ELOY ALFARO N30-350 &
AMAZONAS, MAG, 5th FL., OF. 513 P.O.
BOX 17-16-252 QUITO, ECUADOR
TELEPHONE (+593) 2-2552-546 FAX (+593)
2-2553-280 E-MAIL
[email protected]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Problem areas in sheep production
Para esta página en español, aplaste aquí.
In 1953, a group of stockmen led by
Mr. Galo Plaza Lasso formed the National Association of Sheep Breeders with the
active support of experts from the United Nations’ Food and Aid
Organization. ANCO came into existence
as a private non-profit institution through the Ministerial Agreement #142 of
April 27, 1953.
In 1959, the National Aid Bank was forced to
dispose of its agricultural properties, among them the Hacienda Pachamama,
where the bank kept a flock of purebred Rambouillets. The flock was going to be lost, and with it all the work ANCO had
accomplished on there. For that reason,
the General Assembly of that year authorized the rent of Pachamama, a
great step forward in the activities of ANCO.
The Association could demonstrate in practical form the utilization of
the high mountain plains for sheep production, as well as those management
methods that its extensionists had been trying to establish.
The national government solicited and obtained
external financing for the then called “Immediate Plan of Development,” one of
whose chapters was the Advancement of Wool Production, from the Interamerican
Bank of Development. Representatives
from the latter bank came to Ecuador to study the various possibilities for
implementation. Convening in all that refers
to sheep production, they agreed that ANCO be the entity completely in charge
of carrying out the National Sheep Program.
The government and the national organizations that collaborated at that
time for the execution of the loan and development of the program were in
agreement with the request.
In March of 1962 the national
government signed a contract with ANCO by means of which the Association took charge
of the program for the Advancement and Improvement of Wool Production in the
Country for as long as the General Development Plan was in force. From that year on, ANCO acquired a national
dimension, and its services of extension and wool classification came to cover
the entire Ecuadoran Sierra.
In 1964 ANCO realized a massive importation of
8,800 animals of high genetic quality from Australia and the United
States. It was an invaluable injection
for the country’s wool production and at the same time constituted a valuable
experience for future importations.
However, in April of 1972 the dictatorship
assumed ANCO’s assets through a Ministerial Agreement. The sheep breeding stations and their
activities became the charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal
Husbandry (MAG). Thirteen years later,
in 1985, the National Government decided to return the management of the
National Sheep Program to the private sector.
Finally, on August 1, 1986, contracts were signed between MAG and ANCO,
through which the national government granted ANCO the use of three haciendas: Concepción
de Monjas, El Tablón, and Pachamama.
The development group U.S. AID (Agency for
International Development), via the committee PL-480, furnished the necessary
funds and provided the required technical assistance through a group of experts
from the Universities of Florida and Utah.
Since then, and since ANCO’s resumption of the responsibility of
carrying forward the National Sheep Program, enormous activity has
developed. In October of 1987, 5,300
purebred sheep of various breeds were imported from New Zealand to crossbreed
with the native sheep with the end of furthering genetic improvement and taking
advantage of the hardiness of the native sheep, thereby obtaining better lambs
and hence better quality in wool and meat, all of which directly benefit the
peasant farmer by augmenting his/her economic income and quality of life.
II.
PROBLEM AREAS IN SHEEP PRODUCTION
Owing to the extreme marginality that is found in the
peasant sector dedicated to sheep production in Ecuador, an accelerated
shrinkage in the sheep population has been produced, especially due to the
following reasons:
Expulsion of the sheep industry to the highest and most inhospitable
lands, due basically to demographic growth.
Lack of economic resources.
Lack of knowledge of appropriate technologies.
Lack of commercialization facilities.
Degradation of the species due to indiscriminate killing of animals no
matter the age or reproductive condition.
Low production and reproduction parameters due to a lack of technology
and lack of a genetic base for improving bloodlines.
Environmental degradation due to indiscriminate overgrazing in natural
pasturelands.
