This summary, authored by Hamed Kioumarsi, Editorial Board Member (EBM) at Springer Nature, in collaboration with Houshang Dehghanzadeh and Seyed Mousa Saadat Mirqadim from the Animal Science Research Department, Gilan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, under the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Rasht, Iran, presents a brief yet comprehensive blend of strategies for reducing methane emissions in Asian livestock production systems. The work underscores the global and regional significance of addressing this critical environmental issue.

Citation: Kioumarsi, H., Dehghanzadeh, H., & Saadat Mirqadim, S.M. (2025). Methane Emission Reduction Strategies in Asian Livestock Systems.https://communities.springernature.com/posts/methane-emission-reduction-strategies-in-asian-livestock-systems

Introduction

Livestock production, particularly enteric fermentation and manure management, represents a very large source of global greenhouse gas emissions with livestock contributing more than 30% of anthropogenic methane worldwide. Methane, being a potent greenhouse gas, has a key role in climate change, and mitigation in the livestock sector is an urgent environmental problem. Small-scale farms dominate livestock production in Asia, and they have particular difficulties in mitigating emissions due to their low productivity, inefficient production systems, and limited access to modern technology, unskilled labor, and weak management systems. The application of climate-smart practices, feed quality improvement, and good manure management has been identified as effective ways to mitigate methane emissions. Additionally, these practices not only ensure environmental sustainability but also enhance productivity and maintain the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, thereby integrating climate mitigation with socio-economic co-benefits.

Climate-Smart Practices

Climate-smart livestock systems in Asia are designed to enhance productivity and also decrease emissions. This includes adopting efficient breeds through selective breeding and maintaining animal health, and incorporating livestock into circular bioeconomy models that optimize the use of natural resources. Hopefully, some Asian countries are incorporating these measures into policy.

Improved Feeding Strategies

Improving feed quality is a central approach to reducing enteric methane emissions. Feeding livestock highly digestible feed reduces methane emitted per unit of product. For small-scale Asian farms, this implies a transition from low-quality crop residues to better forage legumes with lower fiber content and perhaps supplementing diets with methanogen inhibitors like tannins, lipids, or some effective additives.

Manure Management

Methane emission due to manure can be minimized with improved treatment and storage. Small-scale farms can adopt more effective and scientific based manure management systems to reduce methane emission. For example, biogas production can create environmental and financial gains by reducing emissions and producing renewable energy.

Climate Action and Net Zero

Achieving mid-century net zero greenhouse gas emissions is conditional on the livestock sector playing a transformative role in climate action. As livestock are major emitters of methane, transformation of the sector becomes key to global and national net zero strategies. In Asia, where livestock farming is characterized by smallholder farmers with crop integration, connecting the mitigation strategy to sustainable development objectives can yield co-benefits across food security, energy, and rural livelihoods. Large-scale expansion of biogas programs from manure not only prevents methane emissions but also provides renewable energy for rural households, reducing fossil fuel dependency. Such approaches both prevent emissions and help establish low-carbon rural economies. However, policy coherence and climate finance are the key enablers for net zero in the livestock sector.

Challenges

Smallholder farmers often are confronted with limitations such as restricted technology access, inadequate training, unskilled labor, and weak management systems, and fiscal constraints. Solutions must therefore be socio-culturally appropriate, affordable, and supported by policy frameworks that enable uptake.

Conclusion

Mitigation of methane emission from Asian livestock systems requires concerted efforts to incorporate climate-smart practices, improved feeding, and manure management within local small-scale farming conditions. Productivity improvement per animal, resource use efficiency, and utilization of manure methane are critical for emissions mitigation without compromising food security and livelihoods. There is also a need for new policies and legislations to support methane emission reduction strategies in asian livestock production systems.

References

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Adetola, C., Egbinola, F., & Alabi, O. (2025). Strategies for adaptation and mitigation in climate-smart animal production in Africa, Asia, and South America. Discover Agriculture, 3, 194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00362-w

Climate & Clean Air Coalition. (2021). Methane mitigation through manure management is key to successfully transforming China's agricultural sector. https://www.ccacoalition.org/news/methane-mitigation-through-manure-management-key-successfully-transforming-chinas-agricultural-sector

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). Reducing methane emissions in livestock systems in Asia and the Pacific: Outcomes and recommendations of the consultative regional expert workshop. Workshop report, Bangkok, Thailand. 24–26 October 2022  https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/42031443-cf7e-4d11-b4a3-23b46caafcb8/content

Rosen, A. R., Kioumarsi, H., & Gholipour Fereidouni, H. (2025). Climate action and net-zero emissions. European Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 9(4), em0334. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejosdr/16864

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025). Practices to reduce methane emissions from livestock manure management. https://www.epa.gov/agstar/practices-reduce-methane-emissions-livestock-manure-management