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Assess emissions from livestock

Livestock is a main source of GHG emissions. We will combine field measurements with livestock census data to estimate emitted CO2 and CH4. WP 6 addresses the following tasks:

  1. Measuring individual emissions: In this task, we will measure GHG emissions for adult cattle, sheep and goats. Individuals will be 4 years old for cattle and 2 years for sheep and goats (Laabouri et al., 2018). In each study site, at least 150 animals from three different populations will be selected per animal category to account for production systems in GHG measurements. Individual emissions will be measured by using the GreenFeed™ system (Hassouna et al., 2016). Each animal will be marked by an electronic device to control the frequency and number of visits in the system. A pre-test will be done over two weeks to allow animals to get used to the system and exclude animals that do not take food, or do not take food regularly, from the GreenFeed™ system. In each animal population, measurements will be carried out over a period of 4 weeks to be able to calculate a representative average value for the emissions per animal. With fifty visits per animal (3 to 4 visits per day over 2 weeks), the repeatability for the average emissions measured is better than 70% (Renand et al., 2013). Therefore, the period of 4 weeks is sufficient to improve significantly average emissions per animal.
  2. Upscaling emissions from livestock: Based on forage quantity ingested, age and weight of individual animals, emission models will be developed for each category. These models will be used to estimate the quantity of GHGes emitted at local and national level, based on national livestock census data. To propose alternative strategies to reduce GHG emissions, measurements will also be performed on animals under controlled systems (intensive breeding systems where forage supply is controlled by farmers) to make comparison of emissions with animals under uncontrolled systems.

Project members involved: 

Prof. Dr. Oumarou Ouédraogo (UJKZ)