Philippine Tambayan

Carabao:  The Beast of Burden

By Henrylito D. Tacio

Madrid Agribusiness Digest

After the tamaraw, what animal is most likely to make it to the country’s threatened list?

            The carabao, that’s what. The Filipino’s beast of burden, forced out from the farm by mechanized farming, is now being pushed to extinction. Although there are no current records available from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the carabao’s total population is steadily declining..

            “Unless we do something now, we might wake up one day an agricultural country without carabao to speak of,” warns a farming expert.

            The Philippine carabao is one of the many breeds of the water buffalo, sometimes known as an “Asian animal” since the region is home to some 95 percent of the world’s stock. The buffalo was first domesticated about 4,500 years ago, in China or the Indus Valley – perhaps at the same time – and “buffalo culture” spread gradually throughout Asia.

            There are two types of water buffaloes: The river type and the swamp type. The river type is exemplified by the Indian and sub-continent breeds. It considered under the dairy category because it possesses high genetic capacity for milk production.

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Cassava foliage:cheap alternative to carabao feeds

By:Rita T. dela Cruz

BAR today april-june 2002

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) has been an important food source in many developing countries. It’s an ideal food-security crop because of its capacity to adapt to unfavorable conditions. It grows even in poor soil and in areas where other crops fail to be productive, and is resistant to drought and pest infestation.

In the Philippines, cassava tubers are dietary staple and important source of carbohydrate for both man and livestock, and are important cash crop. The cassava tubers also have industrial purposes, particularly as cassava flour, which is now being used as substitute for commercially manufactured flour.

Unknown to many, one of the potentials of cassava farming that hasn’t been fully utilized is the use of cassava foliage as animal feeds.

In a recent study conducted by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), scientists found that cassava foliage could be used as a potential feed for ruminants. The scientists tried to evaluate the biological and economic potentials of processed cassava leaves as feed for carabaos. Headed by Dr. Caro Salces of PCC, the study was conducted at the Center in Ubay, Bohol.

The study aims to determine effective means to detoxify the cassava foliage for animal feeding purposes, to know the effect of processed cassava foliage on the growth of the carabaos, to identify the effect of sulfur feed supplement on the growth rate of carabaos that were fed with cassava foliage, and to determine the profitability of integrating livestock in a cassava-based farming.

Detoxifying the poison in cassava One limiting factor in using cassava as animal feed is the presence of potential toxic concentrations of cyanide or hydrocyanic acid (HCN). For human consumption, the toxicity of cassava is resolved by cooking. This is the reason why it is not recommended to eat cassava uncooked.

Cassava leaves are important source of micronutrients, protein fiber and ash, which are essential in animal feeds but along with these essential elements is a high cyanide concentration which ranges from 189 parts per million (ppm) to about 2466 ppm depending on the variety.

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Slaughter of carabao

1. Bathe the animal all over to remove adhering dirts.
2. Tie the animal to a post or a ring in the floor.
3. Stun the animal. Stunning may be done by hitting at the intersection of two diagonal lines connecting the eyes and the bases of the horns with a sledge hammer or captive bolt. If a matador is used it is done in the intersection of a line midway between the horns and line joining the midpoint of the ears. After stunning, severe the point over the brisket toward the jaw then insert the sticking knife in front of the brisket at a 40 degrees angle. Severe the jugular vein and carotid arteries for a thorough bleeding. To collect the blood easily , form a pouch over the skin o the brisket where incision is made.
4. After bleeding, shackle the animal and lift it by a mechanical hoist to a skinning cradle where the skin is partially flayed. Remove the feet and cut the breast into halves.
5. From the skinning cradle, transfer the carcass to the meat rail where flaying is completed and the head is cut at the atlantooccipital  joint.
6. To remove the visceral organs, cut through the pelvic bone to the region of the breast bone. An ax maybe used in cutting. Avoid puncturing the intestine and the stomach.
7. Separate the edible from the inedible parts of the entrails. The viscera are inspected on the tripe stand after the contents are removed. Offals are placed in a buggy and taken to the tripery for cleaning, preparation and dispatching.
8. Split the carcass by cutting through the middle vertebral column. Wash and trim thoroughly the carcass. Hang the carcass on the hanging rail to drip.
9. Quarter the carcass on the side between the last two ribs.
10. Weigh brand the carcass and have a meat inspection certificate issued for dispatching.
11. If the carcass isnot for immediate disposal, chill overnight at a temperature of about 2 to 4 degrees Celsius.

Source: Phil Recommends for carabao production, 1978