Abstract
The demand for livestock products is rising rapidly in tropical areas as a consequence of increased human population. As demand for food increases, deforestation and land degradation occur. Though varying by country and region, the conversion of forest into cattle pastures has been one of the main driving forces of this degradation. In various Latin American countries, the creation of livestock farms, with government support, has been the single most important source of deforestation. This expansion of cattle ranching is also one of the principle causes of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture releases significant amounts of CO2, CH4, and N2O into the atmosphere. For example, CO2 is released largely from microbial decay or the burning of plant litter and soil organic matter produced during agricultural processes. Recently, silvopastoral systems (SPSs) have been advocated as promising alternatives to current practices by reconciling conservation and development needs. SPS is the production of livestock on land in a system which combines multipurpose leguminous shrubs at high densities together with grasses to improve both the yield and quality of fodder, resulting in milk and meat products with a high potential to attract an organic premium. This SPS plays an important role in healthy milk and meat production. Recent research advances have proven that Leucaena grass pastures are the most productive, profitable, and sustainable pasture-fed option for agroecological cattle production. Because the levels of input have traditionally been relatively low in the production of meat and milk from extensive grassland systems, they are among the easiest to convert to organic production. However, the long-term prospects for organic systems are not clear. There is continued pressure to ensure that all livestock systems and agriculture in general develop in a way that has minimal environmental impact. The differences between organic and conventional systems may diminish over time, and the pressure in demand for organic products may slow. Compared with other sources of fodder for meat and milk production, SPSs can provide a cheap source of feed. The SPS produces double the amount of milk and meat compared to pastures in monocrops with the minimum use of external inputs. The objective of this chapter is to describe the potential of SPS for organic milk and meat production.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Abbreviations
- AU:
-
Animal units
- CP:
-
Crude protein
- DM:
-
Dry matter
- FAO:
-
Food and Agriculture Organization
- GHG:
-
Greenhouse gases
- LME:
-
Liquid milk equivalent
- ME:
-
Metabolizable energy
- Mmt:
-
Million metric tons
- NDF:
-
Neutral detergent fiber
- SPSs:
-
Silvopastoral systems
- UNEP:
-
United Nations Environmental Program
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
References
Barros-Rodríguez M, Solorio-Sánchez J, Ku-Vera J, Ayala-Burgos A, Sandoval-Castro C, Solís-Pérez G (2012) Productive performance and urinary excretion of mimosine metabolites by hair sheep grazing in a silvopastoral system with high densities of Leucaena leucocephala. Trop Anim Health Prod 44(8):1873–1878
Barros-Rodríguez M, Solorio-Sánchez J, Sandoval-Castro C, Klieve AV, Briceño-Poot E, Rojas-Herrera R (2013) Effects of two intake levels of Leucaena leucocephala on rumen function of sheep. Tropical Grasslands-Forrajes Tropicales 1(1):55–57
Blokhuis HJ, Jones RB, Geers R, Miele M, Veissier I (2003) Measuring and monitoring animal welfare: transparency in the food product quality chain. Anim Welfare 12:445–455
Broom DM, Fraser AF (2007) Domestic animal behaviour and welfare, 4th edn. CABI, Wallingford
Chaudhri R, Timmer CP (2003) The impact of changing affluence on diet and demand patterns for agricultural commodities. World Bank working paper # 785
Cruz P (1997) Effect of shade on the growth and mineral nutrition of a C4 perennial grass under field conditions. Plant Soil 188(2):227–237
Delgado C (2003) Rising consumption of meat and milk in developing countries has created a new food revolution. J Nutr. Supplement 2907S–3910S
FAO (2002) World agriculture towards 2015/2030. FAO, Rome
FAO (2006) Livestock’s long shadow—environmental issues and options. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
FAO (2012) World agriculture towards 2030/2050. ESA Working Paper No. 12-03. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
FAO (2014) http://www.fao.org/livestock-environment/en/. Accessed 19 Sept 2014
FAOSTAT (2015) Food and agriculture organization of the United Nation, Statistics Division. http://faostat3.fao.org/download/FB/CL/E
Ferguson BG, Diemont SAW, Alfaro-Arguello R, Martin JF, Nahed-Toral J, Alvarez-Solís D, Pinto-Ruiz R (2013) Sustainability of holistic and conventional cattle ranching in the seasonally tropics of Chiapas, Mexico. Agri Syst 120:38–48
Finch E (2014) Suppliers struggle to meet demand for popular organic milk. CBS New York Business, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/27/suppliers-struggle-to-meet-demand-for-popular-organic-milk/ Accessed 18 Sept 2014
Fukase A, Martin W (2014) Who will feed China in the 21st Century? Income growth and food demand and supply in China. The World Bank Development Research group Agriculture and rural development team. Policy Research Working Paper 6926
Galindo F, Olea R, Suzán G (2013) Animal welfare and sustainability. International Workshop on Farm Animal Welfare, São Paulo. http://www.workshopdebemestaranimal.com.br/indexen.html
Garnett T (2009) Livestock-related GHG emissions: impacts and options for policy makers. Environ Sci Policy 12:491–503
Gerbens-Leenes PW, Nonhebel S (2002) Consumption patterns and their effects on land required for food. Ecol Econ 42(1):185–199
Gerbens-Leenes PW, Nonhebel S (2005) Food and land use. The influence of consumption patterns on the use of agricultural resources. Appetite 45:24–31
