{"id":398753,"date":"2025-11-05T10:25:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T13:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=398753"},"modified":"2025-11-06T10:13:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T13:13:30","slug":"brazils-para-state-advances-buffalo-breeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazils-para-state-advances-buffalo-breeding\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil\u2019s Par\u00e1 state advances buffalo breeding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bel\u00e9m \u2013 Par\u00e1, the state with the largest buffalo herd in Brazil, is working to genetically improve its buffalo for meat production, with a focus on environmental optimization and exports. At the Aruans agribusiness group, the enhancement of Murrah breed animals takes place at one of its farms, Ter\u00ea-Tau\u00e1, located in the municipality of Santa B\u00e1rbara do Par\u00e1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aruans raises buffalo on Maraj\u00f3 Island and sends the best specimens of the breed there as breeders, after selection and improvement at Ter\u00ea-Tau\u00e1, to enhance the quality of the entire herd. \u201cWe work with artificial insemination and monitor the development of these animals,\u201d explained the farm\u2019s CEO and one of its owners, Daniel Ara\u00fajo, to a group of journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Daniel
Daniel Ara\u00fajo is the farm\u2019s CEO and coordinator of the Buffalo Working Group (GT B\u00fafalo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Daniel Ara\u00fajo coordinates a multidisciplinary group in the field, the Buffalo Working Group (GT B\u00fafalo), an initiative of the Para state agriculture federation FAEPA, which includes Embrapa Geneplus \u2014 a partnership between the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the Geneplus consultancy for cattle genetic improvement. One of the members, veterinarian and professor at the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Bruno Cabral Soares, says the work with buffalo is an adaptation of the methodologies used with cattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the selection of the best males and females within a contemporary group of animals, individuals with greater feed efficiency and reproductive performance are produced, according to Soares. \u201cThis way, we shorten the production cycle and accelerate gains in a sustainable, environmental, and economic manner for the production system,\u201d the veterinarian explains. The environmental contribution comes, for example, from breeding buffalo that produce more meat while eating less.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Breeding operations: Between Ter\u00ea-Tau\u00e1 Farm and Maraj\u00f3 Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On Aruans\u2019 farms on Maraj\u00f3 Island, the animals roam in natural fields that are flooded for part of the year\u2014an environment unsuitable for cattle. \u201cThey\u2019ve adapted to a region where cattle cannot,\u201d says Ara\u00fajo about the Maraj\u00f3 buffalo. \u201cThere\u2019s practically no human intervention\u2014what we do are just boundary fences. They\u2019re raised naturally,\u201d he adds, describing how the animals are kept on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis entire process is carried out with close attention to the land laws of our region and our state, which, I might add, I believe are the world\u2019s strictest,\u201d says Ara\u00fajo, speaking from a farm where preservation areas are clearly marked. \u201cWhen it comes to preservation, I say our mantra is: to produce and to preserve. We cannot work outside this principle of harmony with nature,\u201d the owner says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Aruans
Aruans Group has 10,000 head of buffalo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In a largely natural breeding process, intervention comes only at the end of the buffalo\u2019s life cycle, when they are sent to the Ter\u00ea-Tau\u00e1 farm for finishing, or fattening. \u201cThe result we get from this is a uniform carcass, a yield of over 50%, and very tender, flavorful meat that preserves the texture and taste of animals raised in the fields of Maraj\u00f3,\u201d says Ara\u00fajo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aruans group raises around 10,000 buffalo on its farms and sells between 2,000 and 2,500 head annually. The company does not handle slaughtering but delivers live animals to the market. According to Ara\u00fajo, buffalo have already been exported live to Iraq in the Middle East through partners. The producer sees greater export potential, including for meat, as genetic improvement advances. \u201cWe need to move forward with this program to have a larger number of animals that meet market quality standards,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nunes:
Nunes: Improvement could lead to exports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Currently, the buffalo herd in the state of Par\u00e1 numbers 700,000 animals, according to agronomist and FAEPA consultant for United Nations COP30 climate summit affairs, Hildegardo de Figueiredo Nunes. The consultant, who has served as vice governor and secretary of agriculture of Par\u00e1, reports that most of the local buffalo production is destined for meat\u2014around 70%\u2014while the rest is for milk, which is used, among other purposes, to produce buffalo cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Ara\u00fajo, Nunes believes that exports could increase with the progress of the genetic improvement program. \u201cThe buffalo herd in Par\u00e1, although the largest in Brazil, is still small compared to the cattle herd. So, the yield (production) from this herd ends up being consumed locally,\u201d he explains. He believes the project could add value to buffalo meat. \u201cBuffalo meat has a market that can be explored, but we need to provide proof of its quality in order to place it in that market and, in doing so, encourage increased production, which is still limited,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the other articles in the series:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New directions in COP30 host Par\u00e1\u2019s agriculture<\/a><\/blockquote>