Silvopastoral Systems in Practice: Evidence from a Dairy Value Chain Intervention in Caquetá, Colombia

Food systems must raise output while reducing environmental harm, with livestock at the center of this challenge. In Colombia, cattle ranching dominates land use and is closely linked to deforestation, land degradation, and biodiversity loss, particularly in Amazonian frontier regions. This study evaluates a sustainability-oriented intervention in a Colombian dairy value chain that promoted silvopastoral systems (SPS) by bundling targeted inputs for paddock division and pasture improvement with technical assistance on rotational grazing and tree establishment. Using a differences-in-differences design combined with satellite imagery, panel data from supplier farms, and milk-quality records from processing plants, I estimate the impact of this intervention on SPS adoption and associated environmental and productive outcomes. Relative to control properties, treated farms reduced deforestation and exhibited increases in bird diversity and plant-biomass proxies. Support for paddock division accelerated rotational grazing and tree integration, improved perceived herd nutrition, and lowered disease incidence. Processing plants simultaneously recorded higher levels of protein, fat, and total solids in milk, providing downstream evidence consistent with improved feeding conditions, although not identified causally. The results indicate that integrated value chain support can deliver early gains and help align cattle production with conservation goals. JEL Classification Codes: O13, Q12, Q15, Q57.