NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ESTABLISHING AND ENHANCING REGIONAL WATER BUFFALO BREEDING CENTERS
With VISIONARIES OF GUAYANA, we have discussed aspects related to the strategic vision of Venezuelans in the past, as specified in the following the links:
VISIONARIES OF GUAYANA: EXAMPLE AND VALIDITY OF DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
INTRODUCTION
ECONOMY
AND POVERTY IN VENEZUELA
Venezuela's GDP is estimated to have
decreased by 70% between 2013 and 2019. According to the Finance Commission of
the National Assembly, the price of products and services in Venezuela
registered a cumulative inflation of 7,374.4% in the year 2019. This, in a
region in which, according to the report "State of food security and
nutrition in the world 2020" published by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, FAO, a diet capable of covering minimum
energy needs costs US $ 1.6 per person per day.
The cost of a healthy diet, for its
part, rises to US $ 3.98 a day per person, far beyond the reach of most
Venezuelans. Venezuela's minimum wage is around $ 2 a month.
The
month-on-month variation of the Basic Food Basket exceeds 200%. The food
purchasing power of the minimum wage is 4.7%, with 1 minimum wage you can pay
only 4.7% of the cost of the Basic Food Basket. A family requires 21 minimum
wages to acquire the Basic Food Basket ”, the document outlined.
Currently, 96.2% of Venezuelans are
in poverty and 79.3% suffer extreme poverty. The poverty situation in Venezuela
is so extreme that it is more similar to the poorest countries in Africa such
as Nigeria, Chad or Zimbabwe than to the countries of its region.
Only 10% of households have a
continuous supply of electricity. 64% have outages for several hours even
daily. An investigation by the NGO Transparencia Venezuela, at the end of 2018,
on the work of 567 state companies, warns that only 18% of the venezuelan
population has access to quality drinking water service.
FEEDING
In the last 20 years, the consumption
of beef in Venezuela decreased 82.60%. In 1999, Venezuelans consumed 23
kilograms a year of this animal protein. According to calculations by the
National Federation of Cattlemen of Venezuela, Fedenaga, in 2018 the intake fell
to 4 kilograms a year.
The British humanitarian organization
Oxfam published an alert on "the hunger virus" in which Venezuela is
listed as one of the ten main "hotspots".
"Even
before the pandemic, more than half of the hungry people in Latin America were
already living in Venezuela," Oxfam recalled.
According to the humanitarian organization, there is
already evidence that an increasing number of Venezuelans "are reducing
the quantity and quality of food in their diet."
Right now, among its "critical points", only
Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan exceed the 9.3 million
hungry inhabitants that the British NGO estimates there are in Venezuela.
|
País |
Habitantes
con hambre (millones) |
%
de la población |
|
Yemen |
15,9 |
53% |
|
República Democrática del Congo |
15,6 |
26% |
|
Afganistán |
11,3 |
37% |
|
Venezuela |
9,3 |
33% |
|
Países del Sahel Occidental* |
9,5 |
5% |
|
Etiopía |
8 |
27% |
|
Sudán del Sur |
7 |
61% |
|
Siria |
6,6 |
36% |
|
Sudán |
5,9 |
14% |
|
Haití |
3,7 |
35% |
|
* Incluye a Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Níger, Chad, Senegal y
Nigeria. Fuente: Oxfam, ENCOVI 2019-20. |
||
PROTEIN CONSUMPTION
For Rolf Hackbart, representative of
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, in Venezuela,
“the country continues to face a difficult internal situation. That is why,
Hackbart added, that FAO is developing "a series of projects aimed at food
assistance, resilience and recovery of livelihoods, in the face of the economic
emergency."
International organizations formalize
the food crisis that Venezuela is experiencing. According to data managed by
the FAO, Venezuela ranks last in per capita meat consumption in all of South
America: Venezuelans only consume 4 kilograms of meat per capita, that is, 55.2
kilos less than Uruguayans who lead consumption with 59.2 kilograms and 23
kilograms less than the average for the region, which is over 27 kilograms.
In November 2019, the FAO reiterated
that at least 6.8 million venezuelans were undernourished and warned about the
increase in neonatal and infant mortality in the country.
