- The Sustainable Livestock Seminar announced the launch of a National Alliance for a Regenerative Livestock in the Peruvian Amazon (AGRAP, by its acronyms in spanish), a practitioners community that designs, implements and monitors actions in the livestock production chain based on a shared vision.
- Regional representatives from Paraguay and Bolivia in the livestock supply chain presented good practices and study cases.
The production of beef from tropical areas has increased 46% in the period 2001-2018and currently accounts for 37% of world production. Globally, livestock farming is an activity that generates GHG emissions from enteric fermentation, the use of agrochemicals, and the change of use and soil degradation, among other reasons. In the case of Peru, the livestock subsector represents 5.88% of emissions from the national total (explained by enteric fermentation and manure management). (GOREMDD)
With the aim of generating spaces to address these issues, this Thursday 18th of May, the Sustainable Livestock Seminar was carried out in Lima, Peru. It gathered more than 70 participants from government, business and civil society organizations linked to livestock and cattle supply chains, based in the Amazonian territory. Among the speakers, it was remarkable the attendance of Lieutenant Governor of Huanuco Region, representatives from the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture and from the British Embassy among other policy makers. From the Global Roundtable of Sustainable Beef, the panel was enriched by representatives from Paraguay, Colombia and Bolivia.
An important milestone in the seminar was the presentation of the Alliance for a Regenerative Livestock (AGRAP). This initiative, hosted by the Coalition for a Sustainable Production. AGRAP is a community of practice that designs, implements, monitors and communicates actions in the livestock production chain based on a shared vision.
The AGRAP has the challenge to improve quality and sustainability (e.g. through regenerative attributes and deforestation-free production); recognizing the potential and dynamics of the landscape where the activity is carried out and promoting the improvement of the well-being of the local producer and the productive chain. Currently the AGRAP is conformed by parties from the civil society, private sector and government , such as: Frigorífico Manu, Mafrox, MTG; Climate Group, Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA), Earth Innovation Institute, Earth Innovation Institute, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) , Conservation International (CI) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation from Peru (MIDAGRI).
Presentation of study cases to reinforce initiatives around regenerative livestock
With the objective of contributing to the development of public and private policies around the livestock sector, and with the aspiration of building a Peruvian sustainable meat seal, Alfred Fast, President of the Paraguayan Meat Table, presented the case of its institution, its trackrecord, statistics regarding livestock production in Paraguay and decisive factors.
“The Paraguayan Meat Table has more than 40 members. It is a private, non-profit table that brings together the links in the meat chain and also members of civil society, as well as academia, the public sector and international cooperation organizations. The initial challenges are building trust, because producers have a very different vision than a civil society organization. You have to work together and see how one can work on sustainability, always in a balance between the economic, social and environmental aspects. We must communicate what is done well and disseminate successful models. Sustainable change is the result of a process where we respect the environment and animal welfare, and still earn money» – Alfred Fast, President Mesa Paraguaya de Carne
On the other hand, the seminar had the important intervention from Victor Magallanes, on behalf of the Sustainable Meat Bolivian Table. He also presented the case of its institution and the main challenges of the Bolivian sector.
“Per capita consumption in Bolivia is 21 kilos per person. The projection of the growth of the livestock sector is interesting from the perspective of the productive sector. How do we make this growth happen with sustainability criteria?; That is why we have considered identifying everything that is happening in our landscape, what initiatives are taking place and what is accepted by our sector. In the case of Bolivia, there have been initiatives that have worked beyond financing and that have been worked on unilaterally. What could make us different from the market? Most of Bolivia is in natural conditions and this could guarantee that livestock production is carried out in harmony with natural resources ” Victor Magallanes , Bolivian Meat Table
During the afternoon, a workshop was led by TFA, between the representatives of the member regions of the Amazon Regional Commonwealth, the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and other members of Alliance for a Regenerative Livestock in the Peruvian Amazon (AGRAP) . The space outlined the inputs for an action plan of the AGRAP and the exchange of information to promote competitiveness and sustainability of the value chain, the following topics were productivity improvement, market development, traceability, enabling conditions, monitoring and knowledge management.
