The water buffalo in Panama: history, trends, perspectives, challenges, and tasks for the future sustainable production.

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) was introduced in Panama in 1970 as imported from Trinidad and Tobago. The tendency of water buffalo production in Panama was irregular in the following 40 years. In fact, the national agricultural census officially declared a population of 2,401 buffaloes and 90 producers in Panama at the year 2011. There have been some recent advances combining the government, water buffalo producers, the National Uni versity Austral of the Chaco from Argentina with the international participation and leadership of the AMEXBU (Mexican Association of Buffalo Producers), ABUAR (Association of Production and Development of Buffalo in Argentine) and ANABUPA (National Association of Buffalo Producers of Panama). Those efforts have given sup port to develop the First Seminar on Water Buffalo Production in Panama organized by the Agricultural Ministry through Mr. Alfredo Valderrama in coordination with the Director of the National Cattle Production Program (Dr. Abelino Ureña). Applied research has emerged as one alternative to evaluate processes such as the growth and development of buffalo in the Atlantic Region of Panama. Results have demonstrated the need for technical improvements in feeding, nutrition, and animal health during the first 36 months in the life cycle of buffaloes. The research showed a considerable proportion of animals with smaller body weight, lower hemoglobin, and low eritrocity count as compared to biological patterns in water buffaloes. Perspectives, challenges, and tasks are considered important at this moment, in order to develop and improve the water buffalo production system forward to efficiency and sustainability in Panama. There are many regions, whose climatic and geographic conditions are appropriate for water buffalo production, which are located in Bocas Del Toro, Chiriqui, Veraguas, Colon, Darien, Panama, Coclé, and Gnobe Bugle County. The future of the water buffalo production system in Panama will depend on efforts made by the government, buffalo producers, the meat and milk industry, and traders in order to offer beef and milk products, which Panamanian consumers must know and find with rea sonable prices in the national marketing. Of course, the priority in this direction demands economic support to establish and develop a National Buffalo Production System toward efficiency and sustainability as there is in other countries. Main achievements will depend on the integration of buffalo producers to consumers; but under the supervision and leadership of the government to support those requirements that are not available for producers, industry, and traders. This animal production system must be economically nourished and assisted with education, researching, and extension to achieve development, growth, and efficiency toward a sustainable animal production in Panama.

Keywords: Bioclimatic zones, Buffalo production, Efficiency, Sustainability, Population, Panama

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) was introduced in Panama by military General Omar Torrijos Herrera in the decade of 70s. The first 21 animals from Trinity and Tobago arrived at San Jose Del General, District of Donoso, in the Region named Coclesito, Province of Colon. Those animals were donated by the Panamanian government to poor people in Coclesito, Province of Colon. The project named “Bufalino Agropecuario y Agroindustrial para la Habitabilidad Del Área Atlántica” was designed by Omar Torrijos Herrera and the main purpose of the project was to promote and develop the Panamanian Caribbean Region, which was considered the axis for the economic activity in the region. In this view, the water buffalo should guarantee products such as milk and beef for poor people with extreme economic limitations (Colmenares, 2016). In addition, those people were living far away from urban places; and therefore, they were not able to visit frequently commercial stores in the region.

At the beginning of the 80s, the buffalo population in Coclesito, Province of Colon was 206 animals. The Company named Bocas Livestock in Bocas Del Toro had 37 animals, in addition to some other small animals not counting for instances. In the meantime, there were buffaloes in Chepo (Province of Panama) and the Na tional Institute of Agriculture (INA), located in Divisa City, Province of Herrera. Other water buffaloes were developed in the Province of Panama by private pro ducers through the Hydroelectric Project El Bayano by the Bayano Corporation. From this place, some animals were moved to Coclé, Veraguas, Chiriqui, and Bocas Del Toro as part of the animal mobilization in Panama.

Water buffalo inventory in 1981 reached 300 animals, which demonstrated the high capacity to adapt to low land with a high precipitation regimen, (Colmenares, 2016). Those areas were not suitable for developing beef and dairy cattle production. Therefore, water buffalo was introduced and became well adapted to low-quality forages, high humidity, high precipitation, and high temperatures.

The Agricultural Company Sheré Punjab, S. A. property of Narirderjit Singh Dhaliwal (from India) was created and located in El Llano, District of Chepo, Province of Panama. This Company initiated a small project using animals from the Bayano Corporation.

The main objective was to produce buffalo and cattle milk to process. The commercial water buffalo company was initiated in the Province of Chiriqui in 1998, when Don Guillermo Cardenas Pelaez acquired 300 female water buffaloes from the Araúz family, located in Peno nome, Province of Coclé. Mr. Cardenas from Colombia knew the advantages of water buffaloes for meat and milk production. A year later, this herd was transferred to Bocas Del Toro, where these animals and 5000 cattle were quarantined because of Tuberculosis in Bocas Del Toro. This action justified to sacrifice of many animals and the herd was eliminated in 2007.

This health procedure sacrified 1300 buffaloes; lowering the water buffaloes population in Panama, (Colmenares, 2016).

