MAPA Project: resilient agro-climatic adaptation models for livestock production systems in Boyacá, Colombia

López-Cepeda Michael, Bolaños-Benavides Martha, García-Gómez GustavoCORPOICA (Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research), Tibaitatá Investigation Center, Mosquera; Colombia. e-mail: mlopezce@corpoica.org.co.

The severe social, economic and environmental impacts caused by the rainy

season of 2010-2011 showed that the livestock sector is highly vulnerable to

extreme weather events (floods, droughts, landslides, etc.). Trends indicate that

by 2050 the temperature in some regions of Colombia will increase by between 2

and 4 degrees and parts of the Pacific and Andean regions will be exposed to

long periods of flooding, while the Colombian Caribbean region will suffer

prolonged dry periods. For this reason CORPOICA, with the MAPA Project,

(Modelos de Adaptación y Prevención Agroclimatica – Agro-climatic Adaptation

and Prevention Models) is validating climate-smart technologies that

economically reactivate livestock production systems and strengthen local

capacities to mitigate and adapt to the effects of extreme weather events.

Boyacá is one of 18 Colombian departments that have benefited.

The authors would like to thank “FONDO DE ADAPTACIÓN” for funding this project.

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INTRODUCTION

METHODOLOGY

MAPA PROJECT IN BOYACÁ (COLOMBIA)

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THE FUTURE OF MAPA IN BOYACÁ

Figura 1. Organisational structure of the

MAPA project

MAPA Project in the Colombian Livestock Sector

Component 1

Component 2Product 1

Identify on a regional

scale zones susceptible

to the extreme weather

events (floods, droughts,

frosts, landslides, etc).

Product 2 Identify the indicators of

vulnerability of the livestock

production systems for each

scenario of climate variability.

Product 3Support decisión-making in

the livestock sector through

early agro-climatic warning

systems.

Product 5Seek the suitable and potential

technologies, which are available

to the livestock sector, with the aim

of dealing with extreme weather

events and generating economic

reactivation

Product 6Select and validate technologies,

which can improve the resilience

of the livestock production

systems prioritised in each

Colombian región.

Product 4Empower livestock technical assistants

with the capacity to evaluate agro-

climatic risks at a local level and able to

use early agro-climatic warning

systems.

Product 7Train livestock technicians to transfer

the technologies and make

recommendations on the mehod of

managing livestock production systems.

SORA TIBASOSA

Dual-purpose Cattle SystemSheep and Goat System

ANIMAL CRITERIA

CLIMATIC VARIABLES

SELECTED TECHNOLOGIES

Oat SilageMultinutritional

blocks

Targeted Selective

Treatment

- Weight gain

- FAMACHA test

- EPG (Eggs Per Gram)

- DAG Score

- Hematocrit

- Weight gain

- Milk production

- Milk quality

- Body Condition Score

- EPG (Eggs Per Gram)

Semi-automatic weather station Manual weather station

- Analysis of 32-year

climate series (monthly)

- Humidity

- Relative pressure

- Rainfall

- Temperature/wind chill

- Wind speed

- Rainfall

- Temperature (Max/Min)

Plastic Rain gauge

Wind vane and

anenometerHumidity and

temperature sensors

Rain gauge

Data logger

Slimline

Thermometer

• Mitigate the effects of extreme weather events in these livestock production

systems by making possible efficient means of nutritional suplementation.

• Optimise the use of anthelmintics in these systems through an effective

diagnostic of the parasite burden per animal.

• Foster the knowledge and implementation of climatic data in the different

activities, which are developed in each of these livestock production systems.