Fedenaga: Less than 40% of meat and
35% of the milk consumed in the country are produced. By the end of 2019, the
industry produced approximately 37% of the beef that venezuelans should
consume, and dairy production did not reach 30% of consumption, compared to the
1990s.
According to the annual Products and
Poultry report prepared by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the United
States Department of Agriculture, beef production in Venezuela fell from almost
1,200 metric tons in 2013 to 223 tons in 2019.
The same phenomenon is seen with
chicken, whose consumption has also plummeted 83.5% between 2014 and 2018,
according to the document.
MALNUTRITION
NEW YORK, January 26, 2018 - More and
more children in Venezuela suffer from malnutrition as a result of the
country's prolonged economic and financial crisis, warns the United Nations
Children's Fund, UNICEF.
According to
the quarterly report of Cáritas of August 2017, 15.5% of the children evaluated
presented symptoms of wasting (compared to 11.1% in the previous quarter), and
an additional 20% of children at risk of malnutrition. The results of these
studies, although they do not represent the total population, are an indicator
of the continuous deterioration of the nutritional status of children.
Between 2013 and 2018, according to
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 13% of the country's children
suffered from malnutrition. Caritas, in a recent study carried out in five venezuelan states and in Caracas, discovered that 16% of children under the age
of five suffer from acute malnutrition and that almost twice the minors
evaluated by the organization suffer low growth rates for their age.
“We are
beginning to see the problems associated with the chronicity of the crisis. At
first we saw cases of weight loss, problems associated with acute malnutrition,
but for a couple of years we have been seeing other types of problems, such as
that children are born to a malnourished mother. That already speaks of a
chronic effect, ”says the member of the Bengoa Foundation, an organization
specialized in food and nutrition.
According to Herrera, also
coordinator of the Venezuelan Health Observatory (OVS), chronic malnutrition
can compromise growth processes, impede the proper functioning of the body and
even cause death. Lack of adequate nutrition diminishes cognitive development
and causes physical and emotional trauma among hundreds of thousands of young venezuelans. As a result, doctors and other health experts argue that Venezuela
faces a generation of young people who will never reach their full physical or
mental potential.
It stands out that there are babies
who are born with low weight as a result of maternal malnutrition and then are
not fed adequately, for which their nutritional condition is severely
compromised.
“Children under five have always been
very affected, but this time babies under six months are affected. They were
more protected by the effect of exclusive breastfeeding, but we see that in
some cases it is insufficient.
According to a study published by the
Bengoa Foundation in 2019, 30% of Venezuelan children between 7 and 12 years
old that they evaluated in four states suffered from chronic malnutrition.
Herrera assures that lately they have
also found significant deterioration in adolescents and even in young women and
men.
The doctor explains that some families choose to "sacrifice" the meals of older children and adults so that younger children can eat. “Thus we enter a vicious circle. We are beginning to see a more global impact that reaches adolescents and women and men of childbearing age”.
SOLUTION
We venezuelans are very grateful for the support received by various nations of the world, and especially from the Government of the United States of North America, in this first phase, corresponding to the response that must be given to the humanitarian crisis that our country is experiencing today, as shown in the following link issued by MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE, on SEPTEMBER 19, 2020.
“The United States remains the world's largest donor of humanitarian and development assistance, including for Venezuelans in need, because doing our part to respond to global crises is a national security priority.
The United States is demonstrating our continued commitment to the Venezuelan people and our response to the current humanitarian crisis caused by the corrupt and illegitimate Maduro regime with the announcement of nearly $ 348 million in additional humanitarian assistance. This amount includes nearly $ 143 million from the State Department's Office of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and more than $ 205 million from the United States Agency for International Development. This additional humanitarian assistance from the US includes support to the more than seven million Venezuelans with critical needs within Venezuela, the more than five million who have sought refuge in countries in the region, and the generous communities that host them. This new funding now brings the total amount of U.S. humanitarian and development assistance to the Venezuela crisis to more than $ 1.2 billion since 2017, excluding supplemental funding from COVID-19.
