Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have been awarded £1.5 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for efforts to tackle climate change in Africa.
The college will be at the forefront of a project aiming to breed more environmentally friendly cows.
The scheme, which was launched in Ethiopia last week, aims to create an “enviro-cow”.
Dairy farming produces methane, which has 80 times the warming power of CO2, according to the Environmental Defence Fund.
Researchers are set to use sophisticated methane-measuring equipment on a number of farms in sub-Saharan Africa, where 80% land holdings are under 10 hectares.
It is hoped this will eventually result in more efficient dairy cows, which have less impact on the environment and are better at utilising feed.
Professor Raphael Mrode, the project lead who works for both SRUC and ILRI, said: “With increasing concern over climate change, research into the sustainability of the smallholder dairy system has become paramount.
“This project uses genomic selection and modern technology to selection for reduction in methane emitted by dairy animals.”
In 2015 the dairy industry was responsible for producing the equivalent of 1700 million tones of CO2 – 3.4% of the world’s total emissions, according to the UN.
Africa produces just 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
