The role of Swamp buffalo in agriculture

Production of small farm holder

Do Kim Tuyen,

Ruminant Division, Department of Agricultural and Forestry Extention (DAFE)

1. Introduction

In Vietnam, buffalo is very popular animal and it has been known as Swamp type.

Traditionally, buffaloes were raised by small farm holders for multipurpose in agriculture production. The local swamp buffalo have low meat and milk production and low reproductive efficiency due to long gestation period, long calving interval, silence heat and low conception rate. However, swamp buffaloes are well suited to poor feeding management as well as adapted to the hot-humid tropical climate conditions. Buffalo raising is closely integrate with paddy rice cultivation and it plays an importance role in total agriculture production of the country. Buffalo is also considered a friend of farmer family not only for draught power and fertilizer but also for take full advantage of feeds resources, free time and subsidiary labors etc.. of small farm holder in rural area.

From 1990 to present the growing rate of Swamp buffalo population of Vietnam had been affected by various factors, such as cattle is consideration more importance than buffalo in livestock development plan and no policy for buffalo development for last 10 yrars, fast national population grow, local economic development, mechanization and fast Urbanization…

2. Population and distribution

Although buffalo population in the world is increasing about 1.3% annually but the rate

Of increase of swamp buffalo in Vietnam is low (0.73%). At present, buffalo population of Vietnam is about 2.9 million heads and cattle population is 4.16 million. Because the buffalo body size is larger than cattle so annually, total

Note: 1. Livestock Production Division, Department of Agricultural & Forestry Extension

(DAFE) MARD). 2. National Institute f Animal Husbandry (NIAH)

buffalo meat production is always contributed more than 50% of total ruminant meat production of the country.

Table 1: Buffalo population changes in Vietnam (1990 to 2000).

Year	Buffalo population	% Compare with 1990
1990	2,854100	100%
1991	2,858600	100.2%
1992	2,886500	101.2%
1993	2,960800	103.7%
1994	2,977300	104.2%
1995	2,962800	103.7%
1996	2,953700	103.6%
1997	2,943700	103.1%
1998	2,951400	103.3%
1999	2,955728	103.5%
2000	2,958355	104.5%
2001	2,807874	98.38%
2002	2,814452	98.61%

Source : State Statistic Department, 2002

There was a reduction in the population of swamp buffalo from 1995 to 1999 due to a decrease in the grazing land as a result of an increase in the area under cultivation (Table 1). This situation was happened in the lowland, particular in the Mekong and Red river delta provinces where the buffaloes are grazed extensively. However, there has been an increase in number in areas, where grazing lands are still available, so the increasing rate buffalo population of Vietnam in last 10 years was very low (0.73) when compare with cattle population (2.8%).

Swamp buffalo is distributed in all parts of Vietnam but its more concentrated in the Northern Mountain and Upland part because the ecological condition of this region is suitable for buffalo production. More than 52% of buffalo population is distributed in the Northern Mountain Upland, where the buffaloes are more valuable to the small holder farmers not only for farm work and transportation of farm products but also for economic income of the farmers.

Table 2: Buffalo population in different regions in 2000

Ecological regions	2000
	Population (100 heads)	Growth rate (%)	The rate of Population %
1. Northern Mountain	1721	0.49	52.00
2. Red river delta	166	-4.1	8.40
3. North Central coast	676	1.19	22.00
4. South Central coast	128	0.78	4.60
5. Central Highland	51.4	0.78	1.60
6. North East South	141.8	-5.1	6.40
7. Mekong river delta	71.4	-5.88	5.00
Total Vietnam	2958	0.101	100.00

Source: State Statistic Department, 2000

3. Body size and growth

The body size of swamp buffalo in Vietnam is not as big as river type buffalo, but it is two time bigger than the size of the local yellow cattle. The average live-weight of the adult female swamp buffalo is about 420-450 kg and about 480-550 kg for the adult males, the body weigh at birth of buffalo calf is about 22-25 kg. The live-weight of adult swamp buffalo are different between regions (Table 3). Buffaloes in the Mekong delta tend to be larger size than in other regions of Vietnam. Thu (1987) reported that swamp buffalo in Dong Thap province of the Mekong delta were the biggest in Vietnam with an average liveweight of 593 kg for adult female and 700 kg male.

The small farm holder priority raising buffaloes were draught power, manure as fertilizer for crop fields and as saving bank. So meat production was not the main focus of these small farmers. Traditional farming practice are used extensively and generally include day time grazing; supplemented with rice straw when animal is confined or at night.

Feed insufficient during the dry season and cold season is a major factor causing slow to negative body growth in farmer’s buffaloes. Techniques for improved utilization for rice straw are available as urea treatment or silage and hay making but adoption of these technology has been extremely low in buffalo feeding due to lack of economic incentives.

Table 3: Basic measurements and live-weights of adult swamp buffaloes in Vietnam

Regions Parameters	Mekong delta (1)	South eastern Provinces (2)	Central area (3)	Northern Provinces (3)
Female
Height at withers (cm)	127	126	121	118
Length of body (cm)	141	132	128	127
Height girth (cm)	192	193	191	180
Live-weight (kg)	458	434	417	358
Male
Height at withers (cm)	131	129	129	121
Length of body (cm)	143	135	136	133
Height girth (cm)	198	197	198	190
Live-weight (kg)	494	464	494	428

Source: (1) Tu (1987); (2) Hong (1978); (3) Thc (1985)

4. Reproduction

The buffaloes attain puberty at a later age than cattle (Table 4). The river type exhibits

first estrous earlier (15 to 18 months) than swamp type (21 to 24 months). First conception occurs at an average body weight of 250 to 275 kg, which is usually attained at 24 to 36 months of age.

In Vietnam, female buffaloes attain puberty at around 3 years old. Their first calving is at 4 to 5 years of age, and they continue to have calves to the 18 years old. The average duration of estrous varies from 24 to 72 hours. Normal estrous interval or cycle is about 20-22 days. The incidence of silent estrous is high, in general, only 25-30% of buffalo have clear symptom of estrous (Nguyen B.X. 1994).

Table 4: Female reproductive characteristics of cattle and buffaloes

Parameters	Cattle mean (range)	Buffalo mean (range)
Sexual season	polyestrous	Polyestrous
Age at puberty (months)	15 (10-24)	21(15-36)
Oestrous: Length (days)	21(14-29)	21(18-22)
Oestrus (hours)	18(12-30)	21(17-24)
Ovulation : Type	Spontaneous	Spontaneous
Time of onset (hours)	30 (18-48)	32 (18-45)
Number of eggs shed	1	1
Life span of corpus lutetium	16	16
Gestation on length (days)	280 (276-293)	315(305-330)
Age at first calving (months)	30(24-36)	42(36-56)
Calving interval (months)	13(12-14)	18(15-21)

The fertility rate of the swamp buffalo herd, on average, is low at about 30-40%. The factors contributing to the low reproduction rate are numerous, such as the stress of working condition, poor nutrition and management, shortage of grazing area and poor knowledge about reproduction of farmers. The “silent estrous” is also a serious problem when attempts to implement artificial insemination (AI). Up to the present, availability of good quality breeding bulls at village level is still a limitation for increasing reproductive efficiency in swamp buffaloes. Farmers often mate female buffaloes to good bulls available in the village, regardless of the risk of inbreeding and usually a field-master bull mates all female buffaloes in a given area.

5. Feeding and management

In Vietnam, farmers have a long traditional and experiences of buffalo raising but

techniques are mostly primitive. Management practices are based on extensive systems and buffaloes are freely grazed on natural grasses land, forests, roadsides, canal banks, rice field after harvesting and dikes, etc… They are also fed with rice straw or other crop residues in the dry season and working season. Farmers normally do not fatten buffaloes before sell for meat but middle man occasionally by and fatten them by good quality grass and some concentrate before sale. Buffaloes are mainly slaughtered when they are not able to work due to old age or as a result of accidents. Housing for buffaloes is simple and often made by local materials such as wood or bamboo with a palm leaves roof in the mountain area, but in the plain area the housing for buffalo is better with concrete floor and brick wall and tile roof.

After harvesting, farmers in most areas let their buffalo free to look after themselves in the natural grazing areas. But in irrigated areas, farmers have to look after their animal everyday. Tending buffalo is usually regarded to children and the old family members who can not work hard.

