Crop-livestock integration is a major pathway towards a greener and more circular economy, especially in the mountainous areas of northwestern Vietnam, where livestock, notably large ruminants, and perennial crops are both seen as major pillars of local agricultural development strategies. However, livestock development is currently under pressure in a context of animal roaming restrictions, and scarcity of land for animal feed production or collection. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of perennial crops raises also the issue of farmers increased dependency to external inputs, particularly chemical fertilizers. The Forage-Silage-Compost (FSC) model is a good example of enhanced circular economy through crop-livestock integration by closing key nutrient and biomass loops: 1) Cultivating forages in sole plots or in association with other crops, e. g. grass strips in sloping agricultural land, 2) Producing and using silage from grasses and other agricultural by-products for year-round feed availability and to serve stall-fed livestock, 3) a facilitated collection of animal waste in covered pits protected from the rain, 5) a facilitated processing of this manure into compost; and 5) and applying compost onto forages and crops. FSC model can be labor-intensive and technically demanding without small equipment such as choppers, double-layer silage bags, and Efficient Microorganisms (EM) commercial preparations. From 2022 to 2025, the Agroecology and Safe Food System Transitions (ASSET) project has been supporting the adoption of FSC models in four pilot villages through modest initial financial support (200/household), training, and regular technical mentoring. A Before-After-Control-Intervention (BACI) assessment after three years showed that FSC model uptake significantly contributed to increased farmers engagement into large ruminants raising (net intervention impact of +44%), and compost production (net intervention impact of +38%). Farmers could produce higher-quality silage for winter feeding and compost that is less odorous, more compact and easier to transport than raw manure. The presentation discussed how tailored integration strategies can support feed self-sufficiency while reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers in diverse farming contexts.
Huyen et al. (Wed,) studied this question.