Goat production and sustainability in Latin America & the Caribbean: A combined productive, socio-economic & ecological footprint approach

Abstract

The sustainability of the goat production systems (GPS) must consider the quantification not only of the ecological footprint (ECOLF) but the carbon (CF), the blue water (BWF) footprints, their economic & social interactions, weighed by their economic value (EV). Our working hypothesis states that the GPS-ECOLF in Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) (i.e., EVCF + EVBWF) is lower than their economic footprint (ECONF) across years (1998–2018). Although LAC made a frugal contribution (3%; 36.2 M head) to the world goat census, three LAC countries highlight because of their goat inventory; Brazil (31%), Mexico (24%) & Argentina (13%). In 2020, the LAC-GPS-EV was € 592.4 M (USD 766.4 M), generating 761.7 Kt of milk, 125.8 Kt of meat, 4866.5 total emissions of CO2eq, consuming 102.4 Mm3 blue water. The total annualized LAC-goat production (i.e., meat + milk) during 1998–2018 averaged 820.2 Kt y−1, with a global increase of 24%, highlighting Brazil & Mexico (≈ 50%). The leading goat milk producers were Brazil (36%; 254 Kt y−1), Jamaica (25%; 172 Kt y−1) & Mexico (22%; 155 Kt y−1), for goat meat production stood out Mexico (33%; 41 Kt y−1), Brazil (24%; 30 Kt y−1); far beyond Argentina (7 Kt y−1), Haiti (6 Kt y−1), and Peru (6 Kt y−1). Regarding the LAC-GPS Environmental Impact (EI), the higher the goat inventory, the greater the EI; the main contributors to the CF were Brazil (28%; 1276 Gg y−1) & Argentina (12%; 556 Gg y−1). As the BWF of LAC-GPS in 1998 was 86.92 Mm3, it increased to 102.37 Mm3 in 2018, a general increase of 18%, with annualized increases of 97.05 Mm3. The highest BWF occurred in Mexico (35%), Brazil (20%), and Jamaica (14%); they accounted for 69% of the BWF generated by the LAC-GPS. Regarding the ECONF/ECOLF of the GPS-LAC, the ECOLF represented 93.6% of the ECONF-GPS. Moreover, whereas the EVCF implied 16.3%, the EVWFP constituted 77.3% of the ECOLF-LAC-GPS. Lastly, LAC-GPS generated an annualized average of 116,795 minimum wages, led by Mexico (83,804) and far beyond Brazil (33,227) & the Caribbean (24,428). Remarkably, during the analyzed 20-yr period, the LAC-GPS generated a total of 2335,900 minimum wages across the LAC regions. Our results highlight that as multidimensional and resilient species, goats can perform under marginal production systems successfully. They display a refined physiological and behavioral plasticity, generating essential commodities (i.e., milk, meat, leathers, & fibers) mainly based on eco-friendly well as social-responsible production schemes. Thus, goats emerge as part of a sustainable future as they can reassess areas unsuitable for commercial agriculture and provide ecosystem services to society. Hence, it is crucial to reexamine the paybacks generated by goats based on the extensive use of pastures & rangelands, with non-direct human competition, especially under the complicated scenario of climate change and supporting the livelihoods of the goat-producers and their families.