There was a mutual agreement between buffalo and cattle producers with the government authorities in order to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in the region and the country. This decision diminished the economic and technical efforts of producers, reducing the pop ulation. However, it was necessary to guarantee cattle and buffalo health in the Province of Bocas del Toro, as well as in other provinces across the country. The control of this disease has been maintained until today.

The Company Palm Oil Overseas Inc. imported in 1999 a total of 22 buffaloes (13 females and 9 males) from The Zamorano Agricultural School. The same Company continued gathering female buffaloes from Panama and Colon; as well as from other small herds distributed in the Chiriqui Province until it reached 250 females. This herd supports the development of a new herd developed in the District of Chiriqui Grande, Province of Bocas Del Toro. Later in 2003, the Group Athanasiadis through Ganadera Atlántica acquired 33 females from Costa Rica, and then the buffalo activity took place in Punta Robalo, District of Chiriqui Grande in Bocas Del Toro.

Another water buffalo farm was placed in the District of Changuinola in the Province of Bocas Del Toro, whose owner Professor Juan Rodriguez acquired 30 females and one male from Chiriqui Province. The same com pany continued incorporating female buffaloes coming from the Company Shere Punjab S. A. in 2015; which was located in the District of Chepo in the Province of Pan ama. The company worked until the buffalo population reached 137 females and 2 males for reproduction. The 

province with the highest buffalo population is Bocas Del Toro, followed by Chiriqui Province, (Colmenares, 2016). Nevertheless, there is a fast-growing buffalo population in the Province of Darien, where we will find a great part of the water buffalo population in the following years since the bioclimatic conditions and the ecosystem favor the establishment of new buffalo producers.

The ANABUPA was founded in the year 2022 and its actual president is Professor Juan Rodriguez. The buffalo inventory in Panama has been estimated at 15,000 animals (Panama America, 2023).

The prevalent breed in the water buffalo herd in Panama is the Buffalypso, which comes from Trinity and Tobago. This breed was developed by Dr Bennett (Fonseca, 2016) after using the genetic improvement program for milk and meat production based on breeds such as native buffalo in Trinity and Tobago, Murrah, and Jaffarabadi. Therefore, one can find animals that look like Murrah, Jaffarabadi, and Buffalypso. The main herds in Panama are using the Mediterranean breed and crossbreed based on the Mediterranean Breed from Costa Rica and Guatemala and Mexico. Those countries are using different protocols for genetic improve ments based on artificial insemination, which allows them to speed up the genetic improvement and introduce other breeds like Murrah, Mediterranean, and sometimes Jaffarabadi.

All products and derivatives coming from water buffalo in Panama are commercialized as Beef Cattle or Dairy Cattle but without additive values. Our feeding culture in Panama is more familiar with poultry, swine, and cattle; rather than buffalo. Milk from buffalo is processed in some small in dustries; however, some produce cheese, yoghurt, conserves and sweets.

The Minister of Agriculture Mr. Augusto Valderra ma has mentioned all activities and works toward improving the water buffalo production in Pana ma. This concept was mentioned during the first international seminar on water buffalo production, which was held in Santiago City, Province of Vera guas, Republic of Panama.

It is important to mention that the National Live stock Direction through the Agricultural Ministry organized the first national seminar on buffalo production in Panama, which was attended by 80 people including professionals, producers, and agricultural students. The lecturers in this seminar included: Mr. Ismael Coronel Sicairios from Mexico, who gave a conference related to the History of Water Buffalo in America in rep resentation of the Mexican Association of Water Buffalo Production (AMEXBU). Another speaker was Ms. Angelica Pluchino Arias from Costa Rica, who gave a presentation on statistical data in water buffalo production systems. Professor Dr Gustavo Crudeli, an expert in water buffalo from the National University of Chaco Austral (UNCAUS), gave a conference on general biology, reproduc tion, nutrition and management of water buffalo.

Dr Dimas Espinoza, representing the Agricultural Ministry of Panama (MIDA), presented the industry and commercialization of buffalo meat in Pana ma. Research is one of the new fields in buffalo production in Panama. The first research project has been conducted to evaluate the growth and blood patterns in the first 36 months in the life cycle of water buffalo raised in the Atlantic Re gion in the Province of Bocas del Toro. This study demonstrated that males reached 85.78% of nor mal body weight reported by Echeverri et al. (2014) and 55.9% of body weight according to Fundora (2015). In the meantime, females also showed lower body weight during the first 36 months of age. A health problem was detected because there was a high percentage of animals that presented low both hemoglobin content and erythrocyte count (Vanegas et al., 2018). Consequently, those results suggested a great need to insert better livestock practices to improve nutrition, feeding and health control and prevention in the water buffalo herd in the Atlantic region in Bocas Del Toro (Araúz et al., 2023) to improve production and productivity.

