ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE RISKS OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION UNITS

Abstract

In order to analyze the adaptation strategies to climate risks in livestock production, concepts were reviewed and case studies are presented in sheep production systems in temperate zones and bovine dual purpose in the dry tropics. The most often documented climate events with probability of risks in livestock production in the country are droughts in arid regions and hurricanes in the tropics. Among sheep producers in Puebla and Tlaxcala, the adaptive strategies to extreme climate events were supplementation, sheep sale to reduce the stocking rate, fattening sheep in the pen to improve the growth rate of lambs, and matching the changes in forage demand with its availability. Among producers of dual-purpose cattle the following were used as adaptation strategies to reduce the potential effect from drought: change of source and form of feeding, use of balanced feed, fattening in the farmyard, mobility of the cattle and sale of the breeding stock. For future adaptation strategies, training of producers to incorporate new technologies in forage crops, forage conservation and the use of silvopasture systems should play a fundamental role.