Impact of introduced pastures in Colombian lowland ranching
47 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2024 Last revised: 15 Nov 2024
Date Written: September 18, 2024
Abstract
The use of higher-nutrient grass offers significant long-term economic benefits for ranchers and promotes sustainable farming by improving soil health and pasture productivity. Recognizing these advantages, Latin American researchers have introduced grass varieties like Brachiaria, which are more nutritious and resilient, suited for the region's lowland climates where ranching often occurs on marginal lands. Despite reports highlighting significant levels to their adoption, their field-level impacts remain unexplored. Using a representative sample from Colombia's two largest beef-producing regions, we examine the impact of introduced pasture adoption on productivity and revenues, and analyze how this adoption has potentially changed land needs for ranching. We found that 66% of pasture acreage among sampled ranchers is planted with introduced pastures. Factors such as distance from technological dissemination centers, historical violence, and shocks to transportation and trade are negatively correlated with adoption. Transitioning from native savannas to introduced pastures significantly enhances productivity, especially when combined with practices like weed control and fertilization. However, yield gains are below those suggested by agronomic trials. Our analysis indicates a significant increase in revenues per hectare. These findings highlight the potential benefits of continued promotion of introduced-pasture-based ranching systems, given the limited scalability of intensive silvopastoral systems.
Keywords: Tropical forages, cattle production, technology adoption, optimal instrumental variables N56
JEL Classification: N56, O13, Q15
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation