A new cooperative has just been created in São Martinho das Amoreiras, in Odemira, district of Beja, to support breeders of the Garvonesa cattle breed in the production and marketing of their livestock.
Farrusca – Cooperative of Cattle Breeders of the Garvonesa or Chamusca Breed started with 22 associated, all creators, aiming to improve market conditions, establish partnerships to create a testing center and obtain the necessary certifications for the commercialization of meat from this breed.
This cooperative aims to “respond to a need for breeders, who have made a great effort and a lot of ‘love for the shirt’ to be able to survive with the breed”, explained today to the Lusa agency the president of Farrusca, Antonio Aires.
The new cooperative ended up being born from the work that the Campo Branco Farmers Association (AACB), based in Castro Verde (Beja) and manages the breed's genealogical book, has done for its preservation.
The countless “existing bureaucracies, especially, in the processes of requesting designation of origin and certification”, that led the creators to move forward with the creation of the new organization, explained António Aires, who is also president of AACB.
Through Farrusca, The aim of the creators “is to publicize, preserve the breed and increase the breeding population”.
Simultaneously, continued, the cooperative intends to “certify all processes” associated with extensive livestock farming, “where animal welfare prevails, to provide a guarantee of quality to the consumer.”.
António Aires added that the choice of São Martinho das Amoreiras to host the new cooperative was due to the fact that the location is located in what is considered the “manor of the breed”..
The Garvonese cattle breed, formerly known as chamusca, predominates in the “transition zones” between the southern plains and the Algarve mountains, having its name associated with the Garvão fair, parish in the municipality of Ourique, no Beja district.
The breed became at risk of extinction at the turn of the century, but a preservation and rehabilitation project promoted by AACB, in partnership with the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejano and Costa Vicentina, allowed his recovery.
Currently, the race, included in the ‘Maintenance of Autochthonous Breeds’ program, counts an adult workforce “of around 700 females and 30 adults", installed on farms in the districts of Beja, Evora and Setubal, revealed António Aires.
News: Lidador News/Agroportal
