55
(Federación Colombiano de Ganaderos, FEDEGAN) as well as a Colombia sustainable livestock foundation (La Fundación Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas
Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, CIPAV) to implement a more resilient
form of livestock production: the silvopastoral production system (SPS) (Box 2.8).
Rows of fodder shrubs interspersed with grasses and trees characterize silvopastoral systems.
Photo credit: Neil Palmer, CIAT
With technical advice from CIPAV’s SPS experts, ranchers plant fodder shrubs
in high densities and intercropped with grasses and trees in rows. Using special fodder shrubs like Leucaena leucocephala and grasses like Brachiaria (high-protein
fodder and grasses developed by CGIAR (Consultative Group for International
Agricultural Research) institutions such as the International Center for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT)) boosts forage nutrition for cattle, allowing them to gain weight
and produce more milk and meat in less time.
Leucaena shrubs grow rapidly and help fix nitrogen to soil, enriching soil health.
Such forages grow deep root systems that help prevent soil erosion and can be integrated in other silvopastoral systems globally.
Box 2.8 Enabling Higher Productivity While Protecting the
Environment in Colombia
Using a healthy agricultural systems (HAS) approach that focuses on increasing productivity while preserving the assets – the water, soil, and rich biodiversity that make productivity possible – The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and
its partners are enabling farmers of all sizes to adopt practices that repair the
land and sequester carbon, thereby ensuring more productive and profitable
farm operations.
In Colombia, TNC and partners have supported 2600 ranchers in their transition to healthy agricultural systems over the past 7 years. Results have been
impressive. Milk and meat production increased by 20%. Bird species
numbers increased from 140 to 193, and the number of terrestrial mollusks,
(continued)
2 Productivity in Agriculture for a Sustainable Future
(Federación Colombiano de Ganaderos, FEDEGAN) as well as a Colombia sustainable livestock foundation (La Fundación Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas
Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, CIPAV) to implement a more resilient
form of livestock production: the silvopastoral production system (SPS) (Box 2.8).
Rows of fodder shrubs interspersed with grasses and trees characterize silvopastoral systems.
Photo credit: Neil Palmer, CIAT
With technical advice from CIPAV’s SPS experts, ranchers plant fodder shrubs
in high densities and intercropped with grasses and trees in rows. Using special fodder shrubs like Leucaena leucocephala and grasses like Brachiaria (high-protein
fodder and grasses developed by CGIAR (Consultative Group for International
Agricultural Research) institutions such as the International Center for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT)) boosts forage nutrition for cattle, allowing them to gain weight
and produce more milk and meat in less time.
Leucaena shrubs grow rapidly and help fix nitrogen to soil, enriching soil health.
Such forages grow deep root systems that help prevent soil erosion and can be integrated in other silvopastoral systems globally.
Box 2.8 Enabling Higher Productivity While Protecting the
Environment in Colombia
Using a healthy agricultural systems (HAS) approach that focuses on increasing productivity while preserving the assets – the water, soil, and rich biodiversity that make productivity possible – The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and
its partners are enabling farmers of all sizes to adopt practices that repair the
land and sequester carbon, thereby ensuring more productive and profitable
farm operations.
In Colombia, TNC and partners have supported 2600 ranchers in their transition to healthy agricultural systems over the past 7 years. Results have been
impressive. Milk and meat production increased by 20%. Bird species
numbers increased from 140 to 193, and the number of terrestrial mollusks,
(continued)
2 Productivity in Agriculture for a Sustainable Future