90 respondents were interviewed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. All interviews were conducted with household heads referred to as farmers in this article. These interviews were conducted in Luganda, the language used by the locals. The questionnaire included questions related to (1) demographic aspects (2) farm characteristics such as total land size, ownership and land use; (3) livestock management practices such as: feeding, breeding, manure use, diseases and pest incidences; (4) farmers’ experiences and challenges of organic farming including integration of livestock and adoption of organic husbandry practices. The questions on challenges related to integration were open ended, which allowed the farmer to explain in their own words how challenges were experienced. Other questions had a pre-defined list of optional answers where farmers were asked to give one or more answers depending on the question.

Data analysis

Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS statistical package. Chi-square tests were used to assess distribution patterns of farmers’ responses in the two districts studied while T- Tests were used to assess differences related to numeric variables. Differences with P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results

Description of organic farming households

Farmers interviewed included males (81%) and females (19%). The majority of the respondents had completed primary (48%) and secondary (48%) levels. In the two districts, 93% of the farmers depended on farming (93%) as their main source of income. Most households (57%) had more than 7 family members, 36% had 4-6 members and 6.7% had 1-3 members. Family labour (72%) and hired casual labour  (70%) were found to be the most common sources of labour for farming activities. Farmers reported using hired labour mainly for pineapple production . Farmers indicated that the main reason for converting to organic farming was premium prices obtained from organic products (64%). Other reasons for conversion included protection of the environment (24%) and influence from the neighbors (10%). Only 2% indicated that high expense associated with use of chemicals was the reason for their conversion. Farmers derived knowledge on organic practices from different sources such as their fellow farmers (44%), companies which traded organic products (34%), NGOs (15%), extension officers (3%) and mass media (4%). The majority of farmers (63.2%) had 5 or more years of experience of using organic practice on their farms.

Farm resources

Average size of the farm land was 4.8 and 10.1 acres in Kayunga and in Luwero districts, respectively. The average land size and acreage under pineapples were found to be significantly larger (P<0.05) in Luwero district than in Kayunga district (Table 1). The majority ( 73%) of farmers owned land they cultivated while the minority   had leases (12%) or both (13%). It was observed that organic farms had a diversity of vegetation and trees and land was divided into small plots where various cash and food crops were cultivated such as pineapples, coffee, maize beans, bananas, sweet potatoes and cassava. Major source of water for home use and livestock in Luwero district was bore holes (86.8%) while in Kayunga district it was protected wells (86%). During the dry seasons there was a risk of water scarcity in both areas.

Farmers in the two districts kept different livestock species, mainly cows, goats, pigs and chickens. Of all the species kept, significant difference was only found in the average number of chickens per farm in the two districts with farms in Luwero district having more chickens than Kayunga district (Table1). Most organic farms had two or three livestock species (Table 1). 

Within the farm families, women majorly owned the chickens (72%), pigs (55%) and goats (56%) while men owned the cattle (72%). The majority of organic farms in the two districts reared cattle and chickens (Fig 1).

Figure 1: A graph showing the proportions (%) of organic pineapple farms owning each livestock species in both Kayunga and Luwero districts.

Breeding and Breeds

Farmers had mainly indigenous breeds for cattle (62%), goats (97.8%), pigs (87.5%) and chickens (100%). Farmers reported that they crossed indigenous animals with exotics mainly to improve milk production. Natural mating was the most common method of breeding in cattle, goats and pigs in the two districts.

Management systems

The most common management system for cattle and goats was tethering during the day, while in the evening animal were returned to night kraals where supplementation with crop residues sometimes was done. Chickens and pigs were kept on free range where they were left to scavenge (Fig 2). There was a significant relationship (P= 0.047) between management system and breed of cattle. The majority of indigenous breeds (74.4%) was tethered while crossbreeds (83.3%) were zero grazed. Tethering involved an animal being tied with a rope around the neck or hind leg and taken to graze in a specific area from where it is transfered to fresh grazing areas from time to time. Such animals would or would not be supplemented when returned in the evening.

Figure 2: Livestock production systems classified based on farmers’ responses on feeding and housing of animals.

Animal feed resources

Natural pastures and crop residues were reported as the most common animal feeds in the study area (Table 2). Crop residues included: banana peels, sweet potato vines, banana pseudo stems and maize stover. It was indicated that animal feeds were either accessed from within the farms or from neighboring farms engaged in organic farming. Feed conservation was not a common practice as reported by 86% of the farmers. Those who conserved feed mainly used feed banks comprising of Napier grass. Trees which could potentially be used as fodder trees were kept on 61% of the farms:   ficus trees (72.7%), Calliandra (16.4%) and Girilicida (10.9%). Farmers reported using Calliandra and Gliricidia as supplement feeds for ruminants while ficus was used to provide shade rather than for feeding.

