Farming systems research applied in a project on feeding of crop residues in India

Increased use of prime agricultural land for cropping and non-agricultural uses in many tropical countries implies that crop residues become more impo rtant as a source of feed for livestock. Traditionally, much research on cr op residue feeding was done by focusing on laboratory measurements of feed quality but neglect of farmers' perceptions led to disappointing results in the transfer of straw feeding technologies based upon laboratory results. Farming Systems Research (FSR) provides methodologies and concepts that bri dge the gap between formal commodity research (including crop residues and by-products) and field application. This paper reports the experiences of a project in India that changed the emphasis from a commodity research appro ach on improved crop residue feeding to a system approach by using three ty pes of FSR. The paper first reviews the achievements of on-station research on feeding systems fbr crop residues in terms of treatments (biological, c hemical, physical) and in terms of breeding and managing cereal crops for m ore and better straw. Next, it discusses definitions and problems of FSR as encountered in the project's reorientation of livestock research and devel opment programmes. Finally it summarizes the overall results of the three F SR approaches used in the project.