The Institute of Agrarian Biodiversity and Rural Development (IBADER), located on the Lugo campus of the USC, hosted the presentation of the Greenlow Pecuaria project this Thursday. This is an initiative integrated into the Interreg POCTEP program, coordinated by the Compostela university in collaboration with the Xunta and various entities, whose purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in livestock farms in the Galicia-North of Portugal euroregion.
Greenlow Pecuaria is configured as a cross-border ecosystem for research and knowledge transfer in the agricultural sector, with the aim of minimizing its environmental footprint. As detailed by researcher Cristina Castillo, the project seeks to "promote the green transition of the livestock sector, fostering sustainability and the reduction of greenhouse gases, through cooperation between research centers, public administrations, and entities from the sector itself."
In a first phase, it is intended to determine the real level of methane emissions under usual production conditions and, based on this data, analyze the capacity to reduce them, which actions are most effective and viable, and which can be extended to the entire livestock sector.
During the event, the Minister of Rural Affairs, María José Gómez, highlighted the key role of science and technological innovation in consolidating the modernization of farms. Furthermore, she emphasized that this initiative will make it possible to have tools that are "more reliable, more useful, and adapted to the characteristics of the livestock farms" in the area.
As she pointed out, this progress also contributes to reinforcing an essential element for Galicia, such as quality, and consolidates Galician agricultural and livestock activity as a "benchmark" due to the "commitment" of its professionals and the high level of its products.
The rector of the USC, Rosa Crujeiras, insisted on the urgency of addressing the "challenges" linked to the sector's sustainability, an objective that, in her opinion, "necessarily" requires collaboration between institutions, the capacity for dialogue, and public policies "based on scientific knowledge." "The desired and necessary transition towards more sustainable models will only be possible if the university, administrations, and the productive sector move forward hand in hand, sharing information, objectives, and responsibility," she concluded.