Gender [im]balance in productive and reproductive labor among livestock producers in Colombia: Implications for climate change responses

Roles and responsibilities in livestock production and household maintenance are segregated along gender lines. Men’s and women’s participation in the livestock sector varies by tasks. Women combine livestock production, particularly, milk processing activities with the responsibility of household and care work. Men’s and women’s indirect contribution with regard to maintenance of the household and care provision to family members is also crucial for healthy and smooth functioning of livestock productive activities and therefore, must be accounted for in policy decisions, including those related to changing climate. As a response to climate change induced drought, men, and particularly women, are investing their labor in alternative sources of income to pay for water provision services to meet the water demands of their animals. For women who already face the double burden of productive and reproductive work, this coping mechanism may deepen their time poverty

Evaluación del potencial de Inhibición Biológica de la Nitrificación (IBN) de la pastura tropical Megathyrsus maximus con miras a reducir emisiones de óxido nitroso en sistemas agropecuarios

El objetivo de la investigación fue evaluar el potencial IBN de un panel de diversidad de 133 accesiones de M. maximus en condiciones de invernadero

Greenhouse gas emissions from piggery and biogas digesters in the Red River Delta of Vietnam

High demand for pork consumption in Vietnam has led to a shift of pig production systems from smallholder to industrial-scale farms, particularly in the Red River Delta. This production intensification also produces massive manure and urine quantities, leading to water, air, and soil pollution. The use of biogas plants has been seen as efficient to achieve in the same time a decrease in pollution, and a provision of biogas resources and bio-organic fertilizers. However, increasing pig head density has been causing great pressure on biogas digesters, as their size is not big enough for treatments anymore. Inappropriate utilization and management of biogas digesters can not only cause losses from pig wastes, but also contributes to increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). This case study aims to identify the role and contributions of biogas digesters to better manage the sources of GHG emissions from pig wastes for different types of pig farms. Four provinces of the Red River Delta were selected to test the pig waste management efficiency of biogas digesters and measure GHG emissions from these systems. The findings show that CO2, CH4 and N2O emission rates from pig manure are at least twice as much what is allowed under the Vietnam national technical regulation on ambient air quality. However, the GHGs emission rate does not significantly differ between smallholder and industrial-scale farms in the four surveyed provinces. Sampling position (between inside piggeries and outside the outlet of biogas digesters) did not affect significantly GHG emissions rate. These results confirm that the pig waste management of biogas digesters for both smallholder and industrial-scale pig farms is not efficient and that efforts need to be invested to mitigate GHG emissions in pig production. Reducing pig density per piggery is highly recommended. The modification of biogas digester structure to separate solid pig manure and urine should also be considered. Otherwise, the application of other alternative aerobic or anaerobic digestion technologies should also be encouraged and promoted. Biogas digesters in pig production have a significant role to play in Vietnam government’s mitigation strategies, as well as from the perspective of biosafety and animal husbandry policies

Economic analysis of tropical forages in livestock systems in the eastern plains of Colombia

70% of the Colombian livestock production are characterized by extensive production systems, which usually show low productivity levels, low land use efficiency and often lack environmental sustainability. This is related to native or naturalized grasses and degraded pastures that generate limited forage supply, both in biomass and quality, especially in the dry season. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and its partners are working on the selection and development of improved forages able to adapt to diverse soil and climatic conditions of the lowland tropics, while increasing productivity levels and reducing the environmental impact of livestock production. However, the establishment of these new forage technologies implies higher investment and management costs for the producer, which could limit their adoption. This paper evaluates the financial viability of the implementation of new forage technologies, in this case of improved pastures and scattered trees in livestock systems, and compares them to the traditional production system with native/naturalized pastures. The developed model is based on a cash flow analysis and a Monte Carlo simulation, and includes uncertainty factors in the variables identified as critical (e.g., meat price, productivity). Research took place in 2015 in the Casanare Department in the Eastern Plains of Colombia. The results indicate that investment in improved pastures is profitable with an incremental net present value (NPV) of US$ 45 and an internal rate of return of 18%. The system in association with scattered trees was not profitable due to the high initial investment costs and time expectations for achieving improvements in production parameters. Both evaluated alternatives were only evaluated for livestock income, not taking into account additional income that might arise from the trees (e.g., fruits, wood). The feasibility of investment is highly sensitive to changes in the selling prices of the meat and expected returns. The technologies evaluated in this study showed to be an alternative to improve production efficiency and profitability of livestock farms. However, strategies and / or incentives need to be developed that aim at reducing the high initial costs of systems in association with scattered trees

Stocks de carbono del suelo en cuatro sistemas de pasturas del trópico seco colombiano

El suelo es el mayor reservorio de Carbono (C) en los ecosistemas terrestres, se estima que almacena cerca de 1500 gigatoneladas (Gt). Este C almacenado en el suelo, está relacionado con la composición de las plantas, ingreso de la materia orgánica (residuos), el clima (temperatura y humedad), propiedades y uso del suelo. En este sentido, la captura de C es importante en el contexto de mitigación de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) teniendo en cuenta que el tipo y uso de pasturas mejoradas pueden influir positivamente en la tasa de almacenamiento de C del suelo en los sistemas agropecuarios. Esta investigacion tiene como objetivo determinar el stock de carbono en sistemas ganaderos con diferentes usos de suelo en el trópico seco colombiano

Effect of dried leaves of Leucaena leucocephala on rumen fermentation, rumen microbial population, and enteric methane production in crossbred heifers

The effects of dietary inclusion of dried Leucaena leucocephala leaves (DLL) on nutrient digestibility, fermentation parameters, microbial rumen population, and production of enteric methane (CH4) in crossbred heifers were evaluated. Four heifers were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design consisting of four periods and four levels of inclusion of DLL: 0%, 12%, 24%, and 36% of dry matter (DM) intake. Results showed that DM intake (DMI), organic matter intake, and gross energy intake (GEI) were similar (p > 0.05) among treatments. Apparent digestibility of organic matter, neutral detergent fiber, and energy decreased with increasing levels of DLL in the ration (p 0.05) rumen pH and total volatile fatty acids. Rumen microbial community was not affected (p > 0.05) by treatment. There was a linear reduction (p < 0.05) in CH4 emissions as the levels of DLL in the ration were increased. Results of this study suggest that an inclusion of 12% DM of ration as DLL enhances digestible CP and reduces daily production of enteric CH4 without adversely affecting DMI, rumen microbial population, and fermentation parameters

Inhibición Biológica de la Nitrificación (IBN) en tres sistemas ganaderos de Colombia

La intensificación de la agricultura requiere altas dosis de fertilizantes nitrogenados, los cuales son transformados en el suelo mediante procesos biológicos (nitrificación–denitrificación), donde se ocasionan pérdidas de nitrógeno en lixiviados de nitratos (NO3 -) y emisiones hacia la atmósfera en forma de óxido nitroso (N2O), gas con alto potencial de calentamiento global (298 veces más que el CO2). Con el fin de establecer estrategias productivas sostenibles, se estudiaron tres sistemas de manejo de praderas (Naturalizado, Mejorado y Silvopastoril) en una región afectada por periodos secos prolongados, en el suroccidente de Colombia, en donde se evaluó la capacidad para la inhibición biológica