Innovate and intensify to adapt and grow

Innovating in the integral improvement of systems through sustainable intensification, increasing the adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change of family livestock systems in Argentina and Peru.

Context of the story

By 2050, the agricultural sector faces the challenge of increasing production by more than 60% to feed the world. The arid and semi-arid areas of Argentina and Peru, where family farmers rely on extensive livestock farming, have high susceptibility to climate change, environmental fragility and high levels of rural poverty. In these regions, research and innovation are challenged to increase production and efficiency, considering environmental changes. Given this scenario, Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (ISA) is presented as the most rational alternative, to increase the efficiency and resilience of production systems.

Adapting family farming systems to climate change to improve livelihoods

The implemented initiative

With FONTAGRO funding and its own resources, INTA and Universidad Agraria La Molina are promoting technological innovations in four regions of Argentina and Peru. The objective is to adapt family livestock systems to climate change and link their production, through organization, to short marketing circuits, thus improving their livelihoods.

Innovations in family livestock systems in Argentina and Peru

The technological solution

Family farmers in Argentina and Peru implement technological innovations in their livestock farms, such as: protective sheds; water collection, storage and transportation for family and animal consumption; improved irrigation systems; cultivation of forage species as a protein and/or energy bank; improvements in animal nutrition through technologies such as early weaning and strategic supplementation of pregnant females; control of predators and implementation of a health plan. They are also linked to local markets through fairs and/or associative sales. All these innovations allow family farmers to adapt their systems to climate change, improve production indicators and sell their products with better quality and in a fairly way.

Due to climate change, we have suffered from drought. Thanks to the project we received training in practices such as early weaning, which increases lamb survival, allow ewes to recover body reserves, and reduces their water and fodder requirements

Early weaning of lambs helps intensify family production systems to adapt to climate change

Participating countries

Type of project

Agronomic Practices

Results

More than 16,000 farmers have been trained in management practices for adaptation to climate change through different means of communication. In Argentina, in the project's area of influence, silage production has more than doubled thanks to trials and training sessions. In Peru, the incorporation of improved pastures increased forage production in the demonstration fields by more than 20%, with a similar impact on milk production. The presence of protection dogs has reduced predation by more than 50% on farms where this method of predation control is used. The project favored the entry of producers into the formal sale of more than 72,000 kg of wool and the producers doubled their income. In fields where drip irrigation was applied, vegetable production increased by 50%.