We know little about the extent and magnitude of the potential impacts of future land-use/cover and climate changes on livestock production systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This project is about modeling the current feed basket, and its possible changes in future. These outcomes will be used to calculate the livestock carrying capacity, thereby considering biomass, and, thus, feed availability and feed demand of the livestock population. Biomass production will be modelled by a process-based model, LandscapeDNDC, which has been parameterized to enable simulating different types of natural and managed ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa. Using current knowledge about livestock populations and their predicted changes, a conceptual framework of feed–energy requirements will be used to explore the supply-demand balance for pastoral and mixed crop-livestock systems in sub-Saharan Africa, and where and to what extent they will change in the future.

This project focuses on using the best knowledge and latest data to be integrated into our modeling framework to understand and plan for sustainable livestock farming in different regions in sub-Saharan Africa. This includes details about how well plants are growing, how fields and natural ecosystems are managed, and more. Our goal is to keep improving our simulations of natural and managed ecosystems, and if possible, understanding the livestock better.