Animal housing and outdoor access

Sixty four percent of the farmers had no housing for any type of livestock but kept the animals under tree shades. Only 36% of the farmers had their animals provided with roofed shelters popularly known as zero grazing units mostly made for dairy cattle. Farmers indicated that these units gave some of them opportunity to collect manure used as compost in crop gardens. Seventy six percent of farmers interviewed indicated using manure in crops like bananas, pineapples and coffee plantations.

Tethering and free-range grazing systems provided the animals with outdoor access. It was revealed that 75% of the farmers in Luwero district accessed communal grazing land compared to 25% in Kayunga district. Whereas farmers in the two districts had 20-30% of the land reserved for grazing cows and goats, farmers in Kayunga district had this land mostly allocated to planting of improved pastures for stall feeding. However, the distances between these pasture lands and the zero grazing units were reported to be long for most farmers.

Disease and pest and management

Organic farmers reported various pests and diseases encountered in the different livestock species (Table 3). Among the organic farms that had cattle, helminths infestation and East Coast Fever were the most commonly experienced animal health challenges. There was a relationship between these challenges with animal breed and management system. Helminthes infestation seemed to occur more frequently (78%) in crossbreeds than in local breeds (48.3), but East Coast Fever and tick prevalence as indicated by cases reported by farmers were observed to be distributed similarly (ie in ranges of 42% - 50%) between breeds and husbandry systems. Kayunga district reported higher cases of helminths infestation and East Coast fever compared to Luwero district. But more cases of tick occurrence were reported in Luwero district (Table 3). Cattle diseases that were vaccinated against by some farmers included Trypanosomiasis (60%), Foot and mouth disease (27%) and East Coast fever (13%). Farmers who did not vaccinate animals indicated lack of service providers, yet others did not perceive it as necessary due to low risk of disease on their farms. Farms with goats reported helminthes as the major health challenge in free range (88%) and tethering (100%) systems. Farmers with pigs reported helminths and Swine fever as the most experienced health problems. Farmers who kept their pigs as free-range reported the highest cases of helminths (87.5%) and swine fever (62.5%). New Castle Disease was the major disease in chicken within free range (73%) and semi-intensive (100%) management systems. All interviewed farmers reported using synthetic veterinary drugs to control pests and diseases in livestock. However, some farmers reported use of herbal concoctions mostly in chicken. Organic farmers indicated that the continued use of conventional veterinary drugs resulted from limited alternatives available to them. Advice on treatment of livestock diseases was sought from different sources which included private veterinary practitioners (67.8%), fellow farmers (34.4%), government extension officers (15.6%) and NGOs (4.4%).

Challenges of integrated livestock production in organic farms

Farmers reported various challenges they face in livestock. Major challenges that affected the different livestock species in the two districts were dry season feed shortages and livestock diseases (Table 4). Farmers reported strategies devised to meet some of the challenges like use of crop residues and non-conventional feeds like pineapple wastes as well as use of herbal concoctions as remedies for livestock pests and diseases. High prevalence of endemic diseases and lack of knowledge were sighted as the main challenges that hindered farmers from adopting organic animal husbandry practices in both districts.

Discussion

Land availability and use on organic farms in Kayunga and Luwero districts

Several issues related to land availability came out of the results including land sizes in relation to the number of animals, land ownership, land fragmentation and prioritization of land use. This study revealed that smallholder organic farmers had an average of 5- 10 acres. The total land size was higher in Luwero than in Kayunga district. Land availability is central in determining the potential for organic livestock production since outdoor access is a requirement under organic animal husbandry (IFOAM 2000). The majority of farmers in the study area owned the land which probably enhanced their decision making on land use. Ownership to land provides security for long term investments like livestock production. Land fragmentation and prioritization of this land towards crop production, mainly pineapples, seemed to indicate a reduction in land available for livestock grazing. Such continued reduction in land might  lead to limited outdoor access for the animals (Udo et al 2011). This would probably compromise animal health and welfare which are crucial aspects in organic animal farming.

