Colombia is a particularly biodiverse country, but many forest areas are affected by land use change. This has negative impacts on biodiversity, the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. Extensive cattle farming is the main cause of land use change and deforestation in the project region.
Colombia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by more than half and ending gross deforestation by 2030. The transition to sustainable cattle farming is therefore crucial.
The ProRural project is active both nationally and in the departments of Caquetá and Meta and promotes deforestation-free cattle farming. To this end, it is implementing a strategy in which it is developing the competences of public, private and civil society stakeholders. The project:
- improves production and marketing in the dairy and meat sectors through technical advice.
- strengthens the capacities of actors along the value chain to integrate sustainability criteria and practices into their production systems and marketing policies.
- supports operational capacity for deforestation-free cattle farming by developing and applying sustainable strategies for the dairy and meat industry.
- Improves regulatory conditions, including a standardised traceability system for meat and dairy products, to promote sustainable and deforestation-free Rural Development.
- sensitises end consumers to buy verified deforestation-free products.
The project explicitly promotes the participation of women in cattle farming and involves them in the measures. The project works together with GOPA Worldwide Consultants GmbH.