Track 2-06: Greenhouse Gas Dynamics and Monitoring

Presenter Information

Michael Peters, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, ColombiaFollow
Mario Herrero, CSIRO, AustraliaFollow
Myles Fish, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Karl-Heinz Erb, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt-Vienna-Graz, Austria
Idupulapati M. Rao, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, ColombiaFollow
Guntur V. Subbarao, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, JapanFollow
Aracely Castro, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Jacobo Arango, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Julian Chará, Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, Colombia
Enrique Murgueitio, Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, Colombia
Rein van der Hoek, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Peter Läderach, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Glenn Hyman, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Jeimar Tapasco, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Bernardo Strassburg, International Institute for Sustainability, Brazil
Birthe K. Paul, International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Kenya
Alvaro Rincón, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, Colombia
Rainer Schultze-Kraft, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, ColombiaFollow
Steve Fonte, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Colombia
Timothy Searchinger, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, Colombia

Description

Forage-based livestock production plays a key role in national and regional economies, for food security and poverty alleviation. Livestock production is also considered as a major contributor to agricultural GHG emissions, however. While demand for livestock products is predicted to continue to increase, there is political and societal pressure both to reduce environmental impacts and to convert some of the pasture area to alternative uses such as crop production and environmental conservation. Thus it is essential to develop approaches for sustainable intensification of livestock systems to mitigate GHG emissions, addressing biophysical, socioeconomic and policy challenges. This paper highlights the potential of improved tropical forages in crop-livestock systems, and linked with policy incentives, to enhance livestock production while reducing its environmental footprint. We give examples for sustainable intensification to mitigate GHG emissions based on improved forages in Brazil and Colombia and suggest future perspectives.

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Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Eco-Efficiency of Tropical Forage-Based Systems to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Forage-based livestock production plays a key role in national and regional economies, for food security and poverty alleviation. Livestock production is also considered as a major contributor to agricultural GHG emissions, however. While demand for livestock products is predicted to continue to increase, there is political and societal pressure both to reduce environmental impacts and to convert some of the pasture area to alternative uses such as crop production and environmental conservation. Thus it is essential to develop approaches for sustainable intensification of livestock systems to mitigate GHG emissions, addressing biophysical, socioeconomic and policy challenges. This paper highlights the potential of improved tropical forages in crop-livestock systems, and linked with policy incentives, to enhance livestock production while reducing its environmental footprint. We give examples for sustainable intensification to mitigate GHG emissions based on improved forages in Brazil and Colombia and suggest future perspectives.