Tenerife’s livestock is on its way to extinction if the fall of its cabin continues. The data is eloquent: the Island has lost 292 cattle farms since 2014, when there were 881, and 6,670 head of cattle, when nine years ago it had 75,467 registered. Given these alarming losses, reflected in official data from the Institute of Statistics of Canary Islands (Istac), the Tenerife countryside requires urgent measures to maintain production.
The Association of Farmers and Ranchers of the Canary Islands (Asaga Canarias Asaja) demands “a reaction to avoid the disappearance of the sector”. He does so through a statement in which he denounces the withdrawal suffered by the cattle herd of Tenerifeaggravated in the last year by the rise in the prices of inputs (energy, fuel and cereals) and with it animal feed, which represents 60% of the farm production cost. “This situation has accelerated with inflation, as these additional costs cannot be passed on to the sale price of milk or meat,” says Asaga.
Although by number of farms the goat sector is the most affected, as its presence in local livestock decreased by 119 farms from the 343 facilities registered in 2014, followed by cattle (-71), sheep (-66) and pigs (-36 ), by species, it is the pig that, by far, loses representation, subtracting 3,959 heads from a total of 27,441 in 2014. «This is due to the fact that pig farms tend to be larger and, therefore, house a greater number of animals,” says the group. They are followed by goats and sheep, which decreased by 2,937 and 510 heads, respectively. Only the cattle herd “is saved”, which experienced an increase in the number of heads of 17.8%.
Asaga also points out that in small livestock (rabbits and laying hens) there are two opposite scenarios. A negative one that affects the productive fabric of the rabbit sector (rabbits) with the closure of 25 of the 49 farms, dragging with them 63.9% of their livestock herd; that is, of the 26,293 heads, only 16,808 units remain. And another positive where it is worth noting the recovery of the poultry sector that adds 20.5% of chickens.
The Association of Farmers and Ranchers of the Canary Islands, to try to stop the decline in livestock activity, proposes to the Cabildo de Tenerife to activate the following measures “urgently”: expedite the processing, payment of aid and resolution of livestock farm files; pay the additional aid for animal feed with an amount similar to that provided by other island corporations; create a social bonus for vulnerable families for the acquisition of local products such as cheeses and meats; or encourage the purchase of local meats and cheeses in the hotel and restaurant industry through vouchers for companies. They also request the suspension of the insular slaughterhouse rates for a period of 12 months, a promise of the Insular Area of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries that has not yet been fulfilled; o Facilitate public canteens in health, social and educational centers, public institutions, residences for the elderly, as well as catering service companies, to purchase local meat and cheese through the public company Gestión del Medio Rural.
The reports of the slaughterhouses of the Canary Islands, entities of the councils, also show that the livestock of the Islands is sinking. In the absence of information for the last months of 2022, throughout this year the slaughter data for large goats and cattle in the Archipelago (mainly dairy animals) have been higher than those of previous years. Thus, in goats, 70.6% more has been slaughtered compared to 2022 and 2017 and in cattle, 41.6% more in the same period.
