Problem named:
Overexploited water system
We found:
In Queretaro, Mexico, 85% of the water is used in farms around the city, most of them to produce alfalfa for milk-producing cow’s feeding.
The solution was:
Changing the cows’ diet, and new business opportunities for farmers.
Team:
Sofia Orvananos, Andres Fellowes, Cinthya Leon
Description:
After the first field data gathering we discovered that in this particular context, only around 10% of the water was used by people in their houses. 85% was used in the farms around the city. Therefore, the decision to search for solutions in the latter, which could represent a much higher impact on the system.
Later it was also found that there was a centennial tradition of cow breeding for milk production. The tradition dictated that cows should be fed alfalfa, which requires a high volume of water to grow. This scheme has lasted and survived all types of problems, especially with the severe droughts the region faces regularly and have become particularly severe in the last years.
We then faced two problems: prove to cow breeders that an alternative feeding diet was possible without risk for cows’ health or milk production, in quantity or quality. Lastly, and proved much harder, to convince farmers that there were better and more profitable alternatives to alfalfa.
For that reason several experts in cow breeding were consulted and a feasible diet was found. To show the feasibility of the proposal to the farmers a communication strategy was produced.
