Constrains and Solutions to Reduce Environmental Impact for Developed Livestock Farming

Constrains and Solutions to Reduce Environmental Impact for Developed Livestock Farming Andrea Rosati EAAP - European Federation for Animal Science www.eaap.org

Sustainable Livestock Farming Sustainable agriculture is the efficient production of safe, high quality agricultural products, in a way that protects and improves the natural environment, the social and economic conditions of farmers, their employees and local communities, and safeguards the health and welfare of all farmed species

Summary 1. Increase of animal production 2. Food production policy revolution 3. How to reach the shared goal 4. Set of solutions 5. Technological applications 6. Civil society perception 7. Global sustainability is understood 8. Conclusions

Food production: Milk Current Situation

Milk Production 2014 2015 2016 USA 91,01 91,28 93,46 India 59,81 62,19 66,42 China 37,78 35,67 37,61 Brazil 32,30 34,26 35,12 Germany 30,67 31,32 32,39 Russian Fed. 31,50 30,29 30,51 France 24,00 23,71 25,33 New Zealand 19,13 19,47 21,32 Pakistan 13,39 17,37 18,03 Turkey 15,98 16,66 17,00 World 627,21 635,32 655,96

Current Situation The food production is: Milk Meat

Current Situation Livestock farming produces food mainly with Milk, Meat, Eggs (40-50% of agriculture production) Livestock Industry turnaround is 1,56% of global GDP (World Bank, 2014) There are 2,36 billions farmers (World Bank, 2014) 2470 Animal Scientists fully employed in USA Environmental impact due to Animal Production (GHG from livestock 15%)

Forces Increase population size. The global population is 7.3 billion today

Increase Population Size 2010-20150

Forces Increase population size. The global population is 7.3 billion today Increase consumption in developing world

Percentages of Undernourished Human Population

1/3 of produced food is lost or wasted Source: FAO

How we arrived here! Food production has always been strictly linked with human requirements

No possible form of society could prevent the almost constant action of misery upon a great part of mankind - Thomas Malthus (1798)

Food production has always been strictly linked with human requirements Technologies supported the increase of food production

Food production has always been strictly linked with human requirements Technologies supported the increase of food production The economic and social problems created by different animal farms management options are unknown Environmental impact is large, but also mitigation potential of reductions in livestock farming is large

Shared Global Goals Common goals should be searched through a food production policy revolution The solutions to be adopted must also have a dual purpose: meeting the rising human needs and contributing to resilience and sustainability of the environment It must be universally agreed

General Plan for Shared Goals Planning a general plan is impossible in absence of shared goals and a global accepted government Food production policy revolution aims at global long-term results but facing many local short-term constraints

Overall goal is to produce more animal products with less environmental impact

Shared Global Goals Emissions intensity and the mitigation potential of enteric methane varies widely across regions and livestock production systems. Helping farmers improve the productivity of ruminants is a key way to improve rural livelihoods and food security, at the same time as reducing emissions intensity (Global Research Alliance, 2016)

GHG Emissions Environmental index needs to be established taking into account carbon footprint, water and energy use

A possible solution: agroecology (Dumont et al., 2012) Reducing environmental footprint by reducing inputs: adopting management practices to improve animal health decreasing the inputs decreasing pollution by optimizing the metabolic functioning enhancing diversity within animal production systems to strengthen their resilience preserving biological diversity in agroecosystems by adapting management practices

Shared Global Goals Overall goal is to produce more animal products with less environmental impact Why? Market and Social requirements: increased number of human beings increased economic conditions of billions of people living mainly in East and South Asia, Brazil, etc. Facing Environmental Disaster

Summary 1. Increase of animal production 2. Food production policy revolution 3. How to reach the shared goals 4. Set of solutions 5. Technological applications 6. Civil society perception 7. Global sustainability is understood 8. Conclusions

Constraints to consider to reach the goals One method does not fit all systems for different times Environmental, economic and social contexts are rapidly changing and therefore methods should be dynamically changed Different situations in different environments ( In the developing world, the trends are affecting the ability of livestock to contribute to improving livelihoods and reducing poverty as well as the use of natural resources., Seré et al., 2010)

What is a Farm Cluster? The cluster of animal farms contains a group of farms that are similar for all observable parameters Differences among animal farms are more often continuous and not categorical, therefore inclusion in a cluster is sometimes arbitrary What means including a farm in a cluster? Adopting the technology for that cluster Making specific management choices

Some Sources of Variation to create Clusters Social Situation Size of Farm Management level Geographical Location Economic Conditions Type of Production Environmental Context Farm Cluster Farmed Animals

What is a Cluster? Animal farms within the same cluster should adopt the same technology to reach the set goals If the technology is not appropriate for the farm (i.e. not being in the right cluster), the outcome is a lack of efficiency Extension service, dealers, veterinarians, should support the farmers to take the right technical decisions (and therefore to belong to the right cluster)