Many Venezuelans continue to struggle to meet their basic needs and assistance from the United States supports the well-being of forcibly displaced Venezuelans. US humanitarian assistance provides access to emergency food, clean water, direct cash assistance, sanitation and hygiene support, medical care, medical supplies, psychosocial support, livelihoods, and protection for vulnerable groups, including women. , youth and indigenous peoples, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
We appreciate the efforts of all donors who have committed resources to these life-saving initiatives and encourage both traditional and new donors to increase their efforts to help meet the growing needs for crisis responses. ”
As a fundamental part of solving the
feeding problems that Venezuelans suffer today, a "PLAN FOR THE CREATION
AND DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL CENTERS FOR WATER BUFFALO BREEDING AT NATIONAL
LEVEL” is proposed, based on references generated by specialists and experts on
the subject, justification that is summarized in the document that follows.
THE
WATER BUFFALO IN THE ORINOCO DELTA
The high level of the venezuelan
experience in the breeding of water buffalo has been widely recognized by
countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and other latin american countries, some of them, in their process of establishing themselves
as buffalo breeders, they have received buffaloes from Venezuela.
Buffalo breeding in Venezuela dates
back to 1920 when a batch of 26 buffalo females and 2 buffalo males were
imported from Trinidad; one group was directed to Guara Island in the Orinoco
Delta, and another lot to Aragua State.
In 1967, the National Executive, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Breeding, managed the introduction of Indica buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to our country from the island of Trinidad for its Breeding Centers on Guara Island, Orinoco Delta and Biruaca, Apure State.
In 1971, the Corporación Venezolana
de Guayana (CVG), was interested in promoting buffalo breeding for the Orinoco
Delta, and also imported, from the island of Trinidad, for its Breeding Centers
in Isla Guara, a lot of buffaloes with the objective of evaluating, for
breeding and reproduction purposes, their behavior in areas subject to flooding
from the Orinoco River.
In this way,
vast extensions of the national territory not usable for cattle raising would
be used due to excessive humidity, poor drainage and the predominance of a
grass that is not feasible to be used by cattle, known as gamelot chiguirero
(Paspalum fasciculatum ), high production of green matter, high fiber content,
difficult and expensive to replace in its natural habitat, by cultivated
pastures.
In Delta
Amacuro, it was possible to show that in gamelots with which cattle lose
weight, buffaloes get fat quickly. Many regions of Venezuela such as Bajo Apure
and a large part of this state, Delta Amacuro, the delta area of Monagas and
Sucre, south of Guárico, south of Cojedes, south of Portuguesa, south of
Barinas, a large part of the Veroes district of the Yaracuy state , and the
south of Zulia, among others, meet conditions that are not favorable for
cattle, and that nevertheless constitute the natural habitat of the Buffalo. The possibility of
production in humid tropical areas with swampy areas and natural pools fed by
rivers, is another advantage of buffalo with respect to cattle of the Bos genus,
which do not present the same productive yields.
The water
buffalo is a true alternative, proven successfully for more than 40 years in
the Orinoco Delta and the rest of the country, of unquestionable use for the
use of extensive natural pastures on low-value soils. Its exploitation implies
a harmonious and friendly relationship with the environment, which makes it
possible to achieve and sustain over time the improvement in the lives of those
who dedicate themselves to that task and, the certainty, in the generation of
work and the production of food .
Old and
recent studies show that buffalo meat at the appropriate age for slaughter is
softer and juicier than beef, rich in protein, highly essential amino acids,
with little intramuscular fat, low in saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and
triglycerides; high protein content and high concentration of w-3 and w-6 fatty
acids, closely related to human health. The
resistance to disease, the ability to adapt to various climatic conditions, the
higher digestibility of low-quality grasses, the faster growth and the increase
in body weight in buffalo, shows their versatility and ability to contribute
positively to livestock production sustainable.
POTENTIALITIES
OF BUFFALO CATTLE
The potential
of the water buffalo, as a producer, is highly valued today, because this
species, due to its rustic qualities, can adapt to the most adverse conditions,
having the goodness of transforming food more quickly than any other ruminant ,
its digestive system contains enzymes that transform hard grasses, those water
grasses, into meat.
In Venezuela this species occupies
the second herd in heads of the entire american continent and has been
distributed throughout the country, recognizing good productive and
reproductive indicators. The good behavior in terms of some growth parameters,
weight averages at different ages, times of the year where its productive
capacity improves, make buffalo cattle express all their productive potential
and have certain advantages over cattle.
