Carabao center to breed better buffaloes in 2008

The Philippine Carabao Center in Nueva Ecija is aiming to produce more superior quality buffaloes following the success of the test tube technology it developed. In a statement, the PCC said it received additional funding from the Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Department of Agriculture and the office of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. to continue the project “Propagation of Genetically Superior Water Buffaloes through Embryo In Vitro Production (IVP) and Embryo Transfer (ET) Techniques." The statement failed to mention the amount of the additional funding. PCC has produced genetically superior water buffaloes both at institutional herd and in the villages. The test tube buffaloes, born in April and December 2002 are now at their breeding ages and the females have delivered twice within five years after their births. Milk production of the resultant test tube females ranges from eight to 15 liters of milk per day, a production found highly beneficial to the farming families. The male test tube buffaloes are being used for breeding purposes. Some are being used as semen donor for nationwide artificial insemination program while others are being used as breeders of identified herds. This enables the propagation of the superior genetic buffaloes in the country today. The project involves production of riverine buffalo embryos at the satellite Embryo Biotechnology Laboratory of PCC in India . The embryos were produced from collecting eggs of slaughtered riverine buffaloes. Eggs are matured inside an incubator, fertilized it with semen from genetically superior-progeny tested bulls, and developed the embryos to the pre-implantation stages. Pre-implantation embryos were cryopreserved by slow-freezing technique, and were stored in liquid nitrogen and transported to the Philippines . This year, a research team from PCC went to India under the DA-BAR/Sen. Ramon Magsaysay funding support to re-operate the satellite laboratory and produce the embryos. The team returned in the Philippines with the first batch of embryos stored in dry shippers containing liquid nitrogen. The embryos are now at PCC headquarters in Munoz, Nueva Ecija and are ready for transfer to recipient buffaloes. Recipient buffaloes could be served out of either natural or synchronized estrus (or “paglalandi" in Tagalog). Natural estrus is the natural “na paglalandi" while synchronized estrus involves the injection of hormone to bring the buffaloes together in estrus at the same time. Farmers with female buffaloes that are living in a 25 kilometer radius from PCC Headquarters in Munoz Nueva Ecija can avail of the embryo transfer services out of the natural estrus of their buffaloes. The transfer of embryo to recipient buffalo is done on the 7th day after observation of estrus. Interested farmers could inform the PCC if their buffaloes are in estrus so that their buffaloes can be scheduled for embryo transfer and be served. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV