Gold of the Andes

This past week Marie-Eve and I were in Oro de los Andes, a region to the south and south-east of Huaraz that comprises pampas at 4000 metres, and two deep, disconnected valleys bordering the Huayhuash mountain range.

One focus of CARE in this region, under the Alli Allpa program, is the productive chain for milk and milk products. Its success is tangible.

The dairy productive chain begins with the cultivation of new varieties of pastures - a mix of rye grasses and improved alfalfa. Compared to native species, these improved pastures are more nutritious, more palatable, and grow more quickly. Their introduction is, ideally, accompanied by the use of modern irrigation techniques (e.g.: sprinkler systems) that prevent soil erosion and ensure pasture growth throughout the year. Importantly, the milk production of cows that graze on improved pastures can increase from 4 or 5 litres per day to 6 to 7 litres per day. In Canada, by comparison, the average daily production per cow, while it is lactating, is 31 litres.

In an effort to increase milk production even further, CARE is working with farming families to improve animal genetics through artificial insemination. As of March of this year over 400 cows had been inseminated, resulting in 82 calves. Peruvian cows, or “Criollos”, are crossed with the Brown Swiss breed. The milk production of the first cross-breed, once it has reached maturity at two years, can be 10 litres. After five generations of cross-breeding, about 15 years, milk production can reach 20-25 litres per day.

A typical farming family in Oro de los Andes will grow potatoes, corn, or other staple foods for self-consumption. They may also have three to four cows producing milk. Several weeks ago I was interviewing a number of farmers that are members of an association that I am coaching in San Pedro de Carcas. One of these members, Crisostomo Montes, told me that five to ten years ago his excess milk production was thrown away and he pointed to water draining down the middle of the street. Today he sells all of his milk to Monterreal, a medium-sized cheese-maker in Chiquian, about a 45 minute walk from Carcas.

Monterreal is the leading cheese-maker in Oro de los Andes. It is one of two that has obtained credit to build new production facilities, and one of 25 cheese-makers in the region. The company sells its cheese in Huaraz and to upscale hotels in Lima. Monterreal and two, currently artisanal, cheese makers that Marie-Eve is coaching in Huallanca and Huasta, all suffer from the same problem. There is not enough milk to produce the quantity of cheese needed to satisfy their markets. This is a good problem. The cheese-makers have grown quickly creating employment in the region. They are also creating a stable, competitive market for milk. The present lack of supply can be resolved over time by working with the farmers upstream in the productive chain.

With this in mind, I delivered a presentation on costs, production volumes, and profitability to the Association in Carcas last Tuesday evening. The session was well attended by the men and women in the association, as well as their sons and daughters. The goal was to demonstrate the potential profits the farming families could obtain if they were to increase milk production through the use of better pastures and an increase in the number of their livestock. The presentation wasn’t complicated… but it could have been.

Following the presentation I went through a spreadsheet, developed with the help of several agronomists and a veterinarian, detailing a farm’s typical revenues, costs, and profitability per cow. The association’s members were then divided into three groups by the head of another organization complementing CARE’s work in the village and asked to detail their own costs and revenues. Afterwards they were asked to present these back to the audience. Lead by the younger generation amongst them, I was completely taken aback by the quality and thoroughness of their work.

The farmers in San Pedro de Carcas and other communities that dot Oro de los Andes do not lack the human and natural resources to make their farms successful but they do require some initial guidance in business and new methods of agronomy to set off on the right course. In fact, the successes are already happening. Now to see more of it.