Currently,
research has been carried out that shows the productive and reproductive
behavior of buffalo and the environmental factors that influence its total
performance, hence three aspects to take into account regarding the advantages
of buffalo cattle over cattle.
The first aspect is adaptability.
Both cattle and buffalo can be raised in any region or climate, between 0 ° C
to 45 ° C. However, in dry environments, cattle are better adapted, on the
other hand, the buffalo produce well in this type of ecosystem but it does not
give its full potential, since its habitat requires more humidity and permanent
availability of water, because it has few sweat glands to dissipate heat.
Within an area of one cm2 of skin, the water buffalo contains 150 sweat
glands, while the cow gathers 1.500, so to regulate body temperature it needs
water or shade. Hence the name water buffalo.
Additionally, in floods it defends
itself very well compared to cattle.
Now, when we talk about permanent
water areas, cattle cannot give the necessary potential to be a source of
protein for man, while water buffalo achieves average daily weight gain values
of up to 1000 grams in pasture of low nutritional quality and poor soils,
additionally the female provides during the lactation period a minimum of 4 to
5 liters of milk per day. Environment in which cattle production in both areas
is low.
In Venezuela, the plains areas have
these characteristics. There are large areas of land where the production of
buffalo cattle is more economically viable than beef.
The
north in buffalo matter for Venezuela
"Venezuela, thanks to its
climate and environment, is an ideal country for buffalo, and this is an ideal
animal for Venezuela." The north in buffalo matter for Venezuela.
Proposals of W. Cockrill. With this phrase by W. Ross Cockrill (1991) ...
The second
aspect is growth. In this regard, the literature shows that buffalo have a
great advantage over beef, since it reaches the fullness of its development in
a short time and this allows greater meat production in less time. Buffaloes, on average,
live 22 years, give 16 calves, cows live 10 years and give 5 calves. At weaning,
the buffalo weighs 100 kilos more than the calf of the cow.
Another important aspect, contrary to
what people believe, the water buffalo is much more docile than the beef, it tames
quickly when milking without problem.
Finally, we have the production of
milk and meat. In milk production, the superiority of the buffalo over the cow
is more qualitative than quantitative, that is, if we compare the daily
production of a buffalo with a cow of the Holstein breed, the milk production
of the buffalo is lower. But this changes when we use the same amount of milk
from both to make any type of cheese, since more is produced with buffalo milk.
Buffalo's milk has physical-chemical characteristics typical of the species,
its flavor is slightly sweet and has a white plaster color due to the absence
of beta-carotene; It has a high content of fatty solids which gives it a low
elasticity to heat and a high tension when curdling.
In terms of meat production, the
advantage of one over the other is comparative, but not competitive, because
buffalo cattle present the same meat production in any type of natural
ecosystem in relation to beef. However, in terms of appearance, buffalo meat is
darker, fat is whiter, buffalo meat can be kept soft until a very old age
compared to beef, and it is important to say that conditions are significantly
improved when the buffalo has a balanced diet resulting in better meat
quality.
The main characteristic of buffalo
meat is that it does not present infiltration fat, since the fatty tissue is
easily separable from the thin skin, additionally, it contains 3% less fat than
beef, has better water retention and is more juicy and tender compared to other
bred species. In general, a 100 g steak of buffalo contains 35 mg of
cholesterol, provides 130 Kcal, against 280 Kcal of beef which contains 80 mg
of cholesterol.
Buffalo meat cuts are served in the
finest restaurants in Rome, such as La Toscana, Puntarella Rossa, or in the
rocky mountains of Wyoming in the United States (JACKSON HOLE BUFFALO MEAT
CO.), or in the black market of latin countries, exposed for sale as meat from
domestic cattle of the genus Bos.
Buffalo meat is used in a similar way to beef, for example, grilled, fried, etc. Additionally, it has very good emulsifying and binding properties, making it ideal for making sausages, fine cuts, hamburgers. Common asian uses for buffalo meat are kebabs, koftas (kind of meatballs), various indian dishes, curries, corned beef.
