Mexico Advances Talks on Deforestation-Free Livestock

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), in coordination with representatives of the beef cattle value chain, held the meeting, Dialogs for Sustainable Deforestation-Free Livestock, to strengthen the sector and advance toward production systems that reduce deforestation, forest degradation, and emissions.

The event was supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Mexico and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which provided facilitation and financing.

Livestock production in Mexico spans about 10M ha, more than half of the country’s land area, and represents 40% of primary GDP. The sector includes around 900,000 production units, most of them small-scale, placing Mexico fifth globally in meat production and 14th in exports.

Verónica Bunge, Sustainability Director, SADER, said one of the government’s main goals is to reduce deforestation linked to agricultural activities by 30% and to establish deforestation-free production. She noted that Mexico is aligning with new market and consumer demands for sustainably sourced products, adding that the country must transition to more environmentally compatible agricultural and livestock production.

The workshop’s activities included identifying the roles and contributions of participants in the production chain, determining priority sites for investment in sector transformation, and proposing financing mechanisms to support sustainability.

Future sessions, scheduled to begin in early September, will include more stakeholders to assess needs and opportunities and develop a roadmap with concrete actions and targets to achieve sustainable and deforestation-free livestock production.

More than 40 representatives from organizations such as SENASICA, the Agricultural Trust Funds (FIRA), the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), the National Confederation of Livestock Organizations (CNOG), regional and local livestock associations, the Mexican Meat Council (COMECARNE), the Mexican Association of Meat Producers (AMEG), Su Karne, Grupo Gusi and Consorcio Dipcen participated in the meeting.

According to the ministry, these efforts are part of a public policy to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of the sector by meeting international commitments and promoting low-emission production systems in harmony with the environment and natural resources.