Recommendations from International Buffalo Workshop 2024
This four-day long workshop was structured with one main theme “Sustainable water buffalo farming in Bangladesh to mitigate the effect of climate change” and nine sub-thematic sessions conducted through presentations, problem-based learning, and interactive discussions
- Climate change and buffalo production
- Buffalo production in neighboring countries
- Buffalo udder health and milk chain in Bangladesh
- Buffalo farming: Challenges, mitigation strategies, and opportunities for food safety and employment in the context of climate change
- Efficient buffalo production
- Roundtable discussion on “Development of a sustainable buffalo milk value chain in Bangladesh”
- One Health for all: Judicious antibacterial usage
- Efficient buffalo production: Hands-on training for field veterinarians and farmers
Theme
Sustainable water buffalo farming in Bangladesh to mitigate the effect of climate change
Highlights of these sessions are summarized below
Twenty-five (25) presentations with eight (8) group discussions were presented in the workshop
The presentations are available in the Udder Health Bangladesh website (https://events.uhb.org.bd/archive/#Presentations)
Finance: Swedish Research Council
Workshop Organizer: Udder Health Bangladesh (UHB)
Project leader
Dr. Ylva Persson, State veterinarian, Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA) and Associate Professor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden
Project members / Participating researchers
Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Ceciliani, PhD School Coordinator, Dept. of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Milano, Italy
Prof. Sofia Boqvist, Dept. of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Asst./ Prof. Dr. Marjolein Derks, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Assoc./ Prof. Dr. Gerrit Koop, Department Population Health Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Domenico Vecchio, Head, Dept. of Animal Science and Welfare, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno National Reference Centre for Hygiene and Technologies of Water Buffalo, Italy
Prof. Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman, Dept. of Medicine and Surgery, CVASU and coordinator, UHB
Dr. Md. Ahasanul Hoque, Prof. of Epidemiology, Dept. of Medicine and Surgery, CVASU and country coordinator, One Health Poultry Hub
Project coordinator in Bangladesh
Prof. Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman, Dept. of Medicine and Surgery, CVASU and coordinator, UHB
Research assistants
Dr. Shuvo Singha, PhD, Thesis title: Water buffalo milk chain in Bangladesh
Dr. Ovirup Bhushan Paul, MS in Epidemiology, Thesis title: Prevalence of subclinical mastitis and associations with risk factors in buffaloes in Noakhali district of Bangladesh
Dr. Sanjib Chandra Nath, MS in Epidemiology, Thesis title: A survey on qualitative and quantitative constraints of buffalo farming of Bangladesh
Dr. Salma Chowdhury, MS in Medicine, Thesis title: Assessment of bacterial contamination in buffalo milk and dairy products and associated factors along the buffalo milk chain in Noakhali district, Bangladesh
Dr. Unusing Marma, MS in Medicine, Thesis title: Developing pathways for a transition towards a sustainable buffalo milk production system in Bangladesh
Dr. Sirajul Islam Sagor, MS in Epidemiology, Thesis title: Investigation of brucellosis and associated risk factors in water buffalo in Bangladesh
The workshop’s overarching recommendation emphasizes the pivotal role of government intervention in bolstering the buffalo sector, leveraging the buffalo’s inherent adaptability to climate variability and resource-scarce conditions. The private sectors should be engaged in buffalo production development. Furthermore, the workshop underscores the necessity for enhanced research collaboration between national and international organizations. This collaboration, which includes the active involvement of graduate and postgraduate students, aims to address the existing constraints within buffalo production and supply chains. The following challenges and potential solutions derived from the workshop discussion are listed below.
| Challenges | Solutions |
| Availability of suitable buffalo breed | Govt. and private sector can make it available by importing high milk producing breeds from neighboring countries and then develop own stock to sell to the farmers with a reasonable price. |
| Grazing land | DLS/ministry should formulate policy so that some islands or part of each island can be used for buffalo rearing as bathan. |
| Fodder cultivation | Grass should be cultivated as fodder crops and all un-utilized lands suitably should be used. In bathan/ coastal areas salt tolerant variety of grass should be cultivated. |
| Promoting household buffalo farming | DLS should make policy to motivate, train, subsidize household buffalo farming. Private sectors, NGO like BRAC, PKSF, Lalteer should be engaged here to enhance household buffalo rearing.Farmers should be motivated to rear a couple of buffalo with cattle at home/farm as buffalo can utilize the leftover feed of cattle. |
| Veterinary care | Common vaccines and anthelmintics should be regularly available to buffalo farmers though local DLS office, private vets. Farmers should get access to scientific information for buffalo rearing. DLS may prepare informative video, leaflet and broadcast/ publish it in, television, newspaper, social media. |
| Tackling mastitis in water buffalo | Government may support providing testing facility for somatic cell count or qualitative subclinical mastitis testing e.g., California mastitis test for routine surveillance of mastitisSubclinical mastitis and intra-mammary infection can be partly controlled through better farm management, primarily by improving hygiene, hygienic milking, breeding, and nutrition. |
| Zoonotic pathogen prevalence | Surveillance of zoonotic pathogens would be a useful step to ensure the safety of milk consumers.Reformation of the milk chain may reduce the contamination of zoonotic pathogens in milk chain, e.g., hygienic handling of milk, cool chain maintenance, avoid mixing of cow milk with buffalo milk, and milk pasteurization for processing milk and milk products.One possible way to achieve these transformational changes is “Reflexive interactive design (RIO in Dutch)”. |
| Lower productivity | Implementing breeding policy and scientific nutrition management through training and allocating resources by Govt. subsidy may be helpful. |
| Quality buffalo bull and Semen | Quality bull should be available for natural service and quality semen (Murrah, Nili-Ravi) along with trained AI technicians should be ensured in buffalo concentrated areas |
| Value Chain | Buffalo meat and milk should be produced maintaining all hygienic measures and should be sold as buffalo meat and milk.DLS should give emphasis with local administration to look after the value chain. This value chain origin is in buffalo concentrated area but suitably can be connected to the existing super shops. |
| Antimicrobial resistance | As buffalo are prone to less diseases, buffalo should always be treated with vets’ prescription and a standard treatment guideline should be followed to tackle antimicrobial resistance. |
| Research and Development | Further need-based research should be conducted on buffalo genetic improvement, implementation of milk chain.Formation of more buffalo nucleus like Bagerhat buffalo breeding and development farms in other parts like Noakhali, Bhola, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Sylhet etc for distribution of good quality progenies to the local farmers. |
| Liaison among Govt authorities, Research organizations or Academic institutes and buffalo farmers | The research findings should be communicated with the Govt. authorities and policy makers to make policy brief and disseminate the guidelines to buffalo farmers and stakeholders. Effective interventions should be identified through a periodical monitoring and evaluation of the system and finally include in the policy. |
| Implementation | Ministry/DLS may suggest and finance implementation studies against specific challenges according to prioritization. |
The complete version of the recommendations can be accessed for free through the following link