Diversity and integration of livestock species into the whole farming system

Organic farms had a high level of diversity of livestock, crops and vegetation. The most important reason reported for diversification among smallholder farmers include averting risk in case of crop failure and animals acting as cash banks (Prein 2002). The diversification of flora and fauna seen among organic farmers can be the basis of a well-balanced system, allowing integration for nutrient recycling and effective resource use (Zake et al 2010). Cattle are particularly capable of this with their capacity to collect, transport, convert and deposit nutrients, thereby improving nutrient management in resource scarce farming systems (Mubiru 2008). Various studies have been done in Uganda on the benefits of nutrient recycling on smallholder farms (Walaga et al 2000; Esilaba et al 2005; Mubiru 2008).

The predominant animal breeds in the study area were found to be indigenous but some farmers opted to cross breed, particularly the dairy cattle as a way of improving milk production. Tropical breeds are known to have unique and outstanding characteristics such as adaptability to hot environment and resistance to endemic diseases; their low productivity not withstanding (Olawuni 2013). The use of well-adapted breeds is one of the major characteristics given much emphasis in organic production systems. therefore,  disease prevention should  preferably be based on animal breed adaptability and diversity of flora and fauna (Magnusson 2001; Stockdale et al 2001). For example, among the local breeds of free range cattle in Uganda, it is common to see either the egret birds or the oxpeckers picking ticks from cattle. Similarly it is a common practice for farmers to use local herbal remedies such as Phytolacca dodecandra or Tephrosia spp. to control ticks. This scenario of high prevalence of livestock diseases and pests under humid and high temperatures of the tropics can only be tolerated by indigenous breed. Therefore, infrastructural development, research and improving farmer’s knowledge on how to select for particular production traits from indigenous livestock based on organic farming principles under tropical conditions are suggested strategies that might support integrated smallholder organic pineapple production

Animal feed resources and management practices

Natural pastures were found to be the most common feed resource for ruminants in the area. Heavy dependence on natural pastures with limited avenues for conservation and animal supplementation characterized free range and tethering  management practices by smallholder farmers. Since free range and tethering are communal in practice with animals being moved from one place to the other. This might also facilitate spread of diseases and pests. These practices challenge the health situation on the farms which probably explains why disease and feeds came out as the biggest challenges in the study area. The availability of natural pastures is dependent on availability of rainfall, therefore during the dry seasons there is always drastic scarcity of this resource. In addition, nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in many tropical pastures (Bogale et al 2008). From this study it is seen that farmers have small sizes of land, mainly dedicated to crop production, which implies that availability of land for sufficient animal grazing is a limiting factor for adequate animal feeding which might result in compromised immunity of animals, thus increasing their risk to diseases (Zollitsch et al 2004). Farmers have mitigated  this challenge by either using crop residues as supplements to grazing pastures or adopting an intensification system, where cross-bred dairy cattle  under stall feeding are fed on improved fodder such as elephant grass and fodder legumes such as Calliandra and Gliricidia. . The use of crop residues in the study area has been possible because as the dry season approaches, harvesting of crops like pineapples and maize are at the peak, providing an available resource that farmers can opt to use as animal feed or  as compost. In addition, some farmers used fodder trees as animal feed, however the core purpose for such trees was to act as hedge to prevent soil erosion or provide shade. Studies have indicated that animals with access to fodder trees have shown better performance than those kept on natural pastures in terms of milk yield, weight gain, reproduction performance and survival rates (Norton 1994; Elbasha et al 1999).

The common management system among smallholder organic farmers was found to be tethering and free-range. This is consistent with results of earlier studies among other smallholder farmers in Uganda (Lubwama 2002; Kirunda and Mukiibi-Muka 2006; Byarugaba 2007). These management systems provide animals with sufficient outdoor access as required by the organic livestock standards (IFOAM 2000). Although tethering and free-range systems provide outdoor access, a requirement in the organic standards and desirable practices in organic animal husbandry, it increases the risk of animals coming into contact with a broad range of environmental pathogens which might comprise animal health (Kijlstra and Eijck 2006).

It is also likely that tethering impairs animal welfare which is contrary to organic values. Collectively, the two types   of management system face future challenges of reduced grazing land as a result of farmers opening up more land for cultivation of organic pineapples that have higher economic returns. Therefore, there is need for strategies to intensify livestock production under organic farming systems.

The majority of farmers kept their animals under tree shades which act as ‘night kraals’, with a few farmers having sheds mainly for dairy animals. Animal housing serves several purposes, like to maintain animals in good health and keeping them tidy. Maintenance of health and welfare is a major objective of organic animal production (Hovi et al 2003; Vaarst and Alrøe 2011). Moreover, appropriate housing should address the behavioral need of the animals, paying attention to aspects including floor characteristics, locomotion area, stocking rates, and husbandry practices (Sundrum 2001). The absence of appropriate housing  would increase  animal stress that may render animals more susceptible to reduced immunity.