ACTION FOR THE SOLUTION
At the time when the political change that Venezuela requires is approaching, as well as the implementation of the Country Plan: The Venezuela that is Coming, which will impose a new economic model that will lead the country to a free market economy, guarantor of legal security and protection of private property, offering important incentive policies, services are offered to accompany the necessary steps for the development of projects for the raising and processing of buffalo cattle in Venezuela.
REFERENCIAS
EL BÚFALO: OTRA ALTERNATIVA DE PRODUCCIÓN DE LECHE
Publicado el: 12/1/2009
Autor/es:
Prof. Néstor Simón Montiel Urdaneta. La Universidad del Zulia. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias.
Venezuela
INTRODUCCIÓN DEL BÚFALO DE AGUA EN VENEZUELA
Pedro E. Piñate B. MV, MSc. Editor
30 de abril de 2011
http://notasagv.blogspot.com/2011/04/la-cria-exitosa-de-bufalos-en-venezuela.html
EL BÚFALO DE AGUA, HISTORIA, DESEMPEÑO Y FUTURO EN EL DELTA DEL ORINOCO
http://huellastuguia.blogspot.com/2013/01/el-bufalo-de-agua-historia-desempeno-y.html
En Agropecuaria La Búfala TN C.A. Nos
dedicamos a la crianza, desarrollo y explotación genética del ganado bufalino
especialmente de las razas Mediterránea y Murrah.
Nuestro principal objetivo es
mantener la alta calidad genética, gracias a esto se genera una gran cantidad
de butoros, buvillas y búfalas para contribuir con la producción de leche,
carne y sus derivados para el consumo nacional.
2016 © Agropecuaria La Búfala TN C.A.
RIF: J-40219882-5
Santa Elena de Arenales. Zona Sur del
Lago,
Kilómetro 15 Camellón Capazón Bajo.
Teléfono: 0414-7319290
Oficina Mérida: 0274-2529031
http://agropecuarialabufala.com/2016/03/de-bufalos-y-bufaleros/
Category
Archive
Below you´ll find a list of
all posts that have been categorized as “Ganado Bufalino”
El norte en materia bufalina para Venezuela
“Venezuela, gracias a su clima y ambiente, es un país ideal para el búfalo, y éste, un animal ideal para Venezuela”. El norte en materia bufalina para Venezuela. Propuestas de W. Cockrill. Con esta frase de W. Ross Cockrill (1991) …
http://agropecuarialabufala.com/2018/09/el-norte-en-materia-bufalina-para-venezuela/
EL
BÚFALO DE AGUA: VERSÁTIL, RÚSTICO Y SOSTENIBLE COMO PRODUCTOR DE CARNE
Autor: Dra. Isabel
Guerrero Legarreta
Prof. Dra. Isabel Guerrero Legarreta. Maestría en Ciencias con especialidad en Alimentos, por la Universidad de Reading Inglaterra y Doctora en Ciencias con especialidad en carne y productos cárnicos, por la Universidad de Guelph, Canadá. Experta en calidad de carne y bioquímica del músculo. Editora del libro Ciencia y Tecnologías de Carnes de la Editorial Limusa. Departamento de Biotecnología. Profesora distinguida de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa. México.
Prof. Dr. Fabio Napolitano. Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italia. Miembro del comité científico de revisores externos por la Autoridad Europea de Seguridad Alimentaria (EFSA). Editor en Jefe de la revista “Journal of Buffalo Science” Lifescience Global, Canadá.
Dr. Daniel Mota Rojas. Neurofisiología del estrés, comportamiento y bienestar de los animales domésticos y silvestres. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), México. Editor del Libro Bienestar Animal. Elsevier. España. Pertenece al Consejo editorial de la revista “Journal of Buffalo Science” Lifescience Global, Canadá.
Dra. Rosy Gabriela Cruz Monterrosa. Doctora en Ciencias -Bioquímica del músculo. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. (Campus Lerma). Investigación en bienestar animal y ciencia de la carne. (UAM). México.
Dra. Patricia Mora Medina. Departamento de Ciencias Pecuarias. Bienestar animal, inocuidad y calidad alimentaria. FESC. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). México.
Dr. Jesús Alfredo Berdugo-Gutiérrez. Latin American Center for the Study of Buffalo, Colombia. FMVZ-Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. Asociación Colombiana de Criadores de Búfalos. Medellín, Colombia.
