Water buffaloes in Venezuela

Water buffalo was introduced into Venezuela 85 years ago, but real growth and development started in the 70’s. ASOBUFALO, the Venezuelan buffalo breeder’s society, was formed in 1985, at the start buffalo were bred for beef, very soon their milking potential was realized and most farmers opted for a dual purpose milk/meat operation. Milk production and milk processing have become the principal operation of buffalo breeders. There are over 669 buffalo farmers in the country Our prime objective is to focus on the buffalo as a domesticated species of animal which can complement the traditional forms of animal production in order to address the chronic deficiency that exists in the country in terms of milk and meat, particularly in light of the difficulty in recent years to make up the short fall in the international marketplace. The priorities are: Production registers in order to identify superior genetic material for dissemination throughout the national herd. There is a need for registers by breed and for production since some of the imported animals have been managed indiscriminately. Back up research in the relevant institutions. Stimulate the proper functioning of education and extension services in buffalo management. Copy those successful initiatives for buffalo development already existing. The major limitation, however, to a big increase in buffalo production is the limited size of the national herd and therefore its inability to supply the needs of new and prospective producers with breeding animals