SESSION 6. Approach to ensuring safety and hygiene in the dairy production chain in emerging dairy nations
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the Latin American dairy situation with respect to herd management, food supply chains, cattle breeds, animal health, and formal and informal (traditional) production systems. It ends with a summary of the challenges the sector needs to take up to become more competitive.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak to you about the situation concerning milk production in Latin America. The most important issue is how to safeguard human and animal health in the dairy sector in Latin America. As background, I would like you to know that there has been a change in the focus of governments. They are no longer primarily aiming at the increase of production. They are now aware that dairy products could contribute to human health and could lead to the reduction of public health expenditure by way of reducing diseases. For this reason governments are now much more interested in safety and hygiene of the dairy chain. In my presentation, I would like to give you an overview of the most important aspects of the Latin American dairy chain. The following issues will be addressed:
Herd management;
Food supply chains;
Cattle breeds;
Animal health;
Milking systems;
Milk Control systems;
Formal / informal production systems;
Challenges.
At the end of this presentation, I would like to share with you the challenges that the Latin American dairy sector should take up.
THE DAIRY SECTOR IN LATIN AMERICA
At this moment the total population of Latin America is 496 million. Consumption of milk per capita per year is 121 liters, while the FAO recommendation is 150 liters per capita per year.
Total production of milk in Latin America amounts to approximately 60,000 million liters per year, 56 % of which is produced by member states of Mercosur (Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay).
The prognosis of the production growth of the total area is about 3% per year, although I have to add that the production in the Caribbean area and Argentina shows a decrease. In the case of Argentina, it is 15% in the past two years, which has had a big impact on the total growth production figure for Latin America. The level of consumption is expected to increase by 4.1% per year in the next 4 years. The discrepancy between supply and demand is the main challenge for the dairy sector in the coming years.
HERD MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Three types of herd management systems can be identified in the dairy sector : Intensive dairy cattle feeding system, Intensive grazing nutrient system and the cattle herding system on tropical grass.
In certain regions of Mexico and in the Southern part of Latin America, the first system is predominantly applied.
In Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, South of Brazil and Columbia, the Intensive grazing nutrient system is applied.
In Central America, the Caribbean area, Venezuela, the coastal area of Columbia, the south of Mexico and in Cuba, the cattle herding system on tropical grass is prevalent.
Climatic changes however affect this system as could be witnessed by the excess of rain in Central America (Costa Rica) and drought in Ecuador.
FEED SUPPLY SYSTEMS
Feed supply systems depend on the existing herd management scenarios.
In Costa Rica and Columbia, the cows are fed on tropical grass meadows. In these areas, the natural feed from the meadows is combined with concentrates. A portion of the milk is allocated to calves.
With regard to the quality of grass, it can be said that in South America the grass has good nutrient quality, especially in Uruguay. In tropical and subtropical zones however, the grass has less nutrient value, as witnessed for example in Central America and the Caribbean region.
CATTLE BREEDS
In Columbia, Venezuela and Central America, the following breeds are predominant: Holstein type of Friesian, Brown Swiss and Jersey Tropical. In Brazil, new breeds have been developed. These are Zebu Dairy cattle and Gir cattle of Brazil. These breeds have excellent milk production results both in terms of quantity and quality. Regarding the quality, milk from these cows is high in total solid content.
ANIMAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
The main problems of animal health in Latin America include:
Brucellosis and tuberculosis in adult animals. Through vaccination of adult animals, governments try to control these problems. Pneumonia and diarrhea also occur in young animals. Through vaccination of young animals, governments try to control these diseases in a few countries.
Helminthic parasites in young animals constitutes another problem. To prevent infestation by parasites, internal as well as external medication is applied. However because these medicaments increase the total production cost, it is not universally applied nor is it compulsory.
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have been affected by Foot and Mouth Disease. This is now controlled by vaccination. Only Brazil is free of FMD in the Mercosur area, and Cuba is out of the OIE list.
