Harnessing Tanzania's Rangelands to Mitigate Methane Emissions from Livestock Enteric Fermentation

Abstract

Methane emissions from livestock being a major contributor to climate change as methane possesses more global warming potential than carbon dioxide, exacerbating the issue. Therefore, reducing methane emissions is crucial in addressing climate change and promoting sustainable agriculture. Tanzania is endowed with a large livestock population and vast rangelands. The resultant enteric methane emissions share in the agriculture sector was estimated to be 39.71% in 2014. This data suggests that interventions to lower methane emissions in agriculture sectors need to focus on livestock especially ruminants to provide significant reduction. The study found that normalisation of emissions can be facilitated by a set of measures, namely: a) increasing the energy content or quality of ruminant feed to reduce the intensity of methane production in the gut; b) addressing existing problems in pasture use, including deforestation, uncontrolled burning, overgrazing, water shortages and invasive species; c) improving feeding in combination with other livestock management practices to achieve the expected productive effect while reducing methane emissions.