Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

FINAL REPORT OF THE TROPILECHE CONSORTIUM
Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms
(A project executed by the Tropileche Consortium)
Federico Holmann and Carlos Lascano
Introduction
The main objective of the Tropileche Consortium is to increase milk and
beef production of dual-purpose livestock in smallholder farms by
developing improved forage-based feeding systems.
The value of livestock production in Latin America and the Caribbean
(LAC) represents nearly 13% of the world production and 47% of the
production in developing countries. Milk and meat provide 20% of the
protein consumed by the region’s population. However, LAC has a 12%
deficit in milk production, which is currently compensated by imports.
The livestock population in LAC is about 330 million head and nearly
78% of this population is in the hands of small farmers with dual-purpose
cattle systems (i.e., producing milk and beef from the same system). The
dual-purpose cattle system accounts for 42% of the milk produced in the
region. In addition, there are 590 million hectares of pastureland, most of
which is in advanced stage of degradation.
Tropileche is a CIAT-led consortium that operates under the
Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP) convened by the International
Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The Consortium initially selected the dry
hillsides of Costa Rica (Central America) and the forest margins of the
Peruvian Amazon as benchmark sites for its activities. In these areas,
characterized by their fragility and severe erosion, livestock production is an
important form of land use and a key economic activity for smallholder
wellbeing. The Consortium later extended its activities to the hillsides of
Nicaragua and Honduras and the forest margins of Colombia.
In the forest margins, milk production is limited by degraded pastures,
which translates into low-quality feed and low feed on offer from degraded
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