CLIMATE CHANGE FOCUS: Cows, coffee and sustainable farming

November 15, 2018 by United Nations Leave a Comment

Farmers on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama are working to transform the ranching sector by promoting the sustainable agricultural practices. (October 2018)

UNDP SGP Panama/Andrea Egan Farmers on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama are working to transform the ranching sector by promoting the sustainable agricultural practices. (October 2018)

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Small-scale farms in Panama are helping to heal land degraded by extensive cattle ranching and extreme rainfall or drought associated with climate change, thanks to a project supported by the UN Development Programme, (UNDP). The farms are combining trees, food crops, fodder for animals and cattle rearing, a type of farming known as silvopastoral agriculture or agroforestry. In the Azuero Peninsula region of the Central American country, which is dominated by a tropical but relatively dry forest, farmers like Dolores Solís have adopted silvopastoral techniques which improve food security and promote reforestation, as well as the sustainable use of water and land. Mr. Solís has been growing coffee, sugarcane and plantains as well as raising cattle. Read more here about how famers are contributing to building a more resilient environment in Panama. For more information on the UN and climate change, read here.

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