Providing customized training to Brazilian ranchers can not only help keep carbon in the ground, but improve their livelihoods and mitigate climate change, according to new research from CU Boulder and the Climate Policy Initiative / PUC-Rio.
Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new study analyzes the results of a randomized control trial that examined whether agricultural extension services can help to restore cattle pastures in Brazil. The experiment found that customized assistance, in addition to educational training, successfully supported ranchers in sustainably increasing their cattle production and paid for itself in the process.
In addition, the net impact of the program on greenhouse gas emissions was equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by 1.19 million tons—the same amount as the neighboring country of Paraguay emits in a given year.
“It’s an important piece of the puzzle to reach climate goals,” said Barbara Farinelli, co-author of the study and senior agricultural economist at The World Bank. “What’s behind this success is that farmers become the transformational agent for climate goals.”
Read more at University of Colorado at Boulder
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