Improving biodiversity in Colombia
Nestlé has had a long-standing relationship with the dairy community in Caquetá, Colombia for more than 35 years.
With the aim of increasing fresh milk production volume, reducing the amount of land use and introducing environmentally sustainable practices, we are working with 13 pilot Caquetá cattle farms to gradually introduce a new system called 'Silvopasture'.
This protects the soil and the environment by combining pasture land with trees and shrubs, resulting in increased profits for the farmer and improved milk quality and quantity (litres/ hectare). In addition the system has lowered the environmental impact of dairy farming through enhanced biodiversity, reduction of soil erosion and expansion of the pre-Amazonas livestock borders.
The Silvopasture project is currently in its first phase, with 234 acres across 13 farms undergoing environmental reconversion. These farms have made strong environmental commitments to: not deforest, generate new pasture areas and correctly manage their water supplies.
The initial results have been very promising:
- Milk production per cow has increased from three to five and a half litres per day
- The number of cows per hectare has increased from 0.6 to 1.3
- Overall milk production has increased from 1.8 to 7 litres per hectare
- The number of average litres per farm has risen from 117 to 203 per day, increasing milk production across the 13 farms by 74%
- Each of the 13 farms has been able to employee an average of two new staff
- The monthly increase of farm profit is in 650 USD, equivalent to a 47% rise
If conditions are appropriate for the development of shrubs, we plan to expand the project to 130 farms over the next two and a half years, and to ultimately work with more than 1,300 farms to implement the Silvopasture System across Southern Colombia. Over the next ten years, the project aims to increase milk production by 242% and jobs by 50% in the Caquetá region.
Our agricultural services department is currently carrying out three types of monitoring:
- Agricultural: Monitoring agronomic shrub species which comprise the second floor of pasture for grazing. Checks the correct growing of the plants with the proper conditions.
- Productive: Driven by technical indicators such as head per hectare, litres per cow, weight, milk composition, etc
- Economic: Monitoring financial support of this implementation and demonstrating the economic benefits of the model.
Farmer experience
José María Morales is one farmer who has benefited from the Silvopasture dairy farming, project. he explains what it represents to him:
"We have to start with the fact that, for a long time, breeders in Caquetá have mishandled this ecosystem, and the consequences are being reflected in degraded pastures, critical living conditions for livestock, sudden temperature changes, soil erosion and water scarcity. All of these parameters are not viable for the cattle business and the production process. The Silvopasture project gives us the possibility to restore the environment and I think that, in the near future, the results of this will be reflected in each of the farms where it is implemented. It is very important to seize this opportunity to preserve vegetation, which has long been affected by misuse to create the difficult situation that confronts us today."