Karen Enciso Valencia, Álvaro Rincón Castillo, Alejandro Ruden and Stefan Burkart 58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, July 10-14, Cartagena, Colombia

1. The use of Arachis pintoi in
cattle systems in Colombia's
Orinoquía region as a first step
towards silvopastoral systems
Enciso, Karen; Rincón, Álvaro; Ruden,
Alejandro; Burkart, Stefan
July 12, 2022
58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical
Biology and Conservation, July 10-14, Cartagena, Colombia

2. Context, objective and methodology

3. Problem description
• In parts of the Colombian Orinoquía region, cattle production takes place on
poorly drained soils.
• Extensive grazing systems with Brachiaira humidicola cv. Humidicola dominate:
high adaptation potential and biomass production but low nutritional quality.
• Feed shortage is a major constraint, particularly during dry season.
• According to climatic projections for the region, climate change (CC) will
negatively affect quantity and quality of forages and increase heat stress risks
for cattle.
• AGROSAVIA selected Arachis pintoi CIAT 22160 cv. Centauro (Centauro) as a
promising alternative for the sustainable intensification of cattle production
and rehabilitation of degraded areas.
a

4. Evaluation processes of Arachis pintoi in Colombia

5. General characteristics:
Arachis pintoi CIAT 22160 cv. Centauro
Good nutritional quality
(leaf CP 15 -18% ) and
high biomass production
Good shade tolerance
Strong persistence, competes
with weeds, and is tolerant to
several pests and diseases.
High soil cover levels (>90%),
favoring the reduction of soil
compaction and erosion.
Improves the persistence
of the associated grasses
(N fixation)
Helps in reducing GHG emissions
(ruminal fermentation processes
and use of nitrogen fertilizers).

6. Objective
To assesses dual-purpose milk production in the foothills of the Colombian Orinoquía from
an economic perspective. We compare 2 production systems:
T1: Centauro–Brachiaria humidicola cv.
Humidicola association (new system)
T2: Brachiaria humidicola cv. Humidicola as a
monoculture (traditional system).

7. Methodology
Interdependence of the models used in this study (Maxent, Life-Sim, and economic models).

8. Results and conclusions

9. Economic evaluation under the current scenario
Summary of main costs and revenues for the grass-legume association and the grass monoculture.
Economic indicators Grass-legume association Grass monoculture
Milk production (l ha−1 y−1) 2,373 1,560
Gross income from milk sales (US$ ha−1 y−1) 834.2 548.6
Gross income from weaned calf sales (US$ ha−1 y−1) 489.5 257.0
Pasture establishment costs (US$ ha−1)a 642 450
Production costs (US$ ha−1 y−1) 787.9 699.7
Net income system (US$ ha−1 y−1) 212.0 −7.0
Unit cost of milk production (US$ l−1) 0.2 0.3
Milk profit margin (US$ l−1) 0.1 0.0
Unit cost of calf production (US$ kg−1) 1.2 1.5
aIncludes the costs associated with soil analysis, machinery rental, inputs and labor required for soil preparation,
fertilization, weed control, and planting of the material for both treatments. Vegetative material and labor costs for
planting the legume are added to the items required for the establishment of a grass in monoculture.

10. Estimated change in suitable areas for Centauro by 2050 under RCP
2.6 (left) and RCP 8.5 (right).
Results MaxEnt model
Changes in suitable areas towards
higher altitudes (RCP 2.6).
A general reduction of suitable
areas for the legume (RCP 8.5).

11. Changes in milk production under climate change scenarios.
Strong decrease in milk
production in both systems:
during dry season by 23% (RCP
2.6) and 33% (RCP 8.5) for T1,
and 63% y 67% for T2,
respectively.
Results LIFE-SIM model
Biomass production declines by
7.74% (RCP 2.6) and 16.62%
(RCP 8.5) for T1, and 14.95% and
35.27% for T2, respectively.

12. Economic evaluation under climate change scenario
NPV probability distribution for the grass-legume association and the grass monoculture under climate change
scenarios. GLA, Grass-legume association; GM, Grass monoculture.

13. • Integrating the legume Centauro in a Humidicola monoculture has great potential
to improve both productive and economic indicators in the dual-purpose cattle
production system of the Orinoquía region.
• Under the tested CC scenarios, the impact of atmospheric variables on forage
production is considerable: both total area and potential distribution will change,
and biomass production will decline.
• The effects of climate change on forage biomass production would lead to a strong
decrease in milk production in both systems. The grass-legume would, however, be
less affected (-19%) than the grass monoculture (−56%).
• The adoption of more efficient production practices (e.g., the use of trees in
paddocks, protein banks, or efficient animal breeding) are important for improving
resilience under CC scenarios.
Conclusions

14. DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.666604
Literature
DOI: 10.21930/agrosavia.brochure.7403909

15. Karen Enciso
k.enciso@cgiar.org
Thanks!