The absence of control over manure on smallholder organic farms results into loss of this vital resource, much of which is lost while animals are grazing in fields and roadsides. The manure that is available in ‘night kraals’, though reported to be used as fertilizer in crops, often runs off when it rains. One of the benefits of animals in an integrated system is to provide manure important for nutrient cycling (Zake et al 2010, Mubiru et al 2011). However, this benefit can be amassed if animal housing is considered as one of the essential farm structures. The limitation organic farmers currently face is lack of funds to invest into infrastructural development. Similarly, their livestock productivity  is still minimal  and not yet developed. Smallholder organic farmers are faced with a dilemma of whether to house animals indoors for purposes of accumulating manure for crop production or give them outdoor access for welfare reasons. A solution to this dilemma faced by the smallholder organic farmers could be to allow animals access to free range area during the day and bring them into sheds or night kraals overnight, which would allow collecting roughly half of the manure they excrete. This kind of management strategy is recommended since it can enable farmers to address manure access and animal welfare which are both important in organic farming.

Disease and pest management

This study revealed that helminths were the most common health concern on organic farms. These results are consistent with other studies which reported high prevalence of helminths under organic/ free range systems (Permin et al 1999; Lindqvist et al 2001; Carstensen et al 2002; Phiri et al 2007; Mukaratirwa and Khumalo 2010; Obonyo et al 2012). Ticks were another threat to ruminants, especially cattle. There were many cases of tick bites reported in Luwero district, yet more cases of East Coast Fever were registered in herds in Kayunga district. The high prevalence of ticks in Luwero district were possibly due to the management system which involved outdoor grazing that exposed animals to ticks on the pastures. However, since local breeds with better resistance to tick borne diseases were predominant, this reduced the occurrence of ECF. The reports on tick infestation in Kayunga district were low, probably because many farmers managed their cattle under zero grazing systems. However, the high occurrence of ECF reported was probably due to presence of cross-breeds with less resistance which were predominant under the zero grazing system. This demonstrates that it is probably not only land use that might deter farmers from having their herds outdoors, but also the disease and breed interaction. Findings in this study are similar to other studies which revealed that tick borne diseases are a major challenge for livestock production in the tropics (Vaarst et al 2006; Nalubwama et al 2011; Reye et al 2012) and a cause of mortality in calves among East African indigenous cattle (Homewood et al 2006).

Parasite infestation might result into infection depending on the infectious load, the nutritional and immune status of the animals (Kijlstra and Eijck 2006). Studies have developed parasite control measures including biological control of helminths, using certain strains of fungi such as Duddingtonia flagrans, frequent rotation, lower stocking rates or alternate grazing with other species (Thamsborg 2001). These strategies might also be useful in organic farms where reliance on synthetic veterinary drugs is regarded as an unsustainable strategy.  Further research and development in practice is needed on the implementation, functioning and reliability of these concepts under the condition of organic farming in central Uganda.

 Organic pineapple farmers mostly used synthetic veterinary drugs to manage livestock disease in the two districts with a few exceptions where herbal concoctions were used mainly to treat some infections in chicken. Similar results were reported by studies done in Uganda (Vaarst et al 2006; Vaarst et al 2008). Existing indigenous knowledge might also provide prospects for developing alternative remedies for animal diseases and pests under organic farming.

Challenges of integrating livestock in organic farms

Livestock diseases and feed were the main challenges for livestock production among the organic pineapple farmers. These results are in agreement with studies already done by other researchers which indicated high prevalence of endemic diseases and inadequate feeds in tropical regions (Vaarst et al 2006; Bogale et al 2008; Vaarst et al 2008; Nalubwama et al 2011). Farmers also reported limited knowledge in organic animal farming which probably explains their continued use of conventional practices in managing livestock diseases. Moreover, farmers perceived the use of synthetic remedies as a more expensive and unsustainable approach to livestock production yielding no  impressive solution to pests and disease management. There is therefore a desperate need for development of functioning organic alternatives that are cheaper and effective in the pest and disease control in this hot and humid environment.

