Page 65 - FAO-IPCC Expert meeting on climate change

Appendix 01: Speakers’ summary notes
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on crop residues, legumes and grasses are varied across feed items, regions and systems. They express themselves in terms of changes in overall biomass production and feed availability, changes in feed quality and changes in species and feed item composition.
Implications for adaptation
Regions identified as the most vulnerable to climate change, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, are also regions where farmers and rural communities rely the most on livestock for food, income and livelihoods, and where livestock is expected to contribute increasingly to food security and better nutrition. Adaptation will be needed if households are to cope with the multiple (inter-related) stresses of climate change, population growth, urbanization, globalization, etc. This requires not only considerable -public and/or private- investment but also real change in on-the- ground behavior.
As the climate change effects are strongly influenced by species/genetic potential, health and nutritional status, technical entry-points for adaptation include genetic improvement, animal health interventions and improved
feed strategies. Other adaptation options require changes at the landscape of system level. Examples include diversification of production and income, shifts in species and production systems, land use planning and sustainable land management, and protection of ecosystem services. Widespread adoption of such adaptation options (and combinations thereof) requires appropriate governance mechanisms, institutions and policies. Interventions enabling such include improving markets and trade, establishing early warning systems and contingency planning, providing livestock insurance, organising climate finance mechanisms and payments for ecosystem services.
The choice of adaptation options needs to take the local livestock production systems, farmers’ socio-economic and cultural circumstances and the policy context into account. The prioritization of options and design of a context- specific investment portfolio entails an iterative –and ideally participatory- process of listing potential options, assessing adoption and out-scaling potential and estimating impacts.
Feed as a triple-win climate-smart intervention
Improved feeding provides a clear entry-point for enhancing:
1. Livestock production: Feed shortage, especially during the dry season, is one of the most important issues raised by livestock farmers across the developing world. Improved feeding strategies, increasing quantity and quality of the feed baskets, can increase production of safe and nutritious livestock products and the income of livestock keepers.
2. Climate change resilience: Feed availability and quality is often cited as one of the biggest risks for livestock associated with climate change. Improved and well-adapted feed crops and forages -grown under appropriate management- can contribute to the resilience of livestock production systems. They can reverse land degradation through use of animal manure, soil erosion control if planted for such purpose and general improvement of soil fertility, especially by legumes which have nitrogen fixing capacities or when integrated with other soil fertility management options.
3. GHG emission intensity: The provision of feeds and forages of higher digestibility is a well-documented mitigation option, specifically so for ruminant production in the developing world. To maximize the benefits of improved feed quality and to reduce the leakage effect (of farmers keeping more livestock because of their increased productivity and thus economic return), reductions in animal numbers also need to be part of the strategy.
As such, feed and forage interventions (e.g. improved germplasm, feed and forage conservation, establishment of fodder banks, supplementation, land restoration and reseeding of pastures) are amongst the most promising climate- smart options in the livestock sector.
Conclusion
The livestock sector is essential to people - providing employment, income, food and nutrition – as well as the planet. Livestock production is well adapted to different climates and provide greater resilience to smallholders in the face of climatic or disease shocks than do crops alone.
FAO-IPCC Expert meeting on climate change, land use and food security