Desempenho ambiental e econômico da produção de carne bovina no Centro-Oeste Brasileiro

Abstract

Brazil is the second largest producer of beef in the world, with a production of 10.2 million tonnes in carcass equivalent in 2014. The production systems of Brazilian beef cattle are conducted mainly in animal grazing into the field with pastures natural or cultured. However at the global level, beef cattle production chain is seen as a major contributor to greenhouse gases (GHG), potential for global warming. In this sense, it is still critical that the increased consumption of beef produced in Brazil would imply deforestation and conversion of new areas of the Amazon region in pastures to meet the demand. In order to estimate GHG emissions from the beef production chain, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been widely used, however, few studies have been conducted in Brazil, mainly in the Midwest Region. In addition, many studies have been conducted using data from experimental farms or simulation farms, which cannot reflect the reality of the activity, because regional factors can directly influence the results. Due to the continental dimensions of Brazil, the beef cattle has a wide diversity of production systems, allowing better adaptation to the climatic conditions of each region. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of four beef cattle production systems used on a farm in the region Brazilian Midwest, using LCA, Environmental Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and tools investment analysis. The main source of GHG emission systems was the enteric fermentation of animals, accounting for over 95% of total emissions in all systems. GHG emissions from production systems differ from 15.5 to 28.3 kg CO2 eq per kg of animal live weight. The cost of land use was a major production cost of production systems, due to low stocking rate per hectare of the farm, less than 400 kg of live weight per hectare. The net present value (NPV) of production systems ranged from R$ 1.26 to R$ 1.72 per kilogram of live weight. The IV production system, with lower slaughter weight and a more intensive feeding in the dry season (May to August) achieved the best results in relation to environmental and economic criteria. Compared to base production system (SP I), has reduced emissions by 45% and increase financial profitability by approximately 27%. Thus, use more intensive feeding strategies in dry periods, where pastures have low nutritional quality, can provide a reduction in GHG emissions and increased profitability for the farmer. The implementation of these strategies would increase beef production without the need for conversion of new areas for pasture production and enables an increase of income to the producer. Finally, further studies are needed in different Brazilian climatic regions in order to allow a clear compression of emissions and strategies for mitigation.