1. Water Footprint Assessment of Sheep and Goat in Different Production Systems along with the CRP DS Action Site Beni Kedache-Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia) Ridha Ibidhi 1. Hichem Ben Salem 2 1 1 INRA-Tunisie, Laboratoire des Productions Animales et Fourragères, rue Hédi Karray, 2049 Ariana, Tunisia. 2 Diversification and Sustainable Intensification of Production Systems Program, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Amman, Jordan.

2. 1. Introduction 2. Water Footprint: Concept and accounting 3. Research Objectives 4. Method & Data 5. Preliminary Results 6. Preliminary Conclusions CONTENTS 2

3. Growing demand for agricultural products especially in the developing countries 3

4. >90% of total water demand comes from agriculture of which 31% is for livestock Water for agriculture becoming scarce. Need for greater understanding of human consumption impacts on global freshwater resources 4

5. Research Objective and Question Objective Estimate the Water footprint of sheep and goat produced in Zoghmar community (Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia). Question The water footprint differs between species ? Is there a difference on Water Footprint of sheep and goat meat across seasons, in the action site Beni kedache-Sidi Bouzid? What can we do? Justification No knowledge so far on the water resource use for livestock production in Tunisia- basis for decision making. 5

6. What is the water footprint? The ‘water footprint’ is a measure of human’s appropriation of freshwater resources. ► Water footprint is a measurement of the volume of water consumed (evaporated or otherwise not returned) or assimilation capacity used. ► The water footprint is a geographically & temporally explicit indicator. ► The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct & indirect water use of a consumer or producer. 6

7. Application of water footprint assessment ► Process► Process ► Product ► Business/business sector ► Consumer/group of consumers ► Geographical area ► Humanity 7

8. Green water footprint ► Volume of rainwater evaporated or incorporated into product. Blue water footprint ► volume of surface or groundwater evaporated. Grey water footprint ► volume of polluted water. Components of a water footprint 8

9. Example of a water footprint of agricultural products Global average water footprint Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems 9

10. Materials and Methods Methodology as set out in The Water Footprint Assessment Manual (Hoekstra et al., 2011) 10

11. Assessing the water footprint of crop and animal products Water footprint of a crop  Crop water use (m 3 /ha) / Crop yield (ton/ha) Water footprint of an animal  Sum of water for feed, drinking and servicing Water footprint of a crop or livestock product  Distribute the water footprint of the root product over its derived products 11

12. Crop water requirement 1.Calculate reference crop evapotranspiration ET 0 (mm/day) e.g. Penman-Monteith equation 2.Calculate crop evapotranspiration Et c (mm/day) Et c = ET 0  K c where K c = crop coefficient 3.Calculate crop water requirement CWR (m 3 /ha) CWR = Σ Et c [accumulate over growing period] 12

13. The Analytical Tools Water Footprint of Meat1. WF  a, s   Σ  Feed  a, s, p  WFservice *  p    WF drinking a, sa, s (1) P  p   WF p ro d  p    VWI  p  WF *  p   n e  p    P n e P (2) 13  WF of meat based on the WF of the animal at the end of its lifetime, the water consumed for processing the slaughtered animal into meat, the amount of meat derived from one animal, and the relative value of meat compared to the value of other products derived from the animal.

14. Model to simulate crop water use and Yield: Aqua crop model DataDetailsSources ClimaticPrecipitation Temp min&max ET 0 Grid based data CRU-TS- 3.10 (Harris, et al., 2013) Soil properties30x30 arc minute resolutionLocal data: Ministry of agriculture Tunisia Crop parametersPlanting dates Growing cycles Harvesting index Local data: Ministry of agriculture Tunisia IrrigationIrrigation schedules & method Ministry of agriculture Tunisia 14

15. Delineation of livestock production systems Area of study We describe a production system : Agro-pastoral. Small ruminants’ production is the main source of income of many households in the region of Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia). Water scarcity and feed shortage 15

16. Preliminary Results & discussion Figure 1. Average water footprint of feed (liter /kg) 16

17. Average Water Footprint of Sheep and Goat Meat 6222 liter/kg of carcass 4521 liter/Kg carcass ► Goat meat was more sustainable in term of use of water than sheep meat 94 % 5% 1% 17

18. Water Footprint of Sheep and Goat among Seasons Figure 2. Water Footprint of Sheep and Goat among Seasons in Zoghmar Community 18

19. Summer WF was lowest due to:  Water efficiency of diet ingredients distributed to sheep and goat such as cactus.  Feed intake in summer was the lowest. 352 liter/ Kg 1039 liter/ Kg 291 liter/ Kg  Use of feed with low water footprint. 19

20. Conclusion Water Footprint Assessment is a simple & elegant concept which enables us to:  Understand the geographic allocation of water resources agriculture and domestic water supply.  Evaluate the efficiency of water use: consumption & pollution.  Determine the sustainability of water use: e.g. water scarcity and water pollution levels.  Identify the most strategic actions to improve the sustainability, efficiency and equitability of water use. 20

21. Conclusion Water footprint give a better perspective of the use of water resources. The study provides a basis on which resource use efficiency gains can be made e.g. species and diet composition changes. There is a need for further study on: Water footprint sustainability assessment of the use of water resources for livestock production. Water productivity assessment of animal products. Choose the best production system in term of water saving. 21

22. Thank you! Questions? 22