NZ know-how in Ecuador

Dairy Solutionz packages and integrates New Zealand’s agricultural technologies, breeding, pasture species and management systems to new global communities, such as Ecuador, so these high tropics nations can also start to enjoy the same economic and social benefits.
“The potential impact of this work in Ecuador is immense,” said AGSO chief executive Juan Pablo Grijalva.
“The overall and long term Dairy Improvement Programme will increase social and economic inclusion of an estimated 300,000 low-income small sized dairy farmers by helping them to gain access to more efficient animal genetics as well as more sustainable pasture and pasture-based production methods.”
“Dairy Solutionz has been reasonably active in the region with the Obonuco build in Colombia, and managing several farms in Ecuador. Some Ecuador farms are achieving production costs approaching world class,” said Fairweather.
“The Ecuadorians have also had a significant exposure to New Zealand technology and systems over the past 20 years. This programme represents a strategic drive from central government to renovate and further accelerate their industry.”
The 128 monitor farms are the first of five stages in a large Dairy Improvement Programme funded by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Other stages include developing a herd recording and breed improvement programme, re-grassing several thousand hectares and potentially several live cattle shipments.
An important part of the technology transfer Fairweather says, is in human resource.“We have had five highly experienced Kiwi farm facilitators in the monitor farm stage, who are enjoying belonging to something that is having a significant impact on the Ecuadorian dairy farmer and related economy.” He said the second stage of developing a herd recording and breed improvement programme is necessary to enable farmers to identify the top performers among themselves, learn from them and then adopt their best practices.
“As it stands, farmers in Ecuador currently have limited evidence to determine the most profitable way to farm and as a consequence there is no local breeding objective, and it is not currently clear to farmers what their ‘ideal cow’ is.
Several of New Zealand’s leading agritech firms have taken part in the programme including Cropmark, Harvest, AgHub, Trutest, LIC, Abacus Biotechnolgy.