To promote the adoption of more sustainable cattle production systems in Colombia (mainly silvopastoral systems with improved forages), some sector stakeholders have proposed the development of differentiated, higher value beef products. However, there have been no rigorous estimations of local market potential and consumer preferences for these hypothetical products yet. On the other hand, while there are clear efforts concerning the environmental impacts of cattle production, its animal welfare implications have taken a secondary place. This research attempts to evaluate the consumer's response to both the environmental and animal welfare aspects of more sustainable food systems by (i) determining the characteristics of a consumer segment for sustainably produced beef using contingent valuation methods and (ii) estimating the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for animal welfare compliance and the environmental benefits derived from sustainable intensification within the identified consumer segment, employing a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). In addition, the study estimates the effect of information on consumer's MWTP for environmentally friendlier beef. Results show that consumers within the identified segment are willing to pay on average 40.2% more for beef certified with both animal welfare and eco-friendly standards, with an increase of nearly 10% after being provided with information of the sector's environmental impacts. These findings support some of the current climate change mitigation strategies in the national cattle industry while highlighting relevant opportunities and trade-offs in the context of a developing country.
Sustainability commitments by private sector actors are emerging as promising interventions to help reduce global deforestation. Much attention is placed on the forest conservation impact of these interventions in areas where commodity production constitutes a main driver of deforestation. It is however less clearly understood what role they could play in areas where the production of commodities is not evidently leading to the loss of forest, and how they could contribute to other objectives including sustainable rural development and peacebuilding. In this paper, we examine the potential of the cocoa value chain in Colombia in achieving deforestation reduction and peacebuilding simultaneously, as aimed by the country's Cocoa, Forests and Peace Initiative. Results from correlations and spatially explicit analyses show that regardless of its widespread production across Colombia, cocoa is not an important driver of deforestation. This suggest that efforts to end deforestation in the Colombian cocoa sector emerged following global trends, and not because of an evident link between cocoa production and deforestation. Furthermore, results from spatial clustering analyses highlight areas where different types of value chain interventions may be appropriate to parallel forest conservation and peacebuilding, while interviews with key actors in the cacao sector provide clues as to how these interventions should be developed and implemented. Specifically, our results show that narratives around approaches to achieve zero-deforestation from agricultural commodities should (1) be adjusted to local contexts, (2) incorporate location-specific development needs, (3) complement existing rural development efforts, (4) enhance collaboration among actors that operate both within and beyond the value chain, and (5) apply high-resolution data to assess deforestation-commodity relations and verify zero-deforestation commitments. These considerations are particularly relevant in contexts where commodity production is not evidently leading to deforestation, as in the case of cocoa production in Colombia.
Household food waste represents one of the main challenges for sustainable development as this directly affects the economy of food consumers, the loss of natural resources and generates additional greenhouse gas emissions. The COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation strategies caused one of the most serious economic crises in recent decades and could become the worst economic crisis that Latin America has had in its history. The objective of this study is to analyze changes in food waste behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in Colombia in 2020, applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). For this purpose, we conducted a survey with 581 Colombian food consumers, which examined the influence of intentions to not waste food, subjective norms, some situational predictors, questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the control of perceived behavior on food waste. The results suggest that the TPB can predict the intention to not waste food and, through it, the actual household food waste behavior, considering the lockdown in Colombia as an external shock. We observe that regarding the intention to not waste food, the most relevant variables are attitudes, subjective norms, control of the perceived behavior, and concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. These variables increase the probability on average by a 0.8 Odds Ratio that the intention not to waste food increases, too. Regarding food waste behavior, whether it is considered ordinal or nominal, we see that the most relevant variables are intention, financial attitudes, and control of perceived behavior, doubling the probability that food waste behavior will improve. Based on the results, we provide recommendations for interested stakeholders that can help in the design of instruments for household food waste reduction.
