ILRI trains East Africa officials on measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems

The largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture is livestock production.  But global estimates of these emissions are based on emission factors from developed countries.  There is limited data on emissions from livestock systems in developing countries, which has contributed to a lagging of climate-change adaptation and mitigation efforts in low- and middle-income countries.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) conducts research on GHG emissions from livestock, including field and laboratory measurements, at the Mazingira Centre (‘Mazingira’ is the Swahili word for environment).  Research at this state-of-the-art environmental laboratory is providing accurate context-specific information on GHG emissions including verifiable GHG emission levels of crop and livestock production systems and land-use changes in Africa.

Earlier this spring, ILRI hosted key government staff from the Climate Change and Livestock directorates within the ministries of environment and agriculture in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.  The aim of the visit was to familiarize these key stakeholders with the technical aspects of ILRI’s research on climate change and livestock. To read more please about the meeting and the Programme for Climate-Smart Livestock Systems click here