Institutionalization of Swamp Buffalo Development in the Philippines

Poeedig of Iteatioal “eia Ipoig Topial Aial Podutio fo Food “euit 3-5 November 2015, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia Institutionalization of Swamp Buffalo Development in The Philippines L. C. Cruz National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT The Asian swamp buffalo, representing 20.51% of the olds buffalo population, has played a major role as source of draft power in the production of major agricultural crops, and secondarily, as source of meat and milk among East and Southeast Asian countries for centuries. In the past few decades, however, the intensification of crop farming, coupled with increased farm mechanization, diminished the swamp uffaloes role as source of draft in small farms. Despite this development, their value as source of livelihood and food remains high in small farm settings. To fully harness the potentials of this huge existing animal resource to contribute to the growing demand for ruminant-derived products and more importantly, to benefit the smallholders by way of increased income and access to nutritious food, the direction for its development can be shifted towards improving for meat and milk production. Genetic transformation is pursued thru cross breeding and sustained backcrossing with riverine buffalo breeds. For a wide-scale crossbreeding and genetic improvement program to be achieved and sustained, a national policy has to be legislated and the necessary program elements need to be institutionalized, including focused funding and human resources. Critical elements include the establishment of National Gene Pool of elite riverine buffaloes from where genetic materials for wide-scale crossbreeding will be derived. Complemented with a responsive AI system for maximum use of superior genetics. A scheme to stimulate village buffalo-based entrepreneurship with emphasis on the dairy aspect is essential in order to ensure ready market and increased income among small hold producers. Further, essential components are relevant research and effective extension services. Key Words: Philippine Carabao, Swamp and Riverine Buffalo Crossbreeding, Small Farm Enterprise Development, Buffalo Meat and Milk Production INTRODUCTION There are 199.7 million water buffaloes in the world as of 2013 (FAO, 2015), of which 97 % are in Asia. The swamp type found in Southeast Asia are generally used for draft, while the riverine type found in South Asia, South America, Europe and Africa are mainly milk type. By and large, the Asian water buffalo is sallholdes animal. The history of swamp buffalo is basically a history of small hold land-based agriculture, since, for centuries, the swamp buffaloes have played a major role in draft animal-dependent farming systems, mainly in the production of major agricultural crops, such as rice, corn, sugarcane and coconut. In recent years, however, developments in land- based agriculture in East and Southeast Asia, such as the expansion of irrigation facilities and farm mechanization, have significant impact on the use of draft buffaloes. Intensified rice production became more pronounced in irrigated areas and this has led to increased 15 Poeedig of Iteatioal “eia Ipoig Topial Aial Podutio fo Food “euit 3-5 November 2015, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia utilization of small farm machineries, significantly displacing the draft buffaloes. The introduction of tractors for land preparation and transport of produce in corn, sugarcane and other crop production areas have had similar effects. The interest in developing the already existing huge population of swamp buffaloes beyond being a draft animal, to improving the genetic potentials for meat and milk through crossing with riverine-type buffaloes is becoming profound given the growing demand for ruminant-derived products in view of increasing urbanization, increased income and the associated changes in food preferences. This lends more meaning in light of the need to address the growing issue of low income among smallholder farming families amidst the rising cost of farm inputs, thereby creating significant impact on the net income derived from the traditional crop-dominant farming system. The technical aspect of such crossbreeding has been a subject of research interest for several years in view of the known differences in their chromosome numbers, swamp buffalo has 2n=48 while the riverine type has 2n=50. Today, there are enough evidences that this effort is feasible as exemplified by large-scale crossbreeding being implemented in China and the Philippines. HUMAN POPULATION, LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND FOOD SECURITY Human population and the Asian setting The history of human development is relatively young considering that the earth was formed some 4.54 billion years ago, and that the first simple life forms appeared between 3.8 and 3.5 billion years ago (Ohtomo et al., 2013). Modern humans are believed