role of buffaloe in contributing milk and meat in pakistan

Italian Journal of Animal Science ISSN: (Print) 1828-051X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjas20 Role of Buffaloe in Contributing Milk and Meat in Pakistan A Iqbal, M.A Mirza & S.H Raza To cite this article: A Iqbal, M.A Mirza & S.H Raza (2007) Role of Buffaloe in Contributing Milk and Meat in Pakistan, Italian Journal of Animal Science, 6:sup2, 1387-1389, DOI: 10.4081/ ijas.2007.s2.1387 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2007.s2.1387 Copyright 2007 Taylor and Francis Group LLC Published online: 15 Mar 2016 Submit your article to this journal Article views: 20 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tjas20 Download by: [80.82.78.170] Date: 08 January 2017, At: 07:47 Role of Buffaloe in Contributing Milk and Meat in Pakistan A Iqbal, M.A Mirza, S.H Raza Faculty of Animal Husbandry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Corresponding author: A Iqbal Faculty of Animal Husbandry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad38040, Pakistan – Email: drarshad_iqbal@hotmail.com ABSTRACT: Pakistan being an agricultural country supports a national herd of 28.4 million buffaloe which constitutes 8-10% of the global buffaloe population Buffaloe contributes 72% of the national milk supply Buffaloe is intricately interwoven with the social fabric of the rural families In these areas it is mainly raised for milk production Pakistan is the largest buffaloe meat producer followed by India, China, Thailand and Vietnam The share of buffaloe’s meat at national level is over 55% Slaughtering of male young calves for meat is common which has high degree of preference among the consumers Fattening is rarely practiced, as there is poor price structure for beef Female calves are usually raised for future herds Little effort has been done so far to feed them on scientific lines Mortality is high in calves during pre-weaning age Seasonal variation in mortality is common Poor nutrition, health and management have been demonstrated to be the main contributory factors affecting the calves’ survival Key words: Buffaloe, Milk, Meat, Pakistan INTRODUCTION - Pakistan maintains a buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) herd of 28.4 million heads producing about 22 million tons of milk annually (Anonymous, 2006) Buffalo is the principal dairy animal and called “Black Gold” due to its importance in agriculture and milk production system Pakistani buffalo are well known at global level and are considered to be triple purpose (milk, meat and draught) Nili-Ravi is the promising dairy breed with 1800-2500 liters/lactation yield (Khan and Isani, 1994; Hasnain and Usmani, 2006).Buffaloe milk is characterized by high butter fat(6.7 %) and total solid(16.6%) contents relished by consumers and dairy processors(Fischer,1975).Richness of buffalo milk makes it quite suitable for making certain products like soft cheese, condensed milk products(local names: khoa,rabdi),fermented milk products(ice cream,kulfi),milk powder and various sweets etc Pakistan is the largest buffaloe meat producer followed by India, China, Thailand and Vietnam The share of buffaloe’s meat at national level is over 55% Buffalo meat is lean with low saturated fat than beef Buffalo meat contains 40% less cholesterol in comparison to bovine meat (Lemcke, 1997).Realizing the importance of this animal, Buffalo Research Institute (BRI) has recently established in the Punjab province POPULATION AND DISTRIBUTION - Buffalo population in the country over the last five decades has consistently shown increasing trend The annual growth rate of buffalo is 3.2% Main population is concentrated in the Punjab province (70%), however due to their well recognized dairy qualities, they are also found all over the country The biggest buffalo colony Ital.J.Anim.Sci vol 6, (Suppl 2), 1387-1389, 2007 1387 VIII World Buffalo Congress is situated in Landhi Colony, Karachi (Sindh province) having about 2.5 million buffaloes PRODUCTION SYSTEMS - Herd size is the major determinant of the type of buffalo production system Majority of animals (42.6%) are raised in small herds comprising of 1-4 animals; 17.3% in medium sized herd while only 3.1% of the buffalo population belongs to large herds having more than 30 animals(Hasnain and Usmani,2006) Major type of production systems are as under: Peri-urban - This system used to cater the milk demand of urban markets in the absence of road network This system of production can be seen in large and small units Large units are located around major cities while small units can be seen in the periurban areas of small town and villages All animals kept under this system are adult females majority of them in milk Animals close to calving or in calf are purchased Calf is allowed to suckle dam for few days followed by its selling for slaughter After completing