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Greenhouse gas emission and mitigation potential from livestock production in the drylands of Northern Ethiopia

Abstract Though livestock are one of the major contributors to climate change through emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), the intensity of emission and the mitigation potential from this sector is not clearly known in the study regions. Therefore, the present study was designed to estimate the emission of GHGs from the livestock sector over the time period (2003/04–2017/18) and evaluate the mitigation potential using the global livestock environment assessment model (GLEAM). Both primary and secondary data sources were used to obtain data on livestock population, herd parameters, feeding practices, and manure management. The study revealed an increasing trend of GHG from 2003/04 to 2017/18, where the annual emission increased with an average 3.8 Mt carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) for all species and 3.3 Mt CO2-eq for cattle alone at national level. Though there is some variation between regions, methane (CH4) was the major gas emitted from ruminant production followed by nitrous oxide (N2O), however the emission of N2O was higher (> 70%) in poultry production. The emission intensity from chicken egg and meat, 1.8–3.3 and 2.2–7.2 kg CO2-eq/kg of product, respectively, was much lower than the emission intensity of meat from small ruminants (16.4–51.5 kg CO2-eq/kg of product) and cattle (34.2–148.2 kg CO2-eq/kg of product). Implementing the integrated mitigation approach has much pronounced reduction effect on GHG emissions as well as increasing the productivity of the livestock sector. Unless mitigation measures are taken, the sector’s emission will increase over time. Thus, federal and regional governments, and partner organizations working in the sector need to give more attention and implement the initiatives identified in the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommendations to mitigate GHG emissions from the livestock sector.