to have originated only around 200,000 years ago (Gibbons, 2003) and only until around 1800AD that global population reached its first billion. The second billion was recorded to have been reached 130 years later (1930) and now, world human population grows by 1 billion almost every 12 years. Today, global human population is 7,307,331,185 (PRB, 2015). Technological developments in the past, such as tool making, agricultural revolution and industrial revolution, coincided with the growth in human population. These developments contributed immensely to the ability of humans to produce food. The agricultural and industrial revolutions increased food production through introduction of farm machineries that allowed opening of new lands, improved plant varieties, use of fertilizer and herbicides, and better animal genetics, among others. On the other hand, development in medical sciences allowed humans to have better health and reduced mortality rate, live longer, and thus finally contribute to increase in population. By 2050, human population is estimated to be 9.6 billion (UN, 2012), with more people drifting from rural areas to the urban areas. China, the home of swamp buffaloes, is expected to have 1.36 billion people in 2050, a minor decline from the current 1.37 billion level, whereas SEA is projected to have 0.839 billion people by 2050, a 17.3 % increase from the current 0.628 billion (PRB, 2015). In fact, SEA has an annual fertility rate of 2.4, higher than most regions of the world, except Africa. Of interest is the fact that a large percent of these people depend on agriculture, and among the people in land-based agriculture, the size of landholding has become smaller over the years. This trend happens in countries with slow industrial growth amidst the fast increase in human population (Table 1). In this case, the generation of job opportunities outside of the traditional agriculture cannot cope with increases in available labor and thus the relative number of people in the farming communities have to source livelihood from 16 Poeedig of Iteatioal “eia Ipoig Topial Aial Podutio fo Food “euit 3-5 November 2015, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia static, albeit decreasing cultivable land area. Income from this system is not sufficient to support a family. Table 1. China & SEA GDP/Capita, agriculture as % of economy, % of labor in agriculture, buffalo population, and % change in buffalo population (1960 vs 2013). Agri as % Buffalo % Change in Human GDP/ % of Labor of population Buffalo Country population Capita in Agri Economy 2013 (M Population (M) ($) (%) (%) hd) (1960 vs 2013) China China China China China China China Cambodia 15.4 34.7 2,490 57.6 0.676 +35.0 Indonesia 255.7 15.3 4,943 38.3 1.48 -48.7 Lao PDR 6.9 42.6 2,700 75.1 1.18 +166.1 Malaysia 30.8 12.0 15,800 13.0 0.12 -65.2 Myanmar 52.1 43.0 1,300 70.0 3.25 +174.2 Philippines 103.0 12.3 4,263 52.0 2.91 -15.6 Taiwan 23.5 1.6 21,592 5.2 0 -100 Thailand 65.1 8.6 5,382 49.0 1.21 -75.4 Vietnam 91.7 20.0 3,545 53.9 2.55 +27.7 Source: Population Reference Bureau, 2015, FAOSTAT, 2015; National Statistic Office of various countries Additionally, the rise in oil prices in recent years had significant impact on the cost of farm inputs, essentially the oil-based products, such as fuel and fertilizer, which led to a considerable increase in the cost of production. This simply implies that, despite increases in yield as in the case of rice farmers, sallholdes income from traditional crop remains low. In the Philippines, while net income from rice production increased by an average of 12.11%/year from 2004 – 2010, mainly due to 8.16% annual increase in buying price of paddy rice (Philrice, 2012), their net income remain relatively low at $363.97/ha/cropping. At two cropping/year, this is translated to only $722.95/ha/year. Given an average farm size of 1.3ha/household, it would be difficult to support the basic needs unless other sources of income are available (Cruz, 2007; 2013). Additionally, due to inflationary effects, rural farming families are caught in a tight situation of declining purchasing power. Undeniably, measures to generate sources of additional income for the millions of farming families are a priority consideration. This development is a major reason for massive labor migration from rural to urban areas. But since in many urban areas the employment opportunities are not as robust, the result is the increases in number of urban poor. In a sense, this urban migration adds to the urban food requirements, with the urban poor becoming food- insecure as well. One prominent resource common among the smallholder farming families is their swamp buffaloes. In China and SEA countries, there are about 36.7M of these animals (FAO, 17 Poeedig of Iteatioal “eia Ipoig Topial Aial Podutio fo Food “euit 3-5 November 2015, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia 2015), each family having 1-3 hd on average.

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