Large production herds are affected by mastitis. Since there is no systematic application of good hygienic practices, such as washing hands before and after milking, drying of teats, separation of sick animals, the problem persists. The introduction of proper
registration systems could also improve the situation. In some cases the treatment is carried out by herd owners, instead of veterinary practitioners.
MILKING SYSTEMS
In Latin America, mechanical milking is predominantly applied. Consequently, the feeding of calves is by surrogate products in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica.
In other countries, milking is predominantly manual because of the smaller size of the average farm. In these cases, calf feed is natural. Countries involved are: Central America, South of Mexico, Dominican Republic and in the Andean countries. Some cattlemen think that if the calves are fed naturally, it will reduce the risk of mastitis, because the calves clean the udder.
CONTROLLING SYSTEMS OF THE MILK
There are two controlling systems applied in Latin America. One group uses the system based on total quality of milk including microbiological criteria as well as protein and fat composition; for example in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and some parts of Mexico. This system is applied in areas where large scale production and higher technology is available.
In other countries, a basic controlling system based on the physico-chemical tests is applied. This is however an inefficient system with respect to safety and hygiene.
The dilemma for further improvement is that in the countries where the second system is applied, the production costs are already high, while the quality of the products is low. This situation presents a serious obstacle for the improvement of safety and hygiene in this area.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL PRODUCTION
At present, the formal production accounts for 60% of total dairy production, while 40% is produced in an informal way. In the informal production, there is lack of technology and economical support. Sanitary control is also limited.
However, we can see some improvement in the informal production sector. With the help of international dairy associations, farmers have started to organize themselves to improve the level of hygiene and safety control. In addition, Foot and Mouth Disease raised awareness about the need for improvement of the level of hygiene and safety control in the dairy sector.
CHALLENGES FOR THE DAIRY SECTOR IN LATIN AMERICA
The challenge for the dairy sector in Latin America is to make the dairy chain competitive. In order to achieve this, we need to develop high value added products, promote dairy products, reduce production costs, improve the quality and invest in training and investigation. However, this can be achieved earlier by investing in the improvement of cattleman’s capacity, by creating better contact between production and industrial sectors and by seeking support from international organizations such as FAO and IDF.
Other international organizations operating in this zone include IICA (Inter American Cooperation Institute for Agriculture), OIRSA (Regional International Organization of Agricultural Health), and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
WEBSITES AND PERSONS CONSULTED:
Mexico:
www.hgo.sagarpa.gob.mx
Central America:
www.sag.gob.hn/helponline.html
www.agronegocios.gob.sv/tlc/news/docs/L%E1cteos.pdf
www.sia.net.ni
www.agroinformacion.com/home
Colombia:
www.agrocadenas.gov.co
Peru :
www.cepes.org.pe/cendoc/cultivos/leche
Mercosur:
www.cnpgl.embrapa.br
Latin America
www.infoleche.com
www.fao.org/ag/aga/glipha/index.jsp
www.panalimentos.org/panalimentos/index.asp
Brazil:
www.lactea.org.br
www.cbql.com.br
Ronald Vargas.:
rvargas@dospinos.com
Cuba:
pastor@censa.edu.cu
Chile:
Classification of milk by quality with the purpose of payment to the producer.
Plan of milk payment in Chile.
Dr Manuel I Pinto, University Austral of Chile. Campus Isla Teja .Valdivia. Chile
Tel. 56 63 22 12 53
Dr Bernardo Pulley, University Austral of Chile. Campus Isla Teja. Valdivia.Chile
Tel. 56 63 22 12 53
Ing Claudio Vidal, Center of gestion management .Paillaco. Chile.
Tel. 56 63 42 17 07
Conaleche:
http://www.conaleche.org/
Yamandú M. Acosta
yacosta@inia.org.uy
IDF/FAO international symposium on dairy safety and hygiene Cape Town,
South Africa, March 2–5, 2004
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