Comprehensive approaches to livestock production in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

At the beginning of the process of colonization of the Peruvian Amazon, the presence of livestock development programs took place as a sector policy of the central government, reaching a growing boom until the mid-1970s, causing a process of deforestation; Initially, agricultural crops such as bananas, cassava, corn, rice, and grasses were developed. The main cause of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon was migratory agriculture, caused by coca leaf crops and inadequate use of land because 84% of producers had less than 10 ha and owned 50% of the agricultural area, which constitutes a permanent pressure to incorporate greater areas for agricultural activities. About 80 years ago, the Peruvian government began to take an interest in integrating the jungle into the country's economy, through colonization policies through different comprehensive, planned and spontaneous processes. One of the first attempts at colonization was made by European immigrants, Japanese and residents of the mountains, who tried to make their fortune in the jungle. Livestock farming in Peru begins with the introduction of Creole cattle brought by the Spanish at the time of the colony, and some crosses improved with Brown Swiss and Holstein. Starting in 1938 as a consequence of the construction of the Huánuco-Pucallpa highway, the Tingo María Colonization Center was created, whose main objective was the exploitation of the forests located on both sides of the highway's margins for the purpose of subdivision and colonization. The estimated average carcass yields are 135 to 150 kg of weight, which represents 50% of the meat yield. Milk production has an average yield of 3 to 5 liters depending on the producer's management systems.