Enteric Methane Emission Factor for Local Kedah-Kelantan Cross Beef Cattle in Smallholder Farms of Malaysia

¹ Climate Change Program, Agrobiodiversity and the Environment Research Center, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
² Livestock Breeding Program, Livestock Science Research Center, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: aziziazmin@mardi.gov.my

Abstract

The ruminant industry is crucial under Malaysia’s National Agrofood Policy (NAP) 2.0, which aims for a 50% Self-Sufficiency Level (SSL) by 2030 to bolster food security. Increasing the ruminant population to meet this goal could elevate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially methane (CH4) from enteric fermentation. Therefore, a targeted mitigation strategy is necessary, based on precise emission calculations. GHG emissions are determined by multiplying the total population by an emission factor (EF). For accurate estimates, breed-specific EFs are needed. This study developed enteric fermentation EFs for Malaysia’s main beef breed, Kedah-Kelantan (KK) crosses, using the IPCC 2006 tier-2 methodology. The study found that mature male and female KK crosses emit 52.5 and 39.7 kg CH4/head/year, respectively, with a pooled average of 46.1 kg CH4/head/year, differing from the previously developed EF from Brakmas cattle of 51.6 and 65.7 kg CH4/head/year for mature female and male, respectively, with a pooled average of 58.7 kg CH4/head/year and IPCC’s default EF of 47 kg CH4/head/year. Using these breed-specific EFs can lead to more accurate emission estimates and effective GHG mitigation strategies.