Ing. Mauricio Álvarez
Coordinator of the National Meat and Animal Fibers Program
INTA
Juan Mauricio Álvarez is an animal science engineer and coordinates the Programa Nacional de Carnes y Fibras Animales (National Meat and Animal Fibers Program) of INTA, Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology, which drives innovation in the cattle, sheep, and swine value chains.
He promotes climate-smart livestock production: sustainable intensification, rotational grazing, silvopastoral systems, animal welfare, and the measurement of ecosystem services, with a focus on certifying sustainability in order to access higher-value markets. He leads the national network of residual feed intake testing centers, which improves the feed conversion efficiency of livestock, including the first such center in Patagonia. He is a leading figure in the Ganadería ConCiencia initiative.
Takes part in
- 11:30–12:30 Panel Panel 2 — Steppe, grasslands, and sheep farming
To examine the challenges and opportunities that extensive sheep farming on the Patagonian steppe faces in the context of climate change, in a fragile situation marked by desertification, the degradation of natural grasslands, and variable rainfall patterns. The panel will consider the role of sustainable management of natural grassland—through practices such as appropriate stocking rates, rotational resting of paddocks, regenerative grazing, and soil recovery—as a central tool for reconciling livestock productivity with conservation of the forage resource. The panel will highlight the production experience of several Patagonian sheep operations, the coordination among the public sector, INTA (the National Institute of Agricultural Technology), and producer organizations, and the financing and investment opportunities associated with sheep farming that is more resilient, more efficient, and better adapted to climate change.
Recordings will be available on the YouTube channel of the Province of Chubut once the event has concluded.