Colombia Targets Raising Milk Output from 3 to 8 Litres
The National Regenerative Livestock Programme is designed for producers keeping fewer than 50 cattle. Colombia’s Agriculture Ministry said the initiative would receive technical and financial assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations after Agriculture Minister Indalecio Dangond met representatives of the organisation in Rome.
The programme sets a target of increasing carrying capacity in participating systems from about 1.2 cattle to four cattle per hectare. Its stated approach is to obtain more output from land already in use rather than expand the agricultural frontier. The ministry has identified soil management, pasture improvement, genetics, feeding, traceability and productive capacity as areas of work.
Pasture management is central to the plan. Measures listed by the programme include planned grazing, subdividing paddocks, allowing adequate recovery periods and making greater use of vegetation cover. The ministry’s approach is intended to increase the amount of dry matter produced per hectare. The announced milk target also depends on factors including animal genetics, animal health, water availability and farm management.
The benchmark of 3 litres per cow per day is the national reference used by Mr Dangond to describe low livestock productivity. It is not presented as the output of every specialised dairy farm. Colombia has extensive dual-purpose cattle systems and substantial differences between regions and farms in genetics, feed, water access and management. The target of 8 litres therefore applies to the programme’s stated objectives rather than to an assured result for the entire national dairy herd.
The government has also set a meat-production target. It wants average daily weight gain to rise from roughly 400 grams to 800 grams per animal over the same four-year period. The programme’s published material does not include a detailed budget for each component or specify how much of the financing will go to dairy producers.
The initiative follows policies adopted in 2022, including the Guidelines for Sustainable Bovine Livestock Policy 2022–2050, established through Resolution 000126, and a Productive Organisation Plan for the Bovine Dairy Chain. Those documents address more efficient production, landscape recovery, biodiversity conservation and reduced environmental impact. The new programme is intended to apply parts of those long-term policies at farm level, while focusing initially on the 100,000 small producers identified by the ministry.
