EXPLORING THE RECYCLING OF MANURE FROM URBAN LIVESTOCK FARMS: A CASE STUDY IN ETHIOPIA

Highlights

• Livestock manure was the main organic waste in urban and peri-urban areas.

• Manure production will increase by a factor of 3–10 between 2015–2050.

• Only 13%–38% of excreted N by livestock will be recycled in croplands.

• Intensification of urban livestock production greatly increased N surpluses.

• Reducing population growth and increasing livestock productivity needed.

Abstract

Urban population growth is driving the expansion of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in developing countries. UPA is providing nutritious food to residents but the manures produced by UPA livestock farms and other wastes are not properly recycled. This paper explores the effects of four scenarios: (1) a reference scenario (business as usual), (2) increased urbanization, (3) UPA intensification, and (4) improved technology, on food-protein self-sufficiency, manure nitrogen (N) recycling and balances for four different zones in a small city (Jimma) in Ethiopia during the period 2015-2050. An N mass flow model with data from farm surveys, field experiments and literature was used. A field experiment was conducted and N use efficiency and N fertilizer replacement values differed among the five types of composts derived from urban livestock manures and kitchen wastes. The N use efficiency and N fertilizer replacement values were used in the N mass flow model.

Livestock manures were the main organic wastes in urban areas, although only 20 to 40% of animal-sourced food consumed was produced in UPA, and only 14 to 19% of protein intake by residents was animal-based. Scenarios indicate that manure production in UPA will increase 3 to 10 times between 2015 and 2050, depending on urbanization and UPA intensification. Only 13 to 38% of manure N will be recycled in croplands. Farm-gate N balances of UPA livestock farms will increase to>1 t·ha⁻¹ in 2050. Doubling livestock productivity and feed protein conversion to animal-sourced food will roughly halve manure N production.

Costs of waste recycling were high and indicate the need for government incentives. Results of these senarios are wake-up calls for all stakeholders and indicate alternative pathways.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

compost / food self-sufficiency / livestock production / nitrogen balance / nitrogen use efficiency / scenario analysis

References

[1] The United Nations (UN), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision (ST/ESA/SER.A/420). New York: UN, 2019

[2] Swain B B, Teufel N. The impact of urbanization on crop-livestock farming system: a comparative case study of India and Bangladesh. Journal of Social and Economic Development, 2017, 19(1): 161–180

[3] Yu C Q, Xiao Y C, Ni S Q. Changing patterns of urban-rural nutrient flows in China: driving forces and options. Science Bulletin, 2017, 62(2): 83–91

[4] van Beek C L, Elias E, Yihenew G S, Heesmans H, Tsegaye A, Feyisa H, Tolla M, Melmuye M, Gebremeskel Y, Mengist S. Soil nutrient balances under diverse agro-ecological settings in Ethiopia. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2016, 106(3): 257–274

[5] Agegnehu G, Amede T. Integrated soil fertility and plant nutrient management in tropical agro-ecosystems: a review. Pedosphere, 2017, 27(4): 662–680

[6] Teshome M. Population growth and cultivated land in rural Ethiopia: land use dynamics, access, farm size, and fragmentation. Resources and Environment, 2014, 4(3): 148–161

[7] Di Falco S, Veronesi M, Yesuf M. Does adaptation to climate change provide food security? A micro-perspective from Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2011, 93(3): 829–846

[8] Tesfaye K, van Ittersum M K, Wiebe K, Boogaard H, Radeny M, Solomon D. Can Ethiopia feed itself by 2050? Estimating cereal self-sufficiency to 2050. CCAFS Policy Brief no. 12. Wageningen, the Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), 2018

[9] Kwasi A A. Urban and peri-urban agriculture in developing countries studied using remote sensing and in situ methods. Remote Sensing, 2010, 2(2): 497–513

[10] Mulugeta M. The need for policy framework for urban/peri-urban agriculture in Ethiopia: a reflection. Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013, 9(1): 79–109

