SUSTAINABILITY

Livestock. The XV Meeting of the Commission on Livestock Development for Latin America and the Caribbean (CODEGALAC in Spanish) was held in Uruguay from August 17 to 19. The Commission brings together representatives of governments and the regional private sector to exchange policy experiences and formulate recommendations for the development of the sector. During the meeting, the parties present pledged to prioritize actions to promote a sustainable increase in the production, availability and quality of livestock products, promoting access to productive resources, financing, training and the connection of the livestock sector. The next meeting of the Commission was scheduled for 2023.

The opening of CODEGALAC was attended by Julio Berdegué, FAO Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, who said that livestock farming in Latin America contributes 1.3 gigatons of carbon equivalent, or 2-3% of total global emissions. In the search for carbon neutrality in livestock production, Berdegué argued that alliances between governments, companies, consumers and scientists are required. He also explained that, faced with the opportunity of a possible 14% increase in world demand for meat, the region faces the challenge of making production processes more efficient with traceability tools and new technological developments in order to meet the eventual increase in global consumers.

Berdegué also mentioned that the sector’s challenges come from its decoupling from the deforestation of tropical forests, which although it is not the main deforesting sector, its impact on forest loss is significant. With a view to reducing this impact, the space committed to working to promote legal frameworks and support policies to increase the competitiveness of small producers in regional, national and local markets, encouraging participation and effective and efficient partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Next steps

At the end of the meeting, the CODEGALAC member countries agreed to ask FAO, together with other international organizations, to promote a “Regional Platform on Livestock and Climate Change” for technical assistance and capacity building in this area. The countries will also seek to promote regulatory changes to make livestock production processes more efficient with a lower carbon footprint.