Sustainable livestock generates productive and environmental improvements in Uruguay – Internacional

2023-06-04 01:21:00

Changes in livestock farming practices in natural fields have resulted in productive and environmental improvements in Uruguay, a country predominantly focused on cattle raising and which seeks to mitigate the impact of livestock activity on climate change, authorities informed this Saturday (3).

More than a hundred rural producers participated in the presentation of the results of the work started in 2020 on 60 properties, covering more than 30,000 hectares in the north, center, east and northeast regions of the country.

“The vast majority of properties managed to increase productivity, improve income and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases”, noted those responsible for the Livestock and Climate project, led by the Uruguayan government.

This was possible “without increasing costs” and “with a deficit of rain”, in the midst of the drought that has plagued the country for three years, they said in a statement.

According to the balance sheet presented on Saturday, the properties’ net family income increased by 28% in relation to the baseline at the beginning of the project.

Additionally, beef production increased by an average of 8% compared to baseline, and lamb production increased by 17%. There was also a 6% increase in pregnancy and weaning.

“I hope that we succeed in expanding this project”, said the Minister of Agriculture, Fernando Mattos, to the producers.

The initiative, which has funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and technical direction from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aims at “climate-smart livestock”.

This involves, for example, avoiding overgrazing, which causes soil erosion and biodiversity degradation.

Uruguay, a country of 176,000 km2 and 3.5 million inhabitants, has more than 70% of its surface occupied by pastures that feed 12 million head of cattle, resulting in 3.4 head of cattle per inhabitant, the highest proportion of the world.

However, the agricultural sector is responsible for 75% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the cattle sector represents 62% of total emissions, especially due to the digestion of cows, which generates methane.

According to experts, it is not possible to eliminate GHG emissions from livestock, but it is possible to reduce them by improving the digestibility of the animals’ diet.

On Saturday, those responsible for the Livestock and Climate project stated that GHG emissions decreased by 18% per kilogram of meat produced.

“The results of the implementation of the project show a path towards fulfilling the national commitments to reduce GHG emissions”, they indicated.

“In addition, in an adverse climate context, they show a way to build resilience in natural range-based livestock systems through rangeland and herd management,” they added.