Hogh Jensen H (2011) To meet future food demands we need to change from annual grain legumes to multipurpose semi perennial legumes. In: Food production approaches, Challenges and task, Tech-open access Publisher
Ibrahim M, Villanueva C, Mora J, Mosquera-Losada MR, Rigueiro-Rodríguez A, McAdam J (2005) Traditional and improved silvopastoral systems and their importance in sustainability of livestock farms. In: Silvopastoralism and sustainable land management. Proceedings of an international congress on silvopastoralism and sustainable management held in Lugo, Spain, April 2004, CABI Publishing, pp 13–18
Jank L, Valle CD, Resende RMS (2005) Grass and forage plant improvement in the tropics and sub-tropics. Grassland: a global resource. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, pp 69–81
Kahn D (2014) As California record drought strengthens, organic milk faces financial crisis. Climate ware, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-californias-record-drought-strengthens-organic-milk-faces-financial-crisis/ Accessed 18 Sept 2014
Lustig RH, Schmidt LA, Brindis CD (2012) The toxic truth about sugar. Nature 482:27–29
Mahecha L, Murgueitio M, Angulo J, Olivera M, Zapata A, Cuartas C, Naranjo J, y Murgueitio E (2012) Ceba de bovinos doble propósito pastoreando en sistemas silvopastoriles intensivos. In: Solorio-Sánchez FJ, Sánchez-Brito y C, Ku-Vera J (eds), Memorias del IV congreso internacional sobre sistemas silvopastoriles intensivos. Morelia, México, Fundación Produce Michoacán, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
Mayo Eusebio R (2014) Ganancia de peso de bovinos en crecimiento en un sistema silvopastoril intensivo y en un sistema en confinamiento en Michoacán, México, MSc. Thesis in Agricultural Sciences. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Yucatan, Mexico
McMichael A, Powles JW, Butler CD, Uauy R (2007) Energy and health 5. “Food, livestock production, energy, climate change and health”. Lancet 370:1253–1263
Murgueitio E, Giraldo C (2009) Sistemas silvopastoriles y control de parásitos. Revista Carta Fedegán 115:60–63
Murgueitio E, Ibrahim M (2008) Ganadería y medio ambiente en América Latina. In: Murgueitio E, Cuartas CA, Naranjo JF (eds) Ganadería del Futuro. Fundación CIPAV, Cali, pp 19–39
Nahed-Toral J, Valdivieso-Pérez A, Aguilar-Jiménez R, Cámara-Cordova J, Grande-Cano D (2013) Silvopastoral systems with traditional management in southeastern Mexico: a prototype of livestock agroforestry for cleaner production. J Clean Prod 57:266–279
Ocampo A, Cardozo A, Tarazona A, Ceballos M, Murgueitio E (2011) La investigación participativa en bienestar y comportamiento animal en el trópico de América: oportunidades para nuevo conocimiento aplicada. Revista Colombiana Ciencias Pecuarias 24:332–346
Rosegrant MW, Valmonte-Santos RA, Cline SA, Ringler C, Li W (2005) Water resources, agriculture and pasture: implications of growing demand and increasing scarcity. In: Grassland: a global resource. Proceedings 2005 International Grassland Congress, vol 26. Dublin, pp 227–249)
Ruiz-González A (2013) Balance de nitrógeno y composición de la leche de vacas alimentadas con Leucaena leucocephala. MSc Thesis in Agricultural Sciences. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Yucatan, Mexico, p 63
Salman M, New Jr JC, Bailey M, Brown C, Detwiler L, Galligan D, Hall C, Kennedy M, Lonergan G, Mann L, Renter D, Saeed M, White B. Zika S (2008) Global food systems and public health: production methods and animal husbandry. A National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production Report, Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. Comparative Medicine Publications and Other Work, http://trace.tennessee.edu/utkcompmedpubs/32 Retrieve 1 Oct 2011
Sarabia-Salgado L (2013) Efecto de la frecuencia de poda en Leucaena leucocephala y Panicum maximum sobre la fijación y transferencia de nitrógeno atmosférico en sistemas silvopastoriles intensivos. MSc. Thesis in Agricultural Sciences. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Yucatan, Mexico
Shelton M, Dalzell S (2007) Production, economic and environmental benefits of leucaena pastures. Trop Grasslands 41:174–190
Suttie JM, Reynolds SG & Batello C (2005) Grasslands of the World. Plant production and protection, 34. FAO. Rome, p 514
Thornton PK (2010) Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects. Phil Trans R Soc 365:2853–2867
United Nations Environmental Program (2005) Life cycle approaches. The road from analysis to practice, UNEP/SETAC, Life cycle initiative. 89 pp
Utrilla-García MP (2013) Conducta ingestiva e indicadores fisiológicos de toros en crecimiento en un sistema silvopastoril con Leucaena leucocephala asociado con Panicum máximum. MSc. Thesis in Agricultural Sciences. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Yucatan, Mexico
White T (2000) Diet and the distribution of environmental impact. Ecol Econ 34(234):145–153
World Health Organization (2014) Global status report on alcohol and health-2014.
Acknowledgments
This publication was partially supported by the Fundacion Produce Michoacan (Grant number 2013-0012 and 2012-0003) and the SAGARPA-CONACYT (Grant Number 2011-14-175169).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Solorio, F.J. et al. (2016). The Potential of Silvopastoral Systems for Milk and Meat Organic Production in the Tropics. In: Nandwani, D. (eds) Organic Farming for Sustainable Agriculture. Sustainable Development and Biodiversity, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26803-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26803-3_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26801-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26803-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)