The livestock sector is a critical component of global agriculture, supporting the livelihoods of millions of people and contributing to food and nutrition security. However, it is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, which has a global warming potential significantly higher than carbon dioxide. A promising nature-based solution lies in forages, which, in addition to being the primary source of livestock feed, have the potential to attain substantial reductions in methane emissions per kilogram of protein produced when sustainable grazing management practices are applied.
To harness this opportunity, the initiative Time2Graze has been launched. Supported by the Global Methane Hub, the project aims to co-develop seven country-specific decision support systems (DSS) for grazing management in the American tropics. In Colombia and Brazil, this tool is going to be developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, to improve access to timely and reliable pasture information, enabling farmers to make better grazing decisions, increase livestock productivity, and reduce methane emissions intensity.