By Abdullahi Lukman
Bezos Earth Fund has launched a $27.4 million global initiative aimed at reducing methane emissions from livestock as a key solution to combat climate change.
Director of the Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund, Dr. Andy Jarvis, who announced this, said the initiative will leverage natural variations in how animals digest food to cut down methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas that is more than 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
The initiative, part of the Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator, will involve research and breeding programs across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania.
The goal is to identify and scale climate-efficient livestock by breeding animals that naturally emit less methane. Dr. Jarvis stated, “Reducing methane from cattle is one of the most elegant solutions we have to slow climate change.
This effort will use age-old selection practices to identify and promote naturally low-emitting cattle, locking in climate benefits for generations to come.”
Cattle are the largest contributors to livestock-related methane emissions, but scientists have found that within the same herd, some animals naturally emit up to 30 percent less methane than others.
By selecting and breeding these low-emitting animals, farmers can reduce their environmental impact without changing feeding practices or investing in new infrastructure, making it a practical and cost-effective solution for farmers worldwide.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is leading the Global Methane Genetics Initiative, which will screen over 100,000 animals and collect methane emissions data.
ILRI’s Director General, Appolinaire Djikeng, highlighted the initiative’s potential to help align Africa’s livestock systems with global climate goals while improving the livelihoods and food security of farmers in the region.
ILRI’s efforts include selecting naturally low-emitting cattle in African production systems and deploying high-yielding, anti-methanogenic tropical forages tailored for smallholder and pastoral systems.
These strategies aim to reduce methane emissions from livestock while maintaining productivity.
The initiative is expected to reduce methane emissions from cattle by 1-2 percent annually, ultimately achieving a 30 percent reduction over the next two decades. By combining genetics, data, and global breeding efforts, the initiative provides a scalable and sustainable solution to mitigating livestock-related methane emissions, benefiting both farmers and the environment.
“This work brings together the best of science, industry, and the global breeding community to accelerate genetic improvement for methane efficiency worldwide,” said Prof. Roel Veerkamp, leader of the initiative at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). “It fits nicely with our mission at WUR to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life.”
