NEADAP webinar launch Livestock Sustainability Assessment Tool

The webinar was facilitated by Marco Streng, NEADAP coordinator and attended by 85 dairy professionals out of 215 registrations. At registration, many people asked whether the tool was free of charge, fit for smallholders and other types of animals. And many asked details about how to use it, and how the LSAT tool was developed. In the chat, participants shared their view on sustainability. It has three pillars: environment, social and economic. These pillars have synergies and trade-offs. For some, sustainability in the dairy sector is about knowledge on how to manage scarce resources, about manure utilisation and social integration. 

In his presentation, Dr. Asaah Ndambi first elaborated on the concept of sustainability (see attached ppt). Important are the differences in priorities between Europe and Africa when it comes to sustainability. Why should we assess sustainability and have a constructive discussion about it? First, it can be a request from national policy makers, or a help for input providers, it may guide how to make the supply chain more efficient and last, consumers demand sustainable dairy products. 

The tool was developed with dairy partners in NEADAP and later expanded to include beef and agro-pastoral systems. The tool is now web-based: https://www.lsat-online.com/

There is now also a 7 min video tutorial that explains how to use LSAT.

Two dairy professionals gave testimonies about the LSAT tool.

Mr. Eric Kimalit was involved in testing the Excel version with students at RVIST Agricultural College in Nakuru, Kenya. The tool is flexible and can be adapted to specific farm situations. It helps you scan the threats and the opportunities in various dimensions of sustainability. In his experience, people find it difficult to understand the concept of sustainability at first. So it is advised to take time for a proper introduction.

Mr. Dennis Kigiri from Egerton University applied the tool with students and at one dairy farm and one dairy cooperative. The tool helped him to collect info and have an interactive discussion on the aspects and indicators. He notes that farmers do not always have hard data, for example the soil organic matter content. The spider web is very visual, and this helps to show weaker and stronger points. He is happy with the web version, which is less time-consuming in the data collection part.

Chat Q&A included questions:

Q: Are there goats and sheep in the LSAT tool? 

A: This is not yet the case, but the LSAT developers are willing to look into these and other species.

Q: How can advisors use this tool for specific advice? 

A: The tool is designed to structure info and generate discussion. As such, the assessment info can be a starting point for action. The demand for advice is a point for further development.

Marco closed the session with a mention of the livestock day at the COP28 in Dubai. You can look here for more info: https://foodsystemspavilion.com/6th-dec-overview/

Click here to download the Webinar Presentation