MAHA SARAKHAM, 15 December 2013 Maha Sarakham Province has held the “Thai Buffalo toward ASEAN” and launched the beef cattle production development project.
The Maha Sarakham Department of Livestock Development has joined hands with related agencies to hold the 1st “Thai Buffalo toward ASEAN” to encourage farmers to raise more buffaloes.
According to statistics, the province had 38,083 water buffaloes in 2010; the number was reduced to 26,235 in 2013. Many farmers lacked motivations to raise the buffaloes, which led to the slaughtering of many buffaloes while some were sold to farmers in neighboring countries.
In the meantime, the province also launched a project to promote beef cattle raising. Maha Sarakham is one of 25 provinces in Thailand under the beef cattle raising zones. Around 30,000 farmer families in Thailand area raising around 120,000 beef cattle. The province ranked number 10 in the number of cows.
The Department of Livestock Development is supporting the comprehensive beef cattle raising here, by targeting farmers in 108 Tambons. It motivated the farmers to produce good quality of beef and aimed to produce 20,000 cows per year. The department also expected to see around 8,000-10,000 calves a year. Altogether the livestock should worth at least 120-150 million baht per year.