In the academic scenery toward higher education in agriculture, the Livestock Department and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Panama have included in the academic bach elor program for livestock production a new topic named BUFFALO PRODUCTION. This academic improvement responds to the importance that this ruminant species is gaining around the world. This inclusion is part of the changes and adjustments in the academic programs in animal production to achieve accreditation in the Faculty of Agricul tural Sciences. Those changes responded to new demands and wide requirements for improving livestock production and sustainability. The course in Buffalo Production will allow us to teach prin ciples and techniques to improve the knowledge and impact the environmental technology for improving production and efficiency in Panama.

There are other academic alternatives such as a Diploma in Buffalo Production, which was developed with the participation of experts in Buffalo Production from Argentine (Dr Gustavo Crudeli, Dr Exequiel Patiño, Dr Gladis Rebak, M.Sc Hugo Altamirano), from México (Mr. Coronel Sicairos), from Nicaragua (Dr Bryan Mendieta) and Panama (Dr Reynaldo de Armas and Mgter Edil E Araúz). The Argentine experts have built an academic content for a Diploma in Buffalo Production in coordination with the Livestock Department of the Faculty of Agricultural Science at the University of Panama in coordination with Professor Edil E Araúz as assigned by the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences Professor Mgter Eldis Barnes. This academic work has formulated the Structural Academic Program for the first Diploma in Buffalo Production in Panama.

The Diploma includes modules in nutrition and feeding, reproduction and management, economy of buffalo production, reproductive biotechnolo gy, physiology and environmental requirements for buffalo welfare and production, health and preventive diseases, and dairying and processing, milk and meat industry. This academic option is programmed for professionals, agricultural tech nicians, buffalo producers, and students from agronomy and veterinary sciences.

The economic requirements for the Diploma are also defined, the content of each module and pro fessors are also ready to start giving the seminar in the faculty of Agricultural Science at the University of Panama in Chiriqui Province. However, we the organizers are waiting for a positive answer from the government to receive the economic support to start the implementation of the first Diploma in Buffalo Production in Panama. We think this economic support not only will allow us to in crease the knowledge and technical capacity to improve water buffalo production in Panama but also represent a stimulus to all those producers who have believed in the livestock production sys tem based on the idea initiated by Omar Torrijos Herrera about 53 years ago. We can say this “Let us make a better future using the right history by improving knowledge, conditions, and programs to secure animal foods in Panama.”

Essentially, the buffalo population in Panama will increase in the next ten years. If we use the actual population of 12,000 buffaloes and the annual or ganic growth factor of 13.1%, indicated by Crudeli (2011), we can predict a population of 46,480 animals in the year 2033. This represented an increase of 3.87X over the actual buffalo population in Panama. This population does not include animals that may be acquired by importing from other countries for genetic improvement.

There are many reasons and motivations, that integrate the buffalo producers, the government, and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Panama to continue working as a team to improve buffalo production. These mo tivations should allow for growth, improvement, and amplified water buffalo for milk and meat production in Panama. The achievements in the next ten years will depend on integrated actions from producers, government, industry, and traders; which will potentiate production and sustainabil ity; as well as consumers since they are the main reason for livestock production anywhere around the world. Of course, it is impossible to reach a sustainable animal production model or system without economic investment and support because such resources play a major role in the sustainable livestock production system.

The achievements of Buffalo Production in Panama demand in the first place, to define challenges and tasks that must be integrated in the present but also the future to develop a solid national program based on good livestock practices and sustainability. We must consider that a strong program for animal production requires economic support to adequate technology, industry, and commercial conditions through education, research, and extension.

There is no doubt about buffalo’s capacity and its potential for milk and meat production under different ecosystems and geographical conditions. For instance, it has been recognized that buffalo presents the ability for adaptation, environmental tolerance to stress, feed efficiency, fertility, longevity, parasite resistance, milk composition and quality, meat composition, and nutritional and biological value for human consumption.

These elements are correlated to advantages re garding biology and phylogeny, which we should consider within livestock production as an alter native when the ecology does not match for dairy and beef cattle. The advantages of water buffalo represent a great option to produce milk, meat, and skin products; whose costs are lower than those compared to dairy and beef cattle. The buf falo production systems must be placed in those areas whose microecology is not recommended for dairy and beef cattle under tropical conditions. Consequently, it is appropriate to mention those challenges and tasks, which should allow us to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the buffalo production model in Panama.

The following challenges and tasks make sense and are all suggested as elements with potential impact to boost and improve the water buffalo production system in Panama: trends have been irregular, even when such live stock activity has been increasing during the last 50 years around the world.

Buffalo production has shown a positive trend since the world population is over 200 million and today this species is in the second place for milk production, which is 15.7% of total world dairy pro duction (931,068 million liters in 2021) as indicated by World Dairy Records (2022) and it is expected to continue growing around the world (FAO, 2023). Finally, our mission in agriculture and livestock production should be to integrate all strategies and technologies, as well as all actors in the na tional agricultural scenery to ensure that buffalo production can be handled and sustained as one ruminant alternative to produce milk, meat, and other products that could be available and afforda ble for the Panamanian consumers to increase our animal food security at reasonable prices with a very high sustainability in Panama.