MAPA Project: resilient agro-climatic adaptation models for livestock production systems in Boyacá, Colombia López-Cepeda Michael , Bolaños-Benavides Martha, García-Gómez Gustavo CORPOICA (Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research), Tibaitatá Investigation Center, Mosquera; Colombia. e-mail: [email protected] . The severe social, economic and environmental impacts caused by the rainy season of 2010-2011 showed that the livestock sector is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events (floods, droughts, landslides, etc.). Trends indicate that by 2050 the temperature in some regions of Colombia will increase by between 2 and 4 degrees and parts of the Pacific and Andean regions will be exposed to long periods of flooding, while the Colombian Caribbean region will suffer prolonged dry periods. For this reason CORPOICA, with the MAPA Project, (Modelos de Adaptación y Prevención Agroclimatica – Agro-climatic Adaptation and Prevention Models) is validating climate-smart technologies that economically reactivate livestock production systems and strengthen local capacities to mitigate and adapt to the effects of extreme weather events. Boyacá is one of 18 Colombian departments that have benefited. The authors would like to thank “FONDO DE ADAPTACIÓN” for funding this project. C F INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY MAPA PROJECT IN BOYACÁ (COLOMBIA) AKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE FUTURE OF MAPA IN BOYACÁ Figura 1. Organisational structure of the MAPA project MAPA Project in the Colombian Livestock Sector Component 1 Component 2 Product 1 Identify on a regional scale zones susceptible to the extreme weather events (floods, droughts, frosts, landslides, etc). Product 2 Identify the indicators of vulnerability of the livestock production systems for each scenario of climate variability. Product 3 Support decisión-making in the livestock sector through early agro-climatic warning systems. Product 5 Seek the suitable and potential technologies, which are available to the livestock sector, with the aim of dealing with extreme weather events and generating economic reactivation Product 6 Select and validate technologies, which can improve the resilience of the livestock production systems prioritised in each Colombian región. Product 4 Empower livestock technical assistants with the capacity to evaluate agro- climatic risks at a local level and able to use early agro-climatic warning systems. Product 7 Train livestock technicians to transfer the technologies and make recommendations on the mehod of managing livestock production systems. SORA TIBASOSA Dual-purpose Cattle System Sheep and Goat System ANIMAL CRITERIA CLIMATIC VARIABLES SELECTED TECHNOLOGIES Oat Silage Multinutritional blocks Targeted Selective Treatment - Weight gain - FAMACHA test - EPG (Eggs Per Gram) - DAG Score - Hematocrit - Weight gain - Milk production - Milk quality - Body Condition Score - EPG (Eggs Per Gram) Semi-automatic weather station Manual weather station - Analysis of 32-year climate series (monthly) - Humidity - Relative pressure - Rainfall - Temperature/wind chill - Wind speed - Rainfall - Temperature (Max/Min) Plastic Rain gauge Wind vane and anenometer Humidity and temperature sensors Rain gauge Data logger Slimline Thermometer • Mitigate the effects of extreme weather events in these livestock production systems by making possible efficient means of nutritional suplementation. • Optimise the use of anthelmintics in these systems through an effective diagnostic of the parasite burden per animal. • Foster the knowledge and implementation of climatic data in the different activities, which are developed in each of these livestock production systems.