however, the situation is more complex. Farmers have little incentive to reduce methane emissions, and governments are hesitant to introduce regulations that could increase the cost of feed. Consumers, on the other hand, are skeptical of feed additives such as Bovaer, which could reduce methane released by cattle. However, increasing productivity per cow is an effective way to reduce emissions per unit of output: a cow producing ten liters of milk per day emits less methane than two cows producing five liters each, as Sonja Leitner of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) points out.
Increasing productivity often requires low-tech interventions. Alfred Kering, a small-scale farmer in Kenya, increased his milk yield per cow simply by reducing the number of his animals. Like buy phone number list many in his community, he used to raise as many cattle as possible, because social prestige depended on the size of the herd. But because he couldn’t feed all of them enough, they produced little milk. With the help of an agricultural expert, he reduced his herd from ten well-fed cows to three, doubling his milk production. As a result, he now has a higher income and his family is healthier.
The next step to increase cattle productivity is selective breeding, but this approach requires more sophistication. It is not enough to import high-yielding cows from rich countries: they would not withstand the heat and diseases typical of tropical regions. Farmers need hybrids, which combine local resistance with higher productivity. However, most small-scale farmers do not keep track of their cows' pedigrees, which often leads to inbreeding problems and weak offspring.