[11] Tadesse S T, Oenema O, van Beek C L, Ocho F L. Diversity and nutrient balances of urban and peri-urban farms in Ethiopia. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2018, 111(1): 1–18

[12] Thornton P K. Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 2010, 365(1554): 2853–2867

[13] Nigussie A, Kuyper T W, de Neergaard A. Agricultural waste utilisation strategies and demand for urban waste compost: evidence from smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. Waste Management, 2015, 44: 82–93

[14] Horrocks A, Curtin D, Tregurtha C, Meenken E. Municipal compost as a nutrient source for organic crop production in New Zealand. Agronomy, 2016, 6(2): 35

[15] Jara-Samaniego J, Pérez-Murcia M D, Bustamante M A, Paredes C, Pérez-Espinosa A, Gavilanes-Terán I, López M, Marhuenda-Egea F C, Brito H, Moral R. Development of organic fertilizers from food market waste and urban gardening by composting in Ecuador. PLoS One, 2017, 12(7): e0181621

[16] Withers P J, van Dijk K C, Neset T S, Nesme T, Oenema O, Rubæk G H, Schoumans O F, Smit B, Pellerin S. Stewardship to tackle global phosphorus inefficiency: the case of Europe. Ambio, 2015, 44: 193–206

[17] Wolka K, Melaku B. Exploring selected plant nutrient in compost prepared from food waste and cattle manure and its effect on soil properties and maize yield at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. Environmental Systems Research, 2015, 4(1): 9

[18] Jagisso Y, Aune J, Angassa A. Unlocking the agricultural potential of manure in agropastoral systems: traditional beliefs hindering its use in southern ethiopia. Agriculture, 2019, 9(3): 45

[19] Tadesse S T, Oenema O, van Beek C, Ccho F L. Nitrogen allocation and recycling in peri-urban mixed crop-livestock farms in Ethiopia. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2019, 115(2): 281–294

[20] Satterthwaite D. The impact of urban development on risk in sub-Saharan Africa’s cities with a focus on small and intermediate urban centers. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2017, 26: 16–23

[21] Allen A. Environmental planning and management of the peri-urban interface: perspectives on an emerging field. Environment and Urbanization, 2003, 15(1): 135–147

[22] Opitz I, Berges B, Piorr A, Kriker T. Contributing to food security in urban areas: differences between urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North. Agriculture and Human Values, 2016, 33(2): 341–358

[23] Makita K, Fèvre E M, Waiswa C, Bronsvoort M D C, Eisler M C, Welburn S C. Population-dynamics focussed rapid rural mapping and characterisation of the peri-urban interface of Kampala, Uganda. Land Use Policy, 2010, 27(3): 888–897

[24] Lupindu A M. Public health aspect of manure management in urban and peri-urban livestock farming in developing countries 2017

[25] Zhu Y G, Reid B J, Meharg A A, Banwart S A, Fu B J. Optimizing Peri-URban Ecosystems (PURE) to re-couple urban-rural symbiosis. Science of the Total Environment, 2017, 586: 1085–1090

[26] Abebe M S, Derebew K T, Gemeda D O. Exploiting temporal-spatial patterns of informal settlements using GIS and remote sensing technique: a case study of Jimma city, Southwestern Ethiopia. Environmental Systems Research, 2019, 8(1): 6

[27] Schönfeldt H C, Gibson Hall N. Dietary protein quality and malnutrition in Africa. British Journal of Nutrition, 2012, 108(Suppl 2): S69–S76

[28] Ayele Z, Peacock C. Improving access to and consumption of animal source foods in rural households: the experiences of a women-focused goat development program in the highlands of Ethiopia. Journal of Nutrition, 2003, 133(Suppl 2): 3981–3986

[29] Ghosh P R, Fawcett D, Sharma S B, Poinern G E J. Progress towards sustainable utilization and management of food wastes in the global economy. International Journal of Food Sciences, 2016, 2016(1): 1–22

