Costa Rican Cattle Farmers go for Climate Change Mitigation and will contribute to Costa Rica Carbon Neutrality

2021
Authors: Ral Botero Botero and Ricardo O. Russo Affiliation: EARTH University and Universidad de Costa Rica Alfredo Volio Mata Experiment Station (UCR-EEAVM). Abstract submission to III World Congress on Agroforestry, Delhi, India, 10-14 February 2014 In Costa Rica, according to the latest Livestock Survey 2012, there are 1,575,000 cattle heads in 45,780 farms covering 1,863,000 hectares, of which 63 % (1,186,000 ha) are devoted to grazing, 24 % (451,000 ha) to natural forest, 5% (91,000 ha) to crops, 4 % (79,000 ha) to silvopastoral systems, 2.5 % (45,000 ha) to forest plantations, and 10,500 ha to other uses. Thirty seven percent of Costa Rica s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are generated by agriculture, and 39 % of the GHG produced by the agricultural sector are generated by livestock. For this reason, the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (MAG) develops adaptation strategies to climate change with different production sectors, being the first country to propose a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) for the livestock sector. Several actions to be implemented to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality have been identified: 1. Increase living fences in cattle farms; 2. Pasture rotation; 3. Nutritional improvement in cows by improving pastures; and 4. Decrease use of nitrogen fertilizer in dairy farming. An important part of the strategy is to train livestock producers in the optimal management of their pastures. It is precisely in the areas dedicated to grazing where the opportunities are approached for actions; such as, improving rotational grazing; using pasture varieties that allow better food for livestock, reducing methane emissions and greater weight for cattle; managing shorter periods of gestation and therefore greater productivity for the same number of animals. We interpret that NAMA for the livestock sector means improvement of livestock management, which is highly dependent on the adoption of sustainable grassland management practices that contribute to the rehabilitation of grasslands and increase in soil carbon stocks. All of that will generate multiple benefits for Climate Change Mitigation, and will contribute to Costa Rica Carbon Neutrality 2021. Keywords: Climate Change Mitigation, Costa Rica Carbon Neutrality 2021, NAMA , Silvipastoral systems