The Low Emissions Livestock Workshop
Getachew Tegegn
natanim5102003@gmail.com
July, 2018
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND
LIVESTOCK RESOURCES

Outline
• Trends of livestock production and production systems
• climate change mitigation, National Determined
Contributions (NDCs) and role of agriculture and
livestock
• In agriculture, GHG emissions are attributable to
livestock and crops

Trends of livestock production and production
systems
• Livestock farming is one of the major agricultural
activities in the country that is contributing towards
achieving development goals of the National Growth
and Reduction of Poverty.
• Ethiopia is recognized as one of the poorest and most
food-insecure countries in the world.
• It is primarily a net exporter of agricultural products,
with 85 percent of its population employed in
agriculture.
• The estimated production of livestock products and
per capita consumption of the product such as meat,
milk, and eggs increased between the year 2015/16
and 2017/2018

Cont’d
• Livestock sub-sector creates livelihood for 65% of the rural
population (Ayele et al., 2003 (World Institute for
Sustainable Pastoralism, 2008); and accounts for about 12–
15% of the national export earnings (MEDaC, 1998; FAO,
1999; EEA, 2005).
• Livestock production also employs about one-third of the
country’s rural population (EARO 2000).
• While additional benefit, accumulation of wealth and socio-
cultural functions are among others (Ayalew et al., 2003;
Udo et al., 2011).
• For Ethiopia’s rural poor, livestock remain an important
safety net, a living bank, and a hedge against hard times for
those with few other assets.
• Livestock in Ethiopia represent more than half the average
wealth of rural households (World Development Report,
2008).

Cont’d
• For many families, net worth is measured by how
many livestock they own, with cattle at the top of
the valuation
It has been widely acknowledged that the livestock
sub sector has the potential to drive the country’s
economic development,
 a reduction in poverty
 increase the food security of its people
 contribute to national income growth (GDP),
 to exports and foreign exchange earnings (GTP2
objectives).
 They had potential to reduce GHG emission
(abatement, CRGE).

Livestock production trend;
• Ethiopian farmers have had a long tradition of animal husbandry.
• It is estimated that Ethiopia possesses the largest number of
livestock in Africa. It is composed of 59.5 million cattle, 30.4 million
sheep and 30.2 million goats (CSA, 2016/17).
 The cattle population in Ethiopia has historically grown in line with the
expansion of the population. The CSA projects a population growth
rate of 2.62% annually, which will add 54 million people to Ethiopia’s
population by 2030.
 current practices, the cattle population is likely to increase from
around 55 million (CSA, 2013) to more than 90 million in 2030 (CRGE,
2011), thereby almost reaching the cattle carrying capacity of the
country and more doubling GHG emissions from the livestock sector.
 The population of other species of livestock in Ethiopia is also growing
rapidly. The combined population of other livestock is expected to
grow from 11 million tropical livestock units in 2010 to 24 million
tropical livestock units in 2030.

Production system.
• The predominant livestock production system in
Ethiopia is extensive where indigenous animal is kept
under low input/output husbandry practices.
• The mixed crop-livestock production system found in
the mid- and high altitude agro-ecologies favor the
cereals and cash crops (MRS and MRD). In addition to
milk and meat, livestock play vital role in providing
draught power for crop production.
• The low altitude areas are mainly suited to pastoral
and agro-pastoral activities based on animal
production.
• Commercial production system found around urban
and peri-urban areas based on dairy, feedlot and
poultry production

production
• Cattle was found to be the dominant species in 70% to 90% of
livestock producing households, depending upon production zone,
and thus cattle dominate smallholder income generation and
meat/milk production in all production zones lowland and highland
(MRS, MRD and LG), as well as in specialized commercial scale
production systems.
• Moreover, cattle were found to account for about 72% of the meat
and 77% of the milk produced annually.
• Cattle thus play a dominant role in producing smallholder income
and in meeting domestic meat and milk consumption requirements.
• the current average beef yield per animal of 108.4 kg is by far less
than 130 kg for eastern Africa, 146 kg for Africa, and 200 kg for the
whole world (FAO STAT, 2004).
• The national average cow milk yield per animal for Ethiopia is
estimated to be 198.6 kg compared to 320.7kg for eastern Africa,
and 2199 kg for the world (FAO STAT, 2004).

climate change mitigation, National Determined
Contributions (NDCs) and role of agriculture and
livestock
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Working
Group 1 report (IPCC, 2007) reinforced the scientific consensus that
man-made greenhouse gas emissions are likely to have made a
significant contribution to the recent climate changes and on
further changes in the future (Falloon et al., 2010).
• Objectives of climate change mitigation is reduced amount of GHG
emission through implementation of measures that reduce the
amount of emissions (abatement) or enhance absorption capacity
of greenhouse gases (sequestration) while maintaining or improving
productivity and adaptation. Kropp and Scholze (2009) describe
mitigation as ‘avoiding the unmanageable’
• Role of agriculture; the agricultural sector having considerable
potential for short to medium term climate mitigation and
adaptation options (Falloon et al., 2010).
• The livestock production system contributes to global climate
change directly through the production of methane from enteric
fermentation and manure management and Nitrous Oxide (NO2)
from manure production (CRGE, 2011; Dourmad et. al., 2008).