[30] Alexander P, Brown C, Arneth A, Finnigan J, Moran D, Rounsevell M D A. Losses, inefficiencies and waste in the global food system. Agricultural Systems, 2017, 153: 190–200

[31] Enahoro D, Lannerstad M, Pfeifer C, Dominguez-Salas P. Contributions of livestock-derived foods to nutrient supply under changing demand in low- and middle-income countries. Global Food Security, 2018, 19: 1–10

[32] van Vuuren D P, Kok M, Lucas P L, Prins A G, Alkemade R, van den Berg M, Bouwman L, van der Esch S, Jeuken M, Kram T, Stehfest E. Pathways to achieve a set of ambitious global sustainability objectives by 2050: explorations using the IMAGE integrated assessment model. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2015, 98: 303–323

[33] Workicho A, Belachew T, Feyissa G T, Wondafrash B, Lachat C, Verstraeten R, Kolsteren P. Household dietary diversity and animal source food consumption in Ethiopia: evidence from the 2011 Welfare Monitoring Survey. BMC Public Health, 2016, 16(1): 1192

[34] de Bruyn J, Ferguson E, Allman-Farinelli M, Darnton-Hill I, Maulaga W, Msuya J, Alders R. Food composition tables in resource-poor settings: exploring current limitations and opportunities, with a focus on animal-source foods in sub-Saharan Africa. British Journal of Nutrition, 2016, 116(10): 1709–1719

[35] Ma L, Ma W Q, Velthof G L, Wang F H, Qin W, Zhang F S, Oenema O. Modeling nutrient flows in the food chain of China. Journal of Environmental Quality, 2010, 39(4): 1279–1289

[36] Wang M R, Ma L, Strokal M, Chu Y N, Kroeze C. Exploring nutrient management options to increase nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiencies in food production of China. Agricultural Systems, 2018, 163: 58–72

[37] Caria S. Industrialization on a Knife’s Edge Productivity, Labor Costs and the Rise of Manufacturing in Ethiopia. Policy Research Working Paper 8980, World bank, 2019

[38] Tiquia S M, Richard T L, Honeyman M S. Carbon, nutrient, and mass loss during composting. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2002, 62(1): 15–24

[39] Snijders P J M, Snijders P J M, Davies O, Wouters A P, Gachimbi L, Zake J, Ergano K, Abduke M, van Keulen H. Cattle manure management in East Africa: review of manure quality and nutrient losses and scenarios for cattle and manure management. Report No.258, 2009

[40] Elias E, Okoth P F, Smaling E M A. Explaining bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) yield differences by soil properties and fertilizer rates in the highlands of Ethiopia. Geoderma, 2019, 339: 126–133

[41] Tilahun A I, Tamado T. Growth, yield component and yield response of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. Durum) to blended NPS fertilizer supplemented with N rates at Arsi Negelle, Central Ethiopia. African Journal of Plant Science, 2019, 13(1): 9–20

[42] Cochrane L, Bekele Y W. Average crop yield (2001–2017) in Ethiopia: trends at national, regional and zonal levels. Data in Brief, 2018, 16: 1025–1033

[43] Taffesse A S, Dorosh P, Asrat S. Crop Production in Ethiopia: Regional Patterns and Trends, in Development Strategy and Governance Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Ethiopia Strategy Support Program II, Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: IFPRI, 2011

[44] Rodd A V, Warman P R, Hicklenton P, Webb K. Comparison of N fertilizer, source-separated municipal solid waste compost and semi-solid beef manure on the nutrient concentration in boot-stage barley and wheat tissue. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 2002, 82(1): 33–43

[45] Ma L, Zhang W F, Ma W Q, Velthof G L, Oenema O, Zhang F S. An analysis of developments and challenges in nutrient management in china. Journal of Environmental Quality, 2013, 42(4): 951–961