What makes a Cluster more ready to adopt proper technologies? Some cluster is more served by science than others Some cluster is more considered by industrial strategy than others Some cluster is more receptive to adoption of proper technologies than others Some cluster is forced to adopt proper technologies by local legislation

Which Solution? A crucial step is to decide which solution (technique) to apply for every cluster Similar clusters have similar solutions (techniques) The global governance must support research to find possible solutions The global governance must render economic interesting for industries to adopt proposed solutions

there must be found a set of many possible solutions to fit any local situation (clusters)

Dynamism Issue The hardest of all economic problems is what to make next (Forbes, 2016) Dynamism is also different for every local cluster Every farm is different even within the same cluster in the same period The fast dynamism of economic, social and technical conditions must generate lively scientific activity The general set of technical solutions must be constantly updated

Set of Solutions Environmental issues are more considered in developed countries

Specificities of Developed Countries Developed countries have advantages: Researches conduct and tested locally More possibilities to invest Developed countries should support farmers in the decision moments: Industry activities Extension service Economic tools Legislative actions

Set of Solutions Environmental issues are more considered in developed countries Environmental issues creates constraints to animal farmers (more in the future)

The importance of technical developments Maintain (increase) the production level and Improve (maintain) the environmental conditions Apply new technological developments

Punctual Application The punctual application of the technique set of solutions is the key Development of new technologies is quite fast in developed countries Diffusion is susceptible to receptivity of farmers With farms size growing, management is more open to invest on new technologies

Technological Application Technological applications to render the farms more efficient and environmental friendly: Feeding strategies Genetics Farm management...

Technological Application feeding strategies Feeding strategies can be changed or modified to diminish environmental impact It can happen only in developed countries and for specific conditions The feed price and efficiency will anyway mark the difference

Technological Application genetics Improved genotypes designed for high productive animals Selecting for feed efficiency can diminish the environmental impact of the selected animals Improve overall efficiency through breeding schemes application can diminish the environmental impact

Technological Application farm management Punctual application of Precision Livestock Farming is very important (but requires the possibility to invest) On average, 20% of animal productivity losses globally can be attributed to disease (OIE) which in turns increases GHG Sound manure management not only contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also offers important benefits for reducing nutrient losses and other environmental impacts

Civil Society Perception Civil society perception of animal farming also has changed The society and its acceptance and need of animal products are parameters changing rapidly and locally Choice of the set of techniques must cope with the societal acceptance of farming methods

Animal Farming Revolution From: focusing on productivity first and then to sustainability to reduce environmental impact To: sustainability as the core strategy for livestock systems

Weaknesses Without a shared animal farming revolution, results will be delayed and heterogeneous If the revolutions is shared but results will be reached only in few situations, the global efforts will be useless

Is global sustainability understood? Global sustainability is increasingly understood at all levels (mainly in developed countries) The human pressure is causing global environmental risks Agriculture is at the heart of the problem

The Dualism! Essential role in human existence Agriculture Causes (not always) huge environmental problems

Who is in charge? Farmers, policy makers, industries, scientists, civil societies should communicate and act properly There should be a global shared goal Industries and scientists should work to prepare set of methods to cope with this problem Policy makers should facilitate the actions

Who is in charge? Farmers should be aware of having a global crucial role (and open to adopt the suggestions coming from industries, scientists, policy makers) Developed countries should lead action and strategy, developing will have to follow Creation a set of global shared rules and standards to follow Increase the research activities for developing countries farm clusters

Some Important Lessons Science and research should predict and guide the reality and not being behind ( There is urgent need for the development and application of economic and policy analysis tools to aid rational decision-making in the management of the global domestic AnGR, Rege and Gibson, 2003) When referring to Animal Production systems, the future is not a fixed time but a dynamic and changeable period It is really important to predict economic and environment conditions

Step 1 Global Shared Goals Step 2 Industry/Research Step 3 Application in Clusters Increase Animal Production/ Lower Environmental Impact

Step 1 Global Shared Goals Step 2 Step 3 Industry/Research Control and re-adjustment Application in Clusters Increase Animal Production/ Lower Environmental Impact

Step 1 Global Shared Goals Step 2 Industry/Research Step 3 Application in Clusters Increase Animal Production/ Lower Environmental Impact

Likely, the goals will not be reached

Farmers Societal Acceptance Food Production Research and Technology Industries Economy (short terms objectives)

Conclusions With the request of massive increase of animal products and the relative constraints, the chances to keep at the same level the environment and to satisfy the global request are limited The current (and future) social, technical and economic situations do not favourite a solution

True Science Disseminate broadly the outcomes of accurate research activities Support the discussion on food production respecting the environment by putting forward scientific facts Lobbying for and strengthening specific research funds to answer environmental problems

Thanks for your Attention! rosati@eaap.org