Honduras takes important steps toward a national sustainable livestock policy

• On May 24, the country held its II National Forum on Sustainable Livestock Production.

May 25, 2022. On May 24, the Honduran Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, together with the National Sustainable Livestock Platform (PNGS, its Spanish acronym), organized the Second National Forum on Sustainable Livestock: Towards a National Sustainable Livestock Policy, with the support of CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment.

During the forum, the PNGS stakeholders presented their most relevant advances or results in the livestock sector, which will serve as inputs in the design of the National Sustainable Livestock Policy, under the leadership of SAG and MiAmbiente.

Edwin García, CATIE researcher, explained that the idea is for this policy to guide a strategic plan that will allow PNGS stakeholders to work in a coordinated and harmonious manner to increase the productivity of livestock herds, increase the benefits of the actors in the agri-food chain, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other environmental benefits, for example, those obtained by increasing tree cover on farms.

As part of the forum, CATIE socialized the main results of the Trees on Farm project and presented a roadmap to promote the optimal management of trees on farms, which could be the integrating element between conservation objectives and production objectives in the National Sustainable Livestock Policy and contribute to the project to support the NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) for livestock in Honduras, entitled Transforming the Honduran Livestock Sector into a Low Carbon Economy. A national implementation project managed with the different institutions of the sector and CATIE as the Technical Support Organization (NSO, its Spanish acronym).

Laura Suazo, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock and President of PNGS, said that although traditional livestock farming is frowned upon in the country because of the greenhouse gas emissions it generates, the deforestation it causes and its contribution to climate change, it is possible to change it to avoid these problems. "Now there are many examples that show that it is possible to develop sustainable livestock farming that combines livestock activity with other crops and trees, that is, in agro-silvopastoral and agro-forestry schemes. These are the experiences we want to promote in Honduras and this is our commitment," said Suazo.

The forum featured speakers with extensive experience in livestock projects at the national and regional levels, mainly in sustainable meat and milk production systems, including the design and optimal management of trees on farms that help to conserve and restore ecosystems. Other speakers included specialists in value chains and participatory research methodologies. CATIE was represented by Eduardo Somarriba, leader of the Trees on Farm project, and Claudia Sepúlveda, leader of the Livestock and Environmental Management Unit.

The forum also included a panel of experts on climate change and risk management, financing and the feasibility of enhancing the contribution of sustainable livestock farming to the productivity and competitiveness of the country's livestock industry.

The forum yielded important results, among them, the unanimous resolution to integrate the PNGS subcommittees into the various working groups that are preparing the National Policy and Strategy for the Agri-food Sector, in order to include the necessary elements for its definition:

• Productive Systems Improvement Subcommittee; coordinated by the Zamorano Agricultural School.
• Knowledge Management and Research Subcommittee; coordinated by UNAG.
• Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee; coordinated by CATIE.
• Value Chains, Markets and Industry Subcommittee; coordinated by APROLECHE.
• Subcommittee on Incentive Policies and Mechanisms; coordinated by FENAGH.
• Livestock Bonus Subcommittee; coordinated by SAG.