Low Carbon agriculture in Colombia

The UK is providing a £15m grant over 2012 to 2016 to support the growth of silvopastoral systems (SPS) in Colombia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the livelihood of farmers, protect local forests and increase biodiversity. Agriculture is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Colombia and many other developing countries, and a key driver of deforestation. Addressing this fact, the UK and partners are working with cattle ranchers to improve degraded grazing land by using SPS. This means managing the land in a different way: planting trees, shrubs, fodder crops and living fences and conserving existing forest. Participating small farmers, the majority of whom are living in conditions of rural poverty, are able to raise more, healthier cattle on their existing land using SPS, increasing their income and reducing the need to clear forest. This project aims to convert 28,000 hectares of grazing land to SPS, saving around 2MtCO2e over the next 8 years, and create a strategy for increasing the use of SPS in Colombia and beyond. ;