Gran Chaco Cattle: more calves, less methane

In the Gran Chaco, one of the most biodiverse regions in South America, thousands of small and medium-sized livestock producers face the challenge of sustaining their livelihoods in a context of extreme climate, low productivity, and growing environmental pressure.

Over the past few years, an initial regional effort funded by FONTAGRO and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, coordinated by INTA and local partners, made it possible to identify simple and effective technologies that improve reproductive efficiency in cow-calf systems. Now, we are going a step further: we seek not only to produce more, but to produce better and with a lower climate impact.

Now, the "Gran Chaco Ganadero: more calves, less methane" project promotes the adoption of livestock technologies adapted to this region, focusing on:

• Increasing the productivity of breeding herds (more calves per cow).

• Reducing the intensity of methane emissions per kilo of meat produced.

• Strengthening local capacities for technical assistance and livestock management.

• Generating evidence to scale these solutions and promote public policies and climate financing.

We will work in a network with producers, technicians, local institutions, and community leaders. In 26 pilot sites distributed across Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay:

• We will implement livestock plans adapted to each farm.

• We will apply a real-time monitoring app.

• We will train technicians and producers in reproductive management, nutrition, health, and handling.

• Productive and environmental impacts will be measured.

• We will communicate results to scale up the experience.

Why does this matter?
Because more efficient livestock farming not only improves rural incomes: it is also key to facing climate change, reducing emissions, and conserving Chacoan ecosystems.
Because producing more with less methane... is possible.