Although lack of organic feeds may not be of great priority for farmers in the study area, since they do not practice organic livestock farming, lack of feeds in general and particularly in dry seasons causes a big challenge to livestock production in the tropics (Bogale et al 2008; Vaarst et al 2008). This mainly results from over reliance on natural pastures coupled with limited supplementation of ruminants as seen in this study. On the other hand, pig and poultry production is heavily dependent on supply of high protein level diets which are limited in many organic systems. The solution might be in feeding of high protein cereals; however these are competed for as food for humans. In conventional systems, provision of supplementary synthetic feed additives might be a solution but this is not acceptable in organic farming (IFOAM 2000). Further research and development in organic feeds is therefore needed to deal with nutritional challenges in organic farming systems.

Integration of livestock into smallholder organic certified pineapple farms

Although there is some level of integration of livestock with organic pineapple production as evidenced by use of animal manure to fertilize pineapple fields and pineapple wastes as feed for animals, nutrient recycling was observed to be low for a majority of farms. Ironically, even in Kayunga district with more zero grazing units and with better possibilities of obtaining manure, most farmers did not use manure in pineapple production, probably because they depended on coffee husks as was observed on many farms. In Luwero district, where animals are either on free range or tethered, they dropped much of the manure on grazing grounds and therefore farmers were not able to gather it for recycling in pineapple gardens. Farmers are only able to utilize manure that remains in ‘night kraals’ but priority is given to bananas and coffee plantations and to a lesser extent to pineapple gardens. Possibly the high variability in nitrogen (5±1.5)  and phosphorus  (3±1.5) content  of solid cattle manure as shown   in many studies (Murwira et al 1995; Reynolds and De Leeuw 1995; Madiagne et al 1999; Rufino et al 2006)  make the natural soil amendement an undependable source of plant nutrients . Failure to optimally use manure can also be attributed to inadequate volumes required for pineapple production (5 to 10 tonnes per hectare)  due to small herd sizes, fear of weed disposal and introducing pests in the pineapple fields plus lack of appropriate infrastructure and equipment for manure collection, management and handling (Baltenweck et al 2007; Zake et al 2010). It was observed that farmers in Luwero district mostly cultivated pineapples mainly on previously fallowed land unlike in Kayunga district where such land is not available due to higher population density. Since land under fallow is normally fertile, there is less need to use manure or coffee husks in pineapple production in Luwero district. Farmers are also challenged with having non-organic livestock enterprise with certified pineapples located on the same piece of land.

Farmers reported feeding livestock with pineapple wastes including crowns, peels and the pith which are palatable to the animals. This is probably because pineapples contain large quantities of sugars but relatively little fibre. The leaves and skin of the fruit have also been used in Asia as anthelmintic preparations for livestock (Jovellanos 1997; Baldo 2001). However, the increased use of pineapple wastes as feed for livestock on organic pineapple farms has been limited by lack of sufficient knowledge of ways to transform such residues into a form with a longer shelf life. On the other hand, large volumes of organic pineapple wastes are accumulated at processing centers which are far from the farms, thus creating an additional challenge of transportation from the processing centers to the farms. These challenges have limited full integration of livestock into organic pineapple production among smallholder farmers. Other studies have also indicated the benefits and complexities of smallholder integrated crop-livestock systems (Alice 1999; Thornton and Herrero 2001; Zake et al 2010; Mubiru et al 2011).

Conclusions and future perspectives

• Although organic farming requires that the whole farming system should be operated following strict organic farming principles, this holistic concept is not implemented on the farms studied herein: Farms in the study area practice livestock production which is not certified as organic and animals are majorly not kept in accordance with the organic principles under the same production unit with certified organic pineapple production which presents a dilemma of whether the two forms of agricultural production can be integrated. The smallholder farms were found to be diversified with various animals and several crops, making it a good basis for developing an integrated and sustainable system. Although there was indication of nutrient flows between animals and pineapples on the farms, manure was not the main source of fertilizer for organic pineapples. In addition, farmers were not fully utilizing pineapple products in livestock production. Integration of livestock and organic pineapple production can be developed further by tackling the specific challenges of infrastructural development, research and improving farmer’s knowledge on livestock production based on organic farming principles under tropical conditions. In addition, a move towards having organic pineapple farms in Uganda orientated towards organic livestock production will enable farmers to benefit from a fully integrated system for improving soil fertility and production of quality organic animal products for markets and home consumption.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Danish Agency for International Development DANIDA for its financial support to the project, Productivity and Growth in Organic Value Chains (ProGroV) which funded this study. We are also grateful to Gidi Smolders from orgANIMprove NL for reviews provided during data analysis.

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Received 25 March 2014; Accepted 18 April 2014; Published 1 June 2014

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