Ministry of Agriculture expects better cattle management, increased productivity, more competitiveness, following livestock reproduction training last week

Photo Credit: MAFSE

By Rubén Morales Iglesias

After approximately 250 livestock producers, cattle ranchers, and Ministry of Agriculture technicians received training in livestock reproduction in Cayo, Toledo, and Orange Walk District last week, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) said it expects better cattle management, increase productivity, and more competitiveness.

“The Belize Livestock Producers Association in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, the SuKarne company that purchases cattle from Belize to export to Mexico, the pharmaceutical company Virbac, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) coordinated a livestock reproduction training,” Belarmino Esquivel, Principal Agriculture Office and Livestock Director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE).

Esquivel said that at least 250 cattle producers and technicians were trained in feeding, breeding, management, and sanitation.

“I think it has been a successful training and we look forward in training and empowering our cattle producers to make sound decisions to increase productivity, competitiveness, access to market along the cattle industry value chain and the bringing them to par with real technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer, so that they can become more efficient in their cattle production system,” said Esquivel.

The training was carried out in Billy White and Central Farm in Cayo, San Miguel in Toledo, and Trinidad and the Yo Creek Agriculture Station in Orange Walk.

The facilitator for the training was UNAM’S Dr. Luis Armando Contreras Mendez and Patricia Lara, Virbac’s sales representative.

Esquivel said the last week’s training was just an initial step.

“Primarily the objective of this training was to prepare the cattle producers as we seek to work with Amexcid-Mexico in bringing in a facilitator to train cattle producers and technical officers to learn artificial insemination. We have completed the project and it has been submitted. We are very hopeful that this training will complement the training that was carried out last week.

Some of the topics dealt with in the seminars included management of preventative medicines for livestock; evaluation of cows for reproduction; issues with insemination and reproductive diagnosis of cows.”

“So, we look forward to continue training and transferring innovation and technology, sound and affordable technologies for our capital producers to become productive, competitive, and sustainable,” Esquivel noted.

The seminars come at a time when the livestock industry is experiencing a resurgence with exports to Mexico and Guatemala worth $50 million since November 2020.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture along with the Belize Livestock Producers Association continue looking at ways to ensure a viable and competitive industry through better stock, embryonic transfers, plus seminars and workshops for the livestock producers on pasture management, supplemental feeding, forage utilization, and Climate Smart Agriculture practices.

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