[46] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO). The place of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in national food security programs, 2011ISBN: 978-92-5-106845-8

[47] Lee-Smith D. Cities feeding people: an update on urban agriculture in equatorial Africa. Environment and Urbanization, 2010, 22(2): 483–499

[48] Alarcon P, Fèvre E M, Muinde P, Murungi M K, Kiambi S, Akoko J, Rushton J. Urban livestock keeping in the city of Nairobi: diversity of production systems, supply chains, and their disease management and risks. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2017, 4: 171

[49] Wilson R T. Domestic livestock in african cities: production, problems and prospects. Open Urban Studies and Demography Journal, 2018, 4(1): 1–14

[50] Robinson T P, Thornton P K, Franceschini G, Kruska R L, Chiozza F, Notenbaert A, Cecchi G, Herrero M, Epprecht M, Fritz S, You L, Conchedda G, See L. Global livestock production systems. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Nairobi, Kenya: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 152, 2011

[51] Wei Y, Zhao Y, Xi B, Wei Z, Li X, Cao Z. Changes in phosphorus fractions during organic wastes composting from different sources. Bioresource Technology, 2015, 189: 349–356

[52] Tadesse S T, Oenema O, van Beek C, Ocho F L. Manure recycling from urban livestock farms for closing the urban–rural nutrient loops. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2020

[53] Roessler R, Mpouam S E, Muchemwa T, Schlecht E. Emerging development pathways of urban livestock production in rapidly growing West Africa cities. Sustainability, 2016, 8(11): 1199–1124

[54] Bai Z, Lu J, Zhao H, Velthof G L, Oenema O, Chadwick D, Williams J R, Jin S, Liu H, Wang M, Strokal M, Kroeze C, Hu C, Ma L. Designing vulnerable zones of nitrogen and phosphorus transfers to control water pollution in China. Environmental Science & Technology, 2018, 52(16): 8987–8988

[55] Abdulkadir A, Leffelaar P A, Agbenin J O, Giller K E. Nutrient flows and balances in urban and peri-urban agroecosystems of Kano, Nigeria. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2013, 95(2): 231–254

[56] Arushanyan Y, Björklund A, Eriksson O, Finnveden G, Ljunggren Söderman M, Sundqvist J O, Stenmarck A. Environmental assessment of possible future waste management scenarios. Energies, 2017, 10(2): 247–273

[57] Akram U, Quttineh N H, Wennergren U, Tonderski K, Metson G S. Enhancing nutrient recycling from excreta to meet crop nutrient needs in Sweden—a spatial analysis. Scientific Reports, 2019, 9(1): 10264–10278

[58] Diacono M, Persiani A, Testani E, Montemurro F, Ciaccia C. Recycling agricultural wastes and by-products in organic farming: biofertilizer production, yield performance and carbon footprint analysis. Sustainability, 2019, 11(14): 3824–3840

[59] Clark M, Tilman D. Comparative analysis of environmental impacts of agricultural production systems, agricultural input efficiency, and food choice. Environmental Research Letters, 2017, 12(6): 064016–064027

[60] Lonnie M, Hooker E, Brunstrom J M, Corfe B M, Green M A, Watson A W, Williams E A, Stevenson E J, Penson S, Johnstone A M. Protein for life: review of optimal protein intake, sustainable dietary sources and the effect on appetite in ageing adults. Nutrients, 2018, 10(3): 360–377

[61] Spångberg J, Tidåker P, Jönsson H. Environmental impact of recycling nutrients in human excreta to agriculture compared with enhanced wastewater treatment. Science of the Total Environment, 2014, 493: 209–219

[62] Sassenrath G F, Schneider J M, Gaj R, Grzebisz W, Halloran J M. Nitrogen balance as an indicator of environmental impact: toward sustainable agricultural production. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2013, 28(3): 276–289

[63] Marshall R E, Farahbakhsh K. Systems approaches to integrated solid waste management in developing countries. Waste Management, 2013, 33(4): 988–1003

