FAO promotes climate-smart livestock farming practices in Costa Rica

More than 80 livestock farmers associated with eleven Chambers of Livestock, together with representatives and technical staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the National Institute for Innovation and Transfer of Agricultural Technology (INTA) and the Federation of Chambers of Livestock Farmers of Guanacaste (FCGG) participated in training to strengthen and improve their knowledge on climate actions and climate-smart practices, with the aim of identifying new opportunities to address methane emissions in the Costa Rican livestock sector.

Background

Costa Rica's livestock sector is crucial for socio-economic development, providing employment, ecosystem services, and rural opportunities while ensuring a dependable supply of meat and dairy products for both domestic consumption and exports. Livestock farming in the country is characterized by grazing on small farms, contributing to natural reforestation.

To address environmental concerns, Costa Rica is actively working to reduce methane emissions. The Sustainable Livestock Policy, implemented under the Livestock Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (Livestock NAMA), has facilitated technical support to over 2 400 livestock farms. These farms are adopting climate change adaptation practices, increasing soil carbon stock, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing production practices for a more sustainable and environmentally responsible system.

About the training

The training took place in Liberia, Costa Rica, from 12 to 13 December 2023 within the framework of the FAO project on "Creating the enabling environment for enhanced climate ambition and action" funded by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).

This event promotes the efficient use of resources (water, feed, land), sustainable management of pastures on farms, incorporation of new innovative technologies, conservation of biodiversity with practices that enhance resilience and adaptation of livestock to climate variations, such as frequent droughts, heavy rains or floods.

The adoption of climate-smart practices can have a positive impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, there is a need to promote climate-smart practices as a strategy to transform livestock systems and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

“We have many challenges in the livestock sector, our country is making progress and has adopted the Livestock NAMA and continues to seek more financial resources to support the sector in achieving its development goals,” said Fernando Vargas, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica.

Concrete results

The training yielded concrete results:

• Identification of adaptation and mitigation measures: Successful identification of appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures specific to Costa Rica to strengthen the livestock sector.
• Challenges and strategies: Acknowledgment of existing challenges to the sustainable livestock sector while emphasizing the need to enhance the application of adaptation measures to economically empower the farmers to increase their contribution to the country's food security.
• Unique aspects of Costa Rican livestock: Acknowledging the distinct nature of Costa Rican livestock practices, there is an emphasis on reinforcing genetic potential and better grading of animals before slaughter to enhance the efficiency and quality of meat products.
• Differentiated meat and dairy recognition: Call for recognition of sustainable farms and use of specific labels to classify meat and dairy products based on associated environmentally friendly practices. This action will help to emphasize the quality of products as a priority. However, the labelling of products poses a challenge due to the complexity of existing regulations.
• Need for technical and financial support: There is a need to strengthen the technical and financial support from public institutions to increase the economic viability of livestock farms.
  

The workshop successfully addressed critical issues in climate-smart livestock practices, offering a comprehensive approach to boost resilience, mitigation interventions and economic development.