A young boy in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan, poses with a newly acquired goat.
© WorldConcern/Harrison Kamau

WORKING FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS

Finding practical solutions to maximize benefits while minimizing emissions

Meat, eggs and milk offer crucial sources of much needed nutrients which cannot easily be obtained from plant-based foods, a 2023 FAO study has found. The report also concludes that unprocessed red meat in moderate amounts (ranging from 9 to 71 grams per day) is safe. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of pastoralists and smallholders depend on livestock for their nutrition and livelihoods.

But the livestock sector is a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Balancing the benefits of animal-sourced foods and the livelihoods of livestock keepers with the urgent need to limit global warming is crucial.

Yet to date, just over a third of countries have included livestock-related mitigation interventions in their climate commitments, while barely more than half have indicated that livestock systems are a priority area for adaptation in agriculture.

Against this backdrop, FAO has gone all out to help Members generate climate solutions through livestock systems. These include assessing the environmental impact of livestock, and helping stakeholders identify best management practices to enhance livestock’s role in sustainable development. The effort requires capacity development, technology transfer, tools and data.

Separately, from solar-powered water pumps and freezers, to milk chilled with energy from biogas digesters, FAO’s Energy-Smart Food Programme is supporting countries in identifying opportunities to expand the use of clean or renewable energy in the agrifood sector. Critically, such interventions need to address the social and poverty-reduction dimensions of livestock: when alternatives are lacking, livestock-dependent livelihoods are jeopardized.

FAO has identified five practical actions that can be taken to work towards low-emission livestock systems:

boosting the efficiency of livestock production and resource use;
intensifying recycling efforts and minimizing losses for a circular bioeconomy;
capitalizing on nature-based solutions to ramp up carbon offsets;
striving for healthy, sustainable diets and finding protein alternatives; and
developing policy measures to drive change.

Climate-friendly livestock production for higher family well-being in Uruguay

Extensive grazing of grasslands in Uruguay is leading to degradation, desertification, and loss of livelihoods and incomes for farmers as forage dries up and soil conditions worsen.

FAO is working with farmers to implement climate-smart livestock practices that improve production and increase incomes even as they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restore natural ecosystems. The project is led by the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment, with financial support from GEF.

Over 60 producer families across Uruguay have been taught strategies to improve the soil and manage grasslands and natural resources more sustainably while reducing livestock emissions – for example, by adjusting the quantity of fodder to the body condition of the animals, avoiding overgrazing.

Steps towards sustainable herding in Uruguay.
© FAO

FAO’s Forest Products Statistics unit and the Lower Mekong Region

Farmers were able to produce more forage, which builds resilience to drought and water scarcity. By improving grassland management and halting overgrazing, the amount of vegetation cover starts to increase, allowing for more retention of carbon in the leaves and roots of plants. This process is already leading to a visible increase in the flora, birds and general biodiversity.

For six farms out of ten, net income jumped by 50 percent in the year after the project began. Costs fell by 7 percent, and the intensity of greenhouse gas per kilogram of meat by 16 percent. The project intends to reach 700 more family farms over the next few years.

Required citation:
FAO. 2023. Agrifood solutions to climate change – FAO's work to tackle the climate crisis. Rome https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8055en

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