lactation, animals are either sold or sent to the villages for breeding Usually high yielder animals are raised The system is fast disappearing with improvement in collecting and transporting milk from rural areas to main cities Smallholder rural - More than 60% of buffalo population is maintained under this system This system is integrated with the agricultural farm operations of the subsistence farmers Production units are small having not more than six heads under this system This system is integrated with the agricultural farm operations of the subsistence farmers Production units are small having not more than six heads About 50-60% feed requirements of animals are met through grazing while the other 40-50% through offering them wheat straw and some green fodder Lactating animals are mostly stall fed with the available green fodder, straw and concentrate This system is the main source of milk in Pakistan Smallholder, subsistence - Smallholders in rural areas with no satisfactory milk market aim The system is traditional and makes heavy demands on family labour, largely in relation to livestock grazing Commercial - Larger scale dairy farming business enterprise mostly runs on commercial lines Their contribution to the total milk supply is insignificant This production system has recently attracted the attention of the public sector institutions MEAT PRODUCTION POTENTIAL - The share of buffalo’s meat at national level is over 55% Slaughtering of male young calves for meat is common which has high degree of preference among the consumers Daily growth rate in adult buffalo calves is 0.7 to 1.1 kg/ day (Ahmad and Tahir, 1983; Pasha and Tahir, Unpublished data) There is no specific beef breed in the country Animals destined for slaughter are mostly culled and old stock Feedlot fattening does not exist Fattening of male calves and culled animals is rarely practiced, as there is poor price structure for beef Cattle and buffalo beef are sold at the same price in the market MORTALITY - Average mortality in buffaloe calves has been reported to be 5-10 percent including heifers and young stock The death rate in the first quarter of life was maximum ranging from 53 to 84% when they were raised exclusively on milk (Ishaq, 1972) The mortality in buffaloe neonates was higher during summer Early calf mortality has been reported to be due to improper nourishment, diarrhoea, pneumonia and pneumo-entertritis (Khan and Khan, 1996).Due to high cost of milk replacer and non - development of early weaning 1388 Ital.J.Anim.Sci vol 6, (Suppl 2), 1387-1389, 2007 VIII World Buffalo Congress diets, the calves are fed with what ever is available also lead to their low survival rate MAJOR CONSTRAINTS - Major constraints on the way of development in the milk and meat sector are feeding/nutritional inadequacies, lack of national dairy and meat improvement program, obsolete management practices, seasonal fodder scarcity, long hot spells during summer months, poor record keeping, weak extension services and defective marketing systems all leading to low productivity by the buffaloe NEWER INCENTIVES - Present government has recently jumped into the livestock sector with eye-catching incentives Soft loans are being offered to livestock farmers from Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and all agricultural and commercial banks Pakistan Dairy Development Board has been established with attractive incentives Government has announced free import of machinery, provision of chillers to the farmers Modern slaughter houses and quality control labs have also been proposed REFERENCES - Ahmad, B., Tahir, M.S., 1983 Economics of beef production through fattening of male buffalo calves by various feeding systems Third Annual Report: Directorate of Livestock Production Research Institute, Bahadurnagar, Okara 48-49 Anonymous 2006 Economic Survey Government of Pakistan Ministry of Finance, Economic Advisors Wing, Islamabad Fischer, H., 1975 The water buffalo: A physiological survey of types and uses Anim Res Dev 118-130 Hasnain, H.U., Usmani R.H., 2006 Livestock of Pakistan Livestock Foundation, Islamabad Hussain, R Qureshi A.S., 2007 Economic importance of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Agro Vet News January Ishaq, S.M., 1972 Ninth Annual Report Directorate of Livestock Farms, Punjab, Lahore 58-59 Khan, B.B., Isani G.B., 1994 Breeds and Types of Livestock in Pakistan In: Animal Husbandry (Manag Auth: S.Iqbal Shah) National Book Foundation, Islamabad 61 Khan, A., Khan M.Z., 1996 Neonatal calf mortality in Pakistan I Prevalance and factors influencing mortality in buffalo and cow neonates Buffalo J.2: 219-229 Lemcke, B., 1997 Water buffalo In: Hyde K (Ed) The New Rural Industries - A Hand Book for Farmers and Investors Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Sydney, Australia Ital.J.Anim.Sci vol 6, (Suppl 2), 1387-1389, 2007 1389