6. The function of swamp buffalo in agriculture production

A, Farm integration: In Vietnam, agriculture production system now is mainly belong to the small farm holder. Buffaloes are still the main animal for preparing paddy fields and transportation mean of farm products, The integration of crops and buffaloes make use of available crop by-products, and transfer to the form of protein as meat and milk for human consumption. Manure from buffalo represent buffer assets which can be realized at any time, adding further stability to the self-sufficiency crop livestock production.

B, Farm cash income: Swamp buffalo can utilize waste and crops by products as straw, grasses which can not utilize by human. It can serve as long term capital reserve by using local natural resource as long as fodder resource are freely accessible at no charge. Rearing buffalo as mean of financial security for the small farm holder. In addition, sale of progeny or unproductive buffalo and their dung provide cash in come to the small farm holders.

C, Food security: Food security can defined by a combination of balance between availability and need, avoid of food shortage & nutrition different and adequate food quality. Buffalo can transform non-edible human food into high quality food for human consumption. Increased buffalo production may add to food security: the poor farmer access to more food with low cost and increase local products with reduce import and save foreign currency.

7. The role of buffalo in mall farm holder

In Vietnam, swamp buffaloes is main source of draught power in agriculture and crops

cultivation. The large feet slow steady movement and heavy draught capacity of the swamp buffaloes make them particularly well suited for paddy cultivation in swampy, waterlogged rice-fields. In addition, exist various social, cultural and economical conditions which make the use of buffalo for draught a very appropriate and profitable farming technique. However, it is without for meat, which is inevitably of poor quality. In fact, buffalo meat can have high quality comparable with beef.

Swamp buffalo production is less economic importance in term GDP but its economic importance to small farm holder is generally underestimated by their multipurpose contributions which increase income of the poor in rural areas.

8. Problems and Constraints

As may countries in the world, swamp buffalo is most neglected and forgotten animal in Vietnam due to many reason as following:

Institution problems

- More consideration of cattle production compared to buffalo in livestock development plan. There were no extension program and less research budged support for buffalo production, so buffalo production system had been paid no attention by State management organizations from Central to grass-root levels.

- From 1990 to 2002, there is no program and no policy for buffalo development and no extension service concerning to buffalo from Department of Agricultural and Forestry Extension (DAFE) of MARD.

- Lacking of grazing land areas by the result of reforestation program and shortage of forest during the winter season affected to the growth rate and low reproductive efficiency of swamp buffalo.

Production problem

- Acceptability of buffalo meat: A major problem of swamp buffalo development is low acceptability of buffalo meat. It is considered to be more fibrous, darker, less tender and poor nutrition. The main problem for this is that buffalo meat is mainly from old and reared under poor plan nutrition.

- Price distortion of buffalo over cattle. Buffalo contribute more red meat than cattle to the market, but buffalo live-weight price is lower than cattle, so the butcher tends to prefer buffalo as he sells buffalo and beef at the same price. In the slaughter house, the number of buffalo slaughter per day is more than the number of cattle but in the market no body selling buffalo meat. All of buffalo meat had been sell as same price of beef.

- Low productivity: low growth rate and specially low calving rate, the reason for this including due to lacking of common grazing area and bulls.

- Lacking of breeding improvement program and policy supporting for raising or keeping of the breeding buffalo bull for natural service.

9. Summary and Conclusion

Until now, Swamp buffalo production in Vietnam still play an importance role in total

agriculture production of small farm holder, specially to the farmer in the mountain area by supplying of draught power, fertilizer and take full advantage of available as feed resources, spare time and subsidiary labor.

Annually, buffalo population increasing rate in the last 12 year is very low (0.78%) compeer with cattle (2.8%). It is need to improve buffalo population in the coming year by establish the breeding program for swamp buffalo and focus on selection of good bull & cow for producing high quality of buffalo beef.

It is necessary to improve feeding and management system for swamp buffalo in small farm holder for higher meat production and better reproductive efficiency.

In the coming years, may be from 2003 it is need to have the state budged for breeding program, including research and extension services for buffalo development in Vietnam. Better use of available by-products and transfer the appropriate technology to farmer for improving buffalo production in rural areas.