IMPACT provides a protocol for collecting essential data to characterize a farming system. This data collection protocol is organised in such way that it describes the flow of resources through all the farming activities and their interactions. Information within IMPACT is organised in eight groups:
1- climate
2- family structure
3- land management
4- livestock management
5- labour allocation
6- family’s dietary pattern
7- farm’s sales and expenses
8- soil nutrient flow
In addition, IMPACT processes these data to provide a base-line analysis of the system’s performance. This base-line analysis includes: 
1- monthly financial balances
2- the family’s monthly nutritional status
3- an annual soil nutrient balance.
IMPACT looks at issues of food security by calculating the household’s monthly intake of energy and protein based on the collected information on the family’s dietary pattern. The calculated figures are compared, in a monthly or annual basis, with the recommended intake values by the World Health Organization (WHO). Household economics ia assessed by calculating both farm expenses and income. Net revenue is calculated in three categories: crops, livestock and other. Finally, calculations for nutrient balances within IMPACT considered the N, P, K and C content of the system’s inputs and outputs. Thus, fertilizers (including manure) and crop residues are considered as inputs, whilst crop yields used for human consumption, for livestock feeding or for sale, are considered as outputs.
The IMPACT software and documentation (User's Manual) is
availiable to download for free by clicking here. |
IMPACT (Integrated Modelling Platform for Mixed Animal Crop Systems) by ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). Impossible to find it by Googling..
