Basis for Generating an Integrated Adaptation Strategy for Farming Systems in Latin America

During the last 20 years, food demand increments have led to greater agricultural and livestock production in South America. However, climate change effects, mainly on small producers, can negatively affect their future development. In Chile, about 90% of livestock systems depend directly on rainfall intensity and frequency. In Argentina, the Pampean region, where the highest percentage of national agricultural production is concentrated, has a very variable rainfall regime. This results in dry, intermediate or very rainy years that alternate not uniformly. In Bolivia, the intensification of droughts in recent years has resulted in a significant decline, with a trend towards disappearance, in sheep production. In Costa Rica, approximately 70% of meat and dual-purpose producers are farmers who develop subsistence production systems and face higher production costs than the rest of Latin America. 

The challenge is to respond to global food demands under a scenario of increasingly adverse weather conditions and small producers with minimal technologies and investment. Hence, the objective of this project was to evaluate how forage resources genetically tolerant to water stress result in increase livestock productivity without increasing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions at a Family Farming level.