TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Aug. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Honduran Government through the National Service for Agriculture Health and Safety (SENASA), the Milk Processors Association (APROLECHE), and the Honduran Milk Chamber (CAHLE) signed a technical and financial cooperation agreement to promote cattle's health and increase the quality of the dairy products sold in the local market and exported. The National Farmers and Cattle Ranchers Federation of Honduras (FENAGH), Lacthosa, Leyde, and the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) participated as honorary witnesses.
This agreement is part of the Honduran dairy industry's commitment to invest in its value chain; ensuring the economic and social development of its dairy suppliers. By setting up sanitary controls for cattle diseases, such as brucellosis and tuberculosis, the efforts lead to guarantee and protect the herds’ health, which is pivotal to comply with the innocuous controls for human consumption. Therefore, Honduran dairy ranchers can increase their profitability, the quality of their milk production, and avoid huge economic losses.
Through this agreement, Lacthosa and Leyde, members of APROLECHE, aim to continue working with their dairy suppliers. Both private companies implement Certification Programs that seek to work exclusively with disease-free farms, hence guaranteeing that the milk being processed comes from healthy cows, has high sanitary quality, innocuous and protects human health.
This program seeks to strengthen more than 4,000 dairy suppliers who produce more than 600,000 liters of milk per day. These in turn are processed under high quality standards to supply both the domestic market as well as the Country's dairy exports.
Another benefit of this health program is it will allow bovine traceability and sanitary control hence increasing the eligibility of Honduran milk in both regional and global market context. 24 veterinary technicians and doctors will be hired through this agreement to work hand in hand with SENASA's Head of Epidemiology and establish weekly work actions plans with cattle ranchers. To facilitate field logistic actions, both Lacthosa and Leyde have donated eight new vehicles to SENASA. This is a three-year program with over 25 million lempiras budget funded by the dairy industry and producers.
The signing event was attended by SENASA’s Executive Director Ricardo Paz, Lacthosa's representative Elena Kafie, Leyde's General Manager Erick Cruz, CAHLE’s President Vicente Murillo, APROLECHE's Director Edgardo Leiva, FENAGH’s President Leopoldo Durán, and OIRSA representative Moisés Molina.
In Honduras, more than 60,000 serological surveillance surveys have been carried out in the cattle herds that supply the dairy industry companies. Prevalence below 1% were found and considering the sanitary conditions of the suppliers this is an optimum level. The goal with this agreement is to reach around 300,000 cattle heads and maintain a yearly surveillance.
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