Informal Peer Review at the heart of the Livestock and Climate Initiative's Occasional Feeds Conversations

The second meeting of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate’s Occasional Feeds Conversation on 29 February 2024 provided a platform for scientists across the initiative and across time zones to convene and discuss recent research findings. The forum explored diverse topics on the critical role of livestock feed management in adapting to climate change and provided a space for scientists to come together, share insights and collectively strategize on future research.   

As a continuation of the Occasional Feeds series, which began last year, the conversations enable scientists to reconnect and participate in an informal peer review process. Scientists in any stage of the research process are invited to submit a poster synthesizing their findings. These posters then become the focal point of small group discussions during the meetings, where attendees delve into each presentation, posing questions and providing constructive feedback. The scientist who submitted the posters then can address inquiries and incorporate suggestions.  

Informal peer review is integral to the Livestock and Climate research process, facilitating knowledge exchange and offering a platform for scientists to glean insights from colleagues with diverse perspectives. This process not only enriches individual research endeavors but also contributes to a holistic understanding of the multifaceted challenges surrounding livestock feed management in the context of climate change.  

The posters presented and reviewed in this latest session exemplify the breadth of research within the initiative, showcasing innovative approaches towards addressing pressing livestock feed issues. The posters included a range of topics clustered around new tools to assess how feed interventions might help with climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the assessment of forages for use in adaptation strategies. The discussion raised many interesting points, including how to assess whether feed and forage options are climate smart or merely solutions that have existed which are now labeled as such. There was also discussion on opportunities for livestock farmers to participate in carbon farming initiatives by sequestering carbon in soils through practices including regenerative grazing, cover cropping and agroforestry.  

The full list of topics are as follows:  

• Benefits of Hedysarum coronarium (sulla) for restoring mediterranean silvopastoral systems by Mounir Louhaichi and Sawsan Hassan, ICARDA.  
• N fixation and N2O emissions in silvopastoral systems based on Urochloa grasses and Leucaena shrub legume by Daniel Villegas, CIAT; Julián Rivera, Center for Research on Sustainable Agriculture; Julián Chará, Center for Research on Sustainable Agriculture; Enrique Murgueitio, Center for Research on Sustainable Agriculture and Jacobo Arango, CIAT.  
• Prioritizing climate-smart cattle farming practices and technologies for sustainable livestock production in Colombia’s Orinoquia region, by Alejandra Marin, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; Alejandro Montoya, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; Isabel Cristina Molina, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; Leah Arabella Germer, The World Bank and Wageningen University; Mariangela Ramirez Diaz, The World Bank and Wageningen University; Manuel Gomez, Colombian Federation of Livestock Breeders; Walter Galindo, Center for Research in Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems and Jacobo Arango, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. 
• Assessing the mitigation potential of nutrient blocks made of tropical trees and legumes, by Jacobo Arango, Johanna Mazabel, Isabel Molina, Alexander Hincapie and Jose Igor Hleap Zapata, IICTA and Universidad Nacional de Colombia  
• CLEANED tool assesses livestock environmental impacts in Tunisia for sustainable, profitable management and development of develop forage and livestock management options for increased sustainability and profitability, by Rein van der Hoek, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT 
• Enhancing rangeland productivity and increasing carrying capacity with buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.), a resilient and drought-tolerant species, by Azaiez Ouled Belgacem and Mounir Louhaichi, ICARDA 

Through informal peer review and interdisciplinary dialogue, Livestock and Climate scientists not only refine their own work but collectively advance the feed and forage knowledge base at the initiative. The collaboration allows for innovations to be created at the intersection of livestock feed management and climate adaptation. A synthesis of the livestock feed occasional conversations will be prepared and shared in due course. 

Header image: Buffel grass provides a valuable option to restore degraded rangelands and forage for livestock in Tanzania. Photo by M.Louhaichi/ICARDA.  

Story by Madison Spinelli and Alan Duncan.