Cont’d
• Ethiopia’s contribution to GHG emissions is very low on a global
scale. If current practices prevail, GHG emissions in Ethiopia will
more than double from 150 Mt CO2e to 400 Mt CO2e in 2030. On a
per capita basis, emissions are set to increase by more than 50% to
3.0 tCO2e – and will thus exceed the global target to keep per
capita emissions between 1 t and 2 t per capita in order to limit the
negative effects on climate change
• Of the 150 Mt CO2e in 2010, more than 85% of GHG emissions
came from the agricultural and forestry sectors. They are followed
by power, transport, industry and buildings, which contributed 3%
– Agriculture current = 75 MtCO2e under BAU by 2030= 180 and
mitigation potential 90
– Livestock current = 65 MtCO2e, under BAU by 2030 =124 Mtco2e and
mitigation potential= 58

National /sectoral Response
• Response to overcome the intensifying impacts of CC is
developing a holistic sectoral strategy to enhance mitigation
& adaptation capacity against CC to ensure sustained
development.
• The sector have SRAP,GHG measurement & manual
Agricultural protocol
• The sector has initiated Mitigation and Adaptation strategy in
2015/2016:
 To protect the Livestock from the adverse impacts of CC;
 To realize vision of attaining a middle income by 2025;
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In agriculture, GHG emissions are attributable to
livestock and crops
• Livestock emissions are estimated to amount
to 65 Mt CO2e in 2010 – more than 40% of
total emissions today. The cultivation of crops
contributes to the concentration of
greenhouse gases mainly by requiring the use
of fertiliser (~10 Mt CO2e) as well as by
emitting N2O from crop residues reintroduced
into the ground (~3 Mt CO2e).

Ethiopia’s GHG emissions profile in 2010 (Figures in
Mt CO2e).
Livestock, 65
Crop, 13
Forest, 55
Transport, 3
Electric Power, 5
Industry, 3
Building, 5
Livestock Crop Forest Transport Electric Power Industry Building

Overview of CRGE strategy
Implementing CRGE strategy could ensure low carbon economic development
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BA
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Sce
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CRGE
Scenario
Agriculture
SectorShare

National mitigation contribution
• contributing to reaching economic and social
development targets, the potential to contribute to the
global effort by abating around 250 Mt CO2e in 2030 as
compared to conventional development practices
• This equals a decrease in GHG emissions of up to 64%
compared to BAU in 2030. Given the projected
population growth, emissions on a per capita basis
would decrease from 1.8 t of CO2e to 1.1 – a decrease
of around 35% – while multiplying GDP per capita from
USD 380 to more than USD 1,800.

Cont’d
• Agriculture and forestry received particular attention: they
contribute around 45% and 25% respectively to projected
GHG emission levels under business-as-usual assumptions
and together account for around 80% of the total
abatement potential
• Livestock are a significant contributor to the GDP of
Ethiopia and are the main source of income for a large part
of the society). Simultaneously, a large share of GHG
emissions originates in the Livestock sector, and the sector
is expected to expand even faster than population growth.
• To prevent the projected doubling of livestock-related
emissions from 65 Mt CO2e in 2010 to 124 Mt CO2e by
2030, the potential targets identified by the GE Strategy
that offer an abatement potential of 45 Mt CO2e are
enhancing and intensifying animal mix diversification,
improving value-chain, mechanization

How do livestock development objectives and
environmental objectives come together?
livestock development and environmental objectives
• systematically integrates climate change into the
planning and development of sustainable agricultural
systems/sustainable intensification
• integrates multiple goals and manages trade-
offs: multiple goal that produces triple-win outcomes:
reduced emissions, at the same time increased
productivity and enhanced resilience. This requires to
identify synergies and weigh the costs and benefits of
different options based on stakeholder objectives
identified
• Risk management strategies, such as choosing adapted
animal types and breeds, may decrease greenhouse
gas emissions rates because of a smaller proportion of
non-productive animals in the herd.

Interventions contributed to reduction of
environmental impacts of Ethiopian
• Improving productivity of dairy herds in terms of milk
and meat, both at animal and herd level. Interventions
include improvements in feeding, breeding, herd
composition, health and housing;
• The post farm-gate dairy value chain and other
Livestock product to reduce milk and meat… losses;
• Improving nutrient use efficiency for sustaining dairy
production in the long term(Intervention dairy value
chain,2-29% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per
kg milk; improvements in feed quality were most
effective,2-39% reduction in land use per kg milk and
0-72% reduction in energy use per kg milk).

Cont’d
• Agroforestry is a diversification option providing improved
feed from (often leguminous) trees or shrubs, while at the
same time sequestering carbon (Mbow et al. 2014).
• Better feeding increases production and lowers the
greenhouse gas production per kg of animal produce
(Gerber et al. 2013).
• Most feed management practices contribute to sustainable
intensification, which is seen as key strategy for mitigation
in African livestock systems (Hristov et al. 2013).
• Similarly, improving animal husbandry, though, for
example, veterinary care, improved breeding, and stall
feeding can lead to a lower ‘‘herd overhead’’ and hence
less emissions per unit of product (Gerber et al. 2013).

Cont’d
• engages women and marginalized groups
• the mitigation approaches must involve the
poorest and most vulnerable groups. These
groups often live on marginal lands which are
most vulnerable to climate events like drought
and floods.
• maintains ecosystems services

Thanks
E-mail natanim5102003@gmail.com