[64] De Zeeuw H, Van Veenhuizen R, Dubbeling M. The role of urban agriculture in building resilient cities in developing countries. Journal of Agricultural Science, 2011, 149(S1): 153–163

[65] Komakech A J. Urban waste management and the environmental impact of organic waste treatment systems in Kampala. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Kampala: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala and Makerere University, 2014

[66] Hijbeek R, ten Berge H F M, Whitmore A P, Barkusky D, Schröder J J, van Ittersum M K. Nitrogen fertilizer replacement values for organic amendments appear to increase with N application rates. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2018, 110: 105–115

[67] Chen Y S, Camps-Arbestain M, Shen Q H, Singh B, Cayuela M L. The long-term role of organic amendments in building soil nutrient fertility: a meta-analysis and review. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2018, 111(2–3): 103–125

[68] Zhang X, Fang Q, Zhang T, Ma W, Velthof G L, Hou Y, Oenema O, Zhang F. Benefits and trade-offs of replacing synthetic fertilizers by animal manures in crop production in China: A meta-analysis. Global Change Biology, 2020, 26(2): 888–900

[69] Rufino M C, Rowe E C, Delve R J, Giller K E. Nitrogen cycling efficiencies through resource-poor African crop-livestock systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2006, 112(4): 261–282

[70] Webb J, Sørensen P, Velthof G, Amon B, Pinto M, Rodhe L, Salomon E, Hutchings N, Burczyk P, Reid J. An assessment of the variation of manure nitrogen efficiency throughout Europe and an appraisal of means to increase manure-N efficiency. Advances in Agronomy, 2013, 119: 371–442

[71] Krause A, Rotter V. Recycling improves soil fertility management in smallholdings in Tanzania. Agriculture, 2018, 8(3): 31–61

[72] Manyi-Loh C E, Mamphweli S N, Meyer E L, Makaka G, Simon M, Okoh A I. An overview of the control of bacterial pathogens in cattle manure. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2016, 13(9): 843

[73] Hou Y, Velthof G L, Lesschen J P, Staritsky I G, Oenema O. Nutrient recovery and emissions of ammonia, nitrous oxide, and methane from animal manure in Europe: effects of manure treatment technologies. Environmental Science & Technology, 2017, 51(1): 375–383

[74] Martens W, Böhm R. Overview of the ability of different treatment methods for liquid and solid manure to inactivate pathogens. Bioresource Technology, 2009, 100(22): 5374–5378

[75] Bernal M P. Grand challenges in waste management in agroecosystems. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2017, 1: 1

[76] Verma R, Vinoda K S, Papireddy M, Gowda A N S. Toxic pollutants from plastic waste—a review. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 2016, 35: 701–708

[77] Comanita E D, Hlihor R M, Ghinea C, Gavrilescu M. Occurrence of plastic waste in the environment: ecological and health risks. Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 2016, 15(3): 675–685

[78] Croppenstedt A, Demeke M, Meschi M. Technology adoption in the presence of constraints: the case of fertilizer demand in Ethiopia. Review of Development Economics, 2003, 7(1): 58–70

[79] Holden S T. Economics of farm input subsidies in Africa. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2019, 11(1): 501–522

[80] Zoboli O, Zessner M, Rechberger H. Supporting phosphorus management in Austria: potential, priorities and limitations. Science of the Total Environment, 2016, 565: 313–323

Supplementary materials

The online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2020375 contains supplementary materials.

Acknowledgements

This study was part of the CASCAPE project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (5120915001). We thank Mr. Alemseged Amanuel and Mr. Daniel Damtew, the research staff of Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine for their vital role during the field experiment and data collection. The manuscript benefitted also from critical comments and suggestions provided by the reviewers.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Solomon Tulu Tadesse, Oene Oenema, Christy van Beek, and Fikre Lemessa Ocho declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2020. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)