Identifying the determinants of human behavior is useful to adjust interventions and lead the civil society toward a stronger commitment to climate change (CC) mitigation and adaptation objectives, achieving greater support for successfully implementing environmental policies. Existing research has largely focused on case studies of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in developed economies but there is very little evidence for developing countries. This study provides estimations of the effect of internal factors, such as sociodemographic variables, and four psychological dimensions (CC knowledge, environmental attitudes, self-efficacy, and trust in sources of environmental information) on PEBs. Data were obtained through a survey applied with future decision makers – university students – from Colombia (n = 4,769) and Nicaragua (n = 2,354). Indices were generated for PEBs and the psychological dimensions using z-scores and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Partial correlations were evaluated through the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. Our results suggest that, in order to reach the planned emission reduction targets, policy approaches should more strongly focus on educating and motivating citizens and prepare them for contributing to the environmental cause, as well as provide individual solutions to combat CC, rather than providing only information on its causes and consequences.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties associated with the need to transition the cattle sector in Latin America towards achieving sustainability and created a “double crisis” of pandemic and climate change. The increasing demand for animal sourced foods and the need to address the negative environmental impacts of cattle production, including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and deforestation, and the implications of climate change on cattle production (prolonged droughts, prolonged rainy seasons, heat stress), have placed strong emphasis on sustainable intensification of forage-based beef and dairy systems for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is needed to meet the commitments made by many Latin American countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement. Through a qualitative approach, this perspective paper reviews the present and potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress towards sustainable intensification of the Colombian cattle sector. It also outlines new opportunities for sustainable intensification in Colombia that may provide useful examples for other Latin American countries. Short-term impacts such as: (i) increased input prices, (ii) limited access to inputs, credit, and technical assistance, and (iii) reduced incomes, have limited investment in sustainable intensification along the value chains. Reduced resources for research and development funding, unavailability of skilled and experienced staff, restrictions to travel and person-to-person interactions, in tandem, have caused setbacks in the development and application of sustainable technologies and programs. This has been addressed by increased use of technology for communication but there are difficulties with the broad availability of such technologies, especially farmers. A long-term shift of consumer demand towards more sustainable animal products is occurring and expected to continue, and this should lead to new opportunities for sustainable intensification.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought impacts on the food system in several ways, such as on the supply and demand of food or changes in consumer preferences. However, little is known yet about these effects but needs to be analyzed to define actions and policies for crisis mitigation and achieving food system resilience and food security. In this article, we estimate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on changes in food consumer preferences in Colombia, applying a logit model approach for seven attributes, namely animal welfare, environmental sustainability, information on the origin and manufacturing of food, food appearance, food price, fair payment to the producer, and food packaging. In addition, we provide an analysis of changes in beef consumption during the lockdown, since the beef industry is among Colombia's most important agricultural activities and is heavily affected by substitution effects. Our results show that consumer beliefs regarding these attributes remained mostly stable, but that income is a determining factor for the decision to consume certain types of food, such as beef, rather than for possible changes in beliefs. This means that income ends up being decisive for the consumption of food such as beef and that, for its part, it does not have a greater weight in the change of beliefs of the people surveyed. The results will help the food system actors in defining interventions for achieving food security and resilience.
Forage-based cattle systems play a key role in rural economies of developing countries in terms of food security and poverty alleviation. However, they can generate negative environmental impacts by contributing to increased greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and reduction of biodiversity. As a result of that, large amounts of resources have been allocated to research and development (R&D) in forage material improvement and a broad range of improved materials were released showing superior characteristics in terms of productivity and environmental impacts compared to native or naturalized materials. However, data are still scarce on both the economic and environmental “yields” of investments in R&D activities around improved forage materials. Through an ex-ante evaluation, this study aims at estimating the potential “yields” of the investment in R&D and diffusion activities of the improved forage variety Brachiaria brizantha 26,124 cv. Agrosavia Caporal in the Colombian Orinoquía region. The analysis used two evaluation methodologies: 1) a combined discounted free cash flow model and Monte Carlo simulation using the simulation software @Risk to determine the impact on individual welfare, and 2) an economic surplus model an risk analysis to determine the potential social benefits of the technologies and their distribution among producers and consumers, considering changes in adoption rates, productivity levels and probability of success. The results suggest that the evaluated material presents important economic benefits for the study region and results in a positive return on the investments made in R&D activities. The results are a key input for decision making processes among public and private institutions involved in funding and executing the development of improved forage materials and will help to set research priorities and resource allocation.
Identifying the determinants of human behavior is useful to adjust interventions and lead the civil society towards a stronger commitment with climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives, achieving greater support for successfully implementing environmental policies. Existing research has largely focused on case studies of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in developed economies but there is yet very little evidence for developing countries. This study provides estimations of the effect of internal factors, such as sociodemographic variables, and four psychological dimensions (climate change knowledge, environmental attitudes, self-efficacy, trust in sources of environmental information) on PEBs. Data was obtained through a survey applied with future decision makers - university students - from Colombia (n = 4769) and Nicaragua (n = 2354). Indices were generated for PEBs and the psychological dimensions using z-scores and Principal Component Analysis. Partial correlations were evaluated through the Ordinary Least Squares method. Our results suggest that, in order to reach the planned emission reduction targets, policy approaches should more strongly focus on educating and motivating citizens and prepare them for contributing to the environmental cause, as well as provide individual solutions to combat climate change, rather than providing only information on its causes and consequences.
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