Innovations for reduced methane emissions in ruminants

Executive Summary

There is pressure to reduce the impact that livestock production systems have on the environment, accompanied by an increasing global demand for meat. However, the sustainability of these production systems in LAC is fragile due to a low uptake of technological innovations for identifying opportunities to increase production sustainably. Currently, there are limitations in evaluating key parameters in real time at the farm level, such as intake, ingestive behavior, diet digestibility, and enteric CH4 emissions under grazing conditions. A lack of CH4 emissions data, impedes emission reduction capacity and the competitiveness and sustainability of livestock in LAC. The objective of this proposal is to reduce emission intensity (g of CO2Eq/kg meat) in bovine production systems by 10% through the implementation of technological innovations developed in Latin America for the quantification and mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG). The implementation of these innovations will enable improvements in sustainability and resilience of cattle farms facing the impacts of climate change in LAC. It is also expected to improve the accuracy of enteric CH4 emission quantification in LAC, relative to those generated using the IPCC emission factors, allowing quantification of the environmental impact of production and selection of appropriate GHG mitigation strategies. 

The technological solution

This project aims to reduce emission intensity (g CO2eq/kg of meat) by 10% through technological innovation, developed in Latin America, for the quantification and mitigation of greenhouse gases. Uptake of these innovations will lead to increased sustainability and climate change resilience of livestock systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Results

Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries will include pastoral livestock producers, technical assistants, and the academic community from the Antioquia, Cundinamarca, and Córdoba regions in Colombia and from the Southeast Bonaerence and central Córdoba regions in Argentina. This project will contribute to the training of at least two undergraduate students, two postgraduate students, a postdoctoral fellowship, and the strengthening of technical-scientific capacities of 20 researchers, of which 12 (60%) are women. Expected positive impacts of the implementation of the three technological innovations on pastoral cattle producers include a reduction of CO2 equivalent emissions per animal of at least 10% and an increase of up to 10% in weight gain (kg/day), driven by increased efficiency in use of forage and animal resources, optimization of ruminal fermentation and mitigation of enteric CH4 emissions. 

Sustainable Development Goals

Main donors

Dissemination products