The specialized publication Eurocarne has reported on the launch of the new European project LIFE EFACC (European Farmers for Adaptation to Climate Change), an ambitious initiative that will analyze how to adapt ruminant livestock farming to climate change and improve its long-term sustainability.
The Agri-Food Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA) is actively participating in this project, funded by the European Union’s LIFE Climate Action subprogram, which will run for seven years (2026–2032) and will have funding of nearly €10 million.
A far-reaching European consortium
The project is coordinated by the French institute IDELE and brings together 39 entities from six European countries: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and Greece.
In Spain, in addition to CITA, two of the main representative organizations of the beef and sheep sector are participating: Asoprovac and Pastores–Oviaragón. Scientific coordination of the project at CITA is led by researcher Isabel Casasús, along with several specialists from the Department of Animal Science.
From Scientific Knowledge to the Field
The LIFE EFACC project focuses on ruminant livestock (beef, sheep, and goats, both for meat and milk) and aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of livestock systems to climate change, while also generating benefits in other key areas such as biodiversity, emissions reduction, and the economic sustainability of farms.
One of the project’s most noteworthy aspects is its clear premise: many technical solutions already exist, the result of years of research, but they don’t always reach livestock farms effectively. EFACC seeks precisely to bridge this gap between research and practice.
Among the measures to be addressed are:
- Adapting herd management by adjusting production schedules, sizes, species, and breeds to the environment.
- Improving facilities and ventilation systems.
- Selecting more robust and resilient animals genetically.
- Optimizing feeding during critical periods.
Flexible management of forage resources through crop diversification and the use of different types of pasture.
Collaborative work and trials under real-world conditions.
The project places a strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and its adaptation to local contexts, promoting collaborative work among researchers, technicians, consultants, educational institutions, and livestock farmers through multi-stakeholder groups.
Furthermore, trials under real-world conditions, demonstrations, and activities open to the sector will be carried out, working directly on commercial beef and sheep farms, as well as on the CITA experimental farms in Montañana and La Garcipollera.
The ultimate goal is for the validated adaptation measures to be compatible with the reality of the sector, promote the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of livestock farming, and for their results to be lasting and replicable, even beyond the completion of the project.
