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History
of sheep production in Ecuador
Importance of the sheep industry
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I. HISTORY OF SHEEP PRODUCTION
IN ECUADOR
Traditionally, the raising of sheep has constituted a way of life and a
form of income for the people and institutions of Ecuador.
Even in colonial times, what is now Ecuador was a center of production
of textiles and fabrics destined for export and the Spanish metropolises. To fill the demand, Ecuador boasted some
seven million sheep of the breeds Spanish Merino, Churra, and Manchega,
which were brought to Ecuador by the Spanish.
These sheep multiplied and produced wool for the Spanish processing
mills.
The manufacture of woolen fabrics and clothing developed rapidly,
converting Ecuador into an important industrial manufacturing center that
attained its greatest splendor during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
With the independence from Spain, this commerce came to an end. The great quantity of sheep passed into the
hands of private owners and the indigenous people, causing the decline of the
immense flocks that originally existed.
In the life of the Ecuadoran Republic, the raising of sheep has been
considered the orphan of the livestock industry and displaced to the most
inhospitable terrain: the páramos, or high mountain plains. In addition, it came to be believed that the
care of sheep should be the work of the least educated or skilled person on the
hacienda.
The owners, surely because of the lack of economic incentives in the
sale of their wool, didn’t make an effort to improve flock genetics by
replacing breeding stock. Consequently,
the Spanish Merino breed degenerated, becoming what is now known as the raza
criolla, or native breed.
These criollas have characteristics of hardiness and adaptability
but a very poor production of coarse wool and almost nil meat production. Nevertheless, they currently constitute
ninety per cent of the national sheep inventory and are the breed relied upon
by the poorest campesinos, or peasant farmers, of the country.
ANCO Comes Into Existence
The National Association of Sheep Breeders, ANCO, was created in April
1953 as a private non-profit entity, thanks to the enthusiasm of a few sheep
raisers and the support of experts from the U.N. Food and Aid Organization.
ANCO’s principal objectives are: (1) to work towards the improvement and
multiplication of the nation’s sheep, (2) to establish and maintain breeding
centers for producing quality, purebred lambs to be sold to the associates and
sheepmen in general at a price subsidized by the organization, and (3) to
transfer without cost rural technologies to the peasant farmers and the
communities that solicit them.
In view of this, the Ecuadoran government, by means of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, charged ANCO with the management of the
National Program for the Development of the Sheep Industry, for which it
entrusted ANCO with three haciendas via a governmental land grant to dedicate
to raising sheep.
On its part, ANCO responded to its charge by making several importations
of purebred sheep from various countries, with the end of promoting genetic
improvement while also taking advantage of the native sheep’s hardiness to
obtain better lambs and hence better wool and meat quality. This directly benefits the subsistence
farmer who composes the indigenous communities, the largest possessors of
sheep. Thanks to those importations,
sheep of the following breeds can now be found in Ecuador: Corriedale,
Rambouillet, Poll Dorset, Suffolk, and the criolla.
The results that ANCO has obtained so far have been highly satisfactory,
since the native sheep have improved in quantity and quality, and the
subsistence farmer has been capacitated with techniques and simple practices
for the best management, sanitation, and nutrition of his or her animals. This has helped small farmers improve the
price for their wool and meat in the market.
II. IMPORTANCE
OF THE SHEEP INDUSTRY
If we consider that Ecuador has thousands of hectares of high mountain
plains and sub-plains that are in some cases abandoned and in others poorly
utilized, sheep production has the potential to fill a real void. The native sheep is an animal 90% adapted to
extreme conditions of climate and management, where, in many places, it is the
only species with the exception of the South American alpaca and llama that can
be exploited.
Upon observing the distribution patterns of sheep in the country, it can
be concluded that the sheep industry is found where the greatest population of
peasant farmers exists. This is not a
coincidence. However, it should not be
assumed that sheep are only for the poor.
On the contrary, the sheep furnishes meat, wool, milk, hides, natural
fertilizer, and other products that enable many Ecuadoran families to subsist
from sheep production.
In other countries, the sheep industry is a profitable business. The entire economy of a country can depend
on sheep production, as is the case with Australia, New Zealand, and Uruguay,
among others.
Sheep production has been in the hands of marginal peasant farmers, who,
through it, obtain food and clothing, fertilize their fields, and also gain
certain profits. That income can be
augmented by improving techniques of exploitation such as nutrition,
management, sanitation, and genetics.
In this way, the level of life of those Ecuadorans can be improved, including
that of a number of people who are dependent upon this productive activity.
Another benefit of the project shall be the improved utilization of
sectors of the high mountain plains, still under-utilized, by means of the
increase of lamb and sheep exploitation.
This will represent a source of secure and improved income for small and
large sheep raisers, in addition to the permanent employment of a determined
number of people based on the industry.
Furthermore,
sheep and lamb hides that lack the industrial treatment needed to enter
existing markets can be better utilized in production of natural sheepskins and
haired hides, which can be employed in distinct uses and manufacturing
processes.
Ecuador possesses the land, natural
resources, and workforce necessary to develop a productive ovine 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 bases most important to orient politics towards the augmentation
of the production of those products that, like wool and meat, constitute and
contribute to improve industrial development and elevate nutrition.
The mismanaged sheep can cause erosion problems and the destruction of
native plants. However, it is not the
sheep but the human being who is the direct cause of the destruction of the
environment through not applying appropriate techniques of land
exploitation. Many farmers fertilize
their fields with chemical products that strip the soil in time. They would do better to fertilize the soil
with the natural byproduct of manure, which not only does not harm the soil but
also maintains its health and vitality.
Through experience, we have seen that sheep manure yields better results
than the manure of other types of livestock.
Lastly, we estimate that wool substitutes such as pure or blended
synthetic fibers will not be a factor that can compete with this natural fiber
for the elaboration of garments.
