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Animal Production in Semi-Arid Regions in Brazil

Institutional Affiliation: Embrapa (the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), with technical support from the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)

Region/Locale: South America
References:
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, SHARING INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES, Volume 9
http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol9/content9new.asp

Published in partnership with:
Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO)
The Academy of Sciences for The Developing World (TWAS)

Website: http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol9/Brazil_v9_49-53.pdf

Description:
Some 90 million hectares of Brazil's northeastern region are classed as "semi-arid" and periodically suffer from prolonged droughts. Although the regular droughts severely damage the local economy, the region's characteristic caatinga brushwood flora survives well in the shallow, infertile soil.

Caatinga vegetation is a rich complex of deciduous woody and annual herbaceous species. Many of these provide forage to herds of goats; as a result, valuable species are being overgrazed and are becoming replaced by less desirable herbs and shrubs. As forage for goats becomes scarcer, local farmers are switching to raising cattle, which is having an even more devastating effect on the environment as the animals eat what they can and trample much of the rest. In some of Brazil's northeastern states, 15 per cent of the caatinga has already become desert.

The current situation, therefore, with some 26 million head of cattle, 10.4 million goats and 7.5 million sheep, is unsustainable as it is destroying biodiversity and the natural environment. It is also very low yielding for the farmers. The cattle reproduction rate is around 40 per cent, 30 per cent lower than what should be achievable; the calf mortality rate is 15 per cent; and animals reach a weight of about 340 kilogrammes in four to five years compared to the goal of 420 kilogrammes in three years. For goats, the interval between pregnancies is often more than 300 days and kid mortality is 35 per cent. Farmers' dependency on the very caatinga that their herds are destroying is the main reason for these poor yields, especially in periods of drought when caatinga forage becomes particularly scarce. Although caatinga may support animals during the rainy season, during the annual six to eight months of drought, vegetation is reduced by 60 per cent.

The situation is exacerbated as only about one third of the area's 1.5 million farm properties have sufficient water resources to see them through these droughts. Another third are at risk of collapse if the regular rains arrive a month later than expected. The final 500,000 farmers are completely dependent on regular rains for their water and thus are the worst hit by drought, which often forces them to walk up to 6 kilometres to collect water or, in some cases, to abandon their homesteads altogether. Migratory farmers also burn forest and brushwood in order to create fields for the production of subsistence crops. As the area's population grows and the existing landownership system forces more and more people to move into new areas, this practice is increasing. Wood extraction for industrial use, fuel or charcoal production is also having a devastating affect on the area's biodiversity.

Maps drawn up using the latest satellite technologies reveal the extent of the environmental degradation that has occurred in the area. Using these maps and other resources, the scientific community implemented an awareness-raising and information-sharing campaign and has encouraged local people to appreciate the importance of sustainable economic development that does not damage natural habitats. Worldwide concern over the issue has also helped to focus attention on this area of Brazil.

There have also been failed attempts to introduce alternative sources of fodder for the animal herd. Among the reasons for their failure are: the small size of farms, the legal system that governs farmers' ownership of the land, the absence of farmers' associations, and the lack of access to bank credit and government technical support.

In contrast, the caatinga-buffel-leucaena (CBL) farming system makes use of native forages derived from caatinga vegetation and other ecosystems. When implemented correctly, it has the potential to increase herd yield statistics and, hence, the sustainability of farming in the region by increasing the economic returns on livestock production.

Contact Information:
Gherman Garcia Leal De Araújo
Embrapa Semi-Arid, Br428, Km 152, Caixa Postal 23, CEP 56300-970, Petrolina-Pe, Brazil
Tel: (+55) 81 862 1711
Fax: (+55) 81 862 1744
E-mail: sac@cpatsa.embrapa.br

This Solution is directly associated with the following:

PUBLICATIONS
Selections from Sharing Innovative Experiences (2005)
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), The Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO), The Global Environmental Facility (GEF)