Abuse of the producers on the part of the system of commercial
middlemen.
III. ANCO’S ROLE IN RESOLVING THEM
ANCO, as an organization, has sufficient experience to
direct the development of the country’s sheep industry. However, were it to obtain the necessary
financial resources, ANCO could amplify its activities not only with respect to
wool production but also with respect to initiating or increasing lamb and
sheep production in all zones generally.
The project shall result in the improved utilization of sectors of the
high mountain plains, which remain under-utilized, by means of an increase in
lamb and sheep exploitation. It shall
represent a source of secure, higher income for small and large sheep raisers
alike, in addition to the permanent employment of a number of people in secondary
industries such as wool processing or meatpacking.
Furthermore, sheep and lamb hides
that lack the industrial treatment needed to enter existing markets can be
better utilized in the production of natural sheepskins and haired hides, which
can be employed in distinct uses and manufacturing processes.
For the completion of those objectives and
goals, Ecuador possesses the land, natural resources, and workforce necessary
to develop a productive sheep industry.
Such an industry could constitute an important factor in the development
of the economy. The needs of the
national textile industry, the low level of animal proteins in the rural
Ecuadoran diet, and the analysis of these aspects, establish the foundation for
orienting policy towards the augmentation of the production of those products
that, like wool and meat, constitute and contribute to improve industrial
development and elevate nutrition.
In this sense, it’s important to be optimistic
and see the problem as within our national reach. We estimate that the use of wool substitutes such as pure or
blended synthetic fibers will not be able to compete with this natural fiber
for the elaboration of a wide variety of garments.
With the above, and with time, self-financing will be
obtained from the products derived from sheep production.
IV.
RESOURCES FOR PROJECT SUPPORT
First would be the obtainment of direct
external financial support for two years, until the association can finance its
own operations, or, on the other hand, the obtainment of a long-term loan to be
guaranteed with those assets that the organization possesses at that time and
that are well accepted, without relying on the grants of land-use or the
animals that exist in each hacienda.
Being
that the service of Extension and Veterinary Medicine, which is in charge of
transferring technologies to the associates and sheepmen in general, needs to
grow with the demand for its services, greater expenses will result. For this reason, it may be necessary in the
future to charge for visits, classifying them by sector, type of work realized,
and class of associate, which shall be determined by economic condition.
The Wool Classification Center will need to
amplify its wool warehouses, which shall be located in the area of highest
sheep population, in order to buy wool directly from the producers at a
superior price. It will charge the
textile industry a percentage for the cost of classification and delivery of
the wool to the factories.
The sale of purebred sheep born in country will be
able to finance the costs of maintaining the haciendas and breeding stock. The proceeds from agricultural crops will
help to equip more modern machinery that the centers require.
The above goals shall be attained when ANCO can
obtain financial resources needed for its territorial expansion.
Nevertheless, ANCO must
continue working with the same professionalism it has demonstrated throughout
the years, which means that the personnel of Extension, Veterinary Medicine, as
well as that of the Administration, must be up to date in all aspects of the
sheep industry, from production to marketing.
This shall be achieved with capacitation courses, preferably in the
Exterior, or through inviting experts in sheep production to Ecuador, as has
been done in the past.
Another resource that aids the success of the
project is the many institutions with which ANCO collaborates, giving technical
assistance through institutional accords.
This includes the national universities, especially their Faculties of
Veterinary Medicine and Agronomy, whose goal is that their students thoroughly
grasp the problematic of the sheep industry and complete their graduate theses
with the solid base of those experiences.
In the end, we are all the beneficiaries of this
project: ANCO, for becoming a prestigious institution with an extensive body of
experience that has its future assured because it is the driving force of
making a success of and advancing the sheep industry; the small, medium-sized,
and large sheepmen, whose incomes are increasing; the textile industry, which
has prime wool within reach; and, at last, the country, which is able to climb
a step higher in its development.
NEXT PAGE 
EVOLUTION OF THE BREEDS