Locally Adapted Machinery Solutions For Sustainable Intensification Of Crop-livestock Systems In Tunisia

Abstract

Small crop-livestock systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) such as North African
ones are characterized by low mechanization levels, thus undermining their productivity and
sustainability. Machinery being promoted in local markets are made and imported mostly from
industrial Countries where farm systems are larger in terms of size. Prices of these machines are
unaffordable for small to medium sized land-holding farmers who remain incapable of upgrading
and modernizing their farming operations. Through its work on crop livestock integration under
conservation agriculture (CLCA) and the CRP livestock (feed and forage flagship), ICRADA and
its national partners in Tunisia have been working on developing small machineries well adapted
to small farming systems, and contributing to crops rotations through inclusion of forage crops,
enhance the quality of animal feed, and allow to reduce the impact of livestock grazing on soil
covers. These machines include “small mobile seed cleaning and treatment unit” and “small
mobile feed-grinder machine”, etc. and were all locally manufactured at low cost. Adapted
business models have been developed to further deploy these machines to small and medium
farmers’ cooperatives and other potential machinery service delivery enterprises, thus
contributing to diversify and enhance their respective incomes