In the south of the country there is an interesting opportunity to add value and improve the environmental balance from the management of a native species.
It is about the guanaco, that
before they arrived in these lands, sheep and cows served as shelter and food for the original peoples
.
It is known that thanks to its tasty and protein-rich meat, the Tehuelches grew and lived for many years in the harsh Patagonian environment.
They hunted them with boleadoras and arrows, and in addition to taking advantage of the meat, they also used the hides to make their “quillangos”, thick blankets that gave them shelter.
Only a few traces of those arrows remain in the lagoons where the Tehuelches ambushed the guanacos. The arrival of immigrants and the passage of time completely changed the dynamics of the region, which at the end of the 19th century became the
largest sheep wool exporter in the world
.
All the bets were on the sheep and the guanacos remained as a picturesque native species that over time was even prohibited from hunting.
But the scenario changed, with the decline of sheep farming after the wool crisis, some 8 million hectares were abandoned in Santa Cruz, and for some time now that
wild state of guanacos has become a problem for livestock producers. of the region
, because it generates competition for fodder with sheep and cattle.
“Each guanaco consumes the same amount of grass as two sheep.
For every guanaco there is one less lamb, and today it is estimated that
with less than 3,500 lambs an establishment in this area is not profitable
”, explains Rafael Martínez de Sanzo, producer and exporter of bovine meat from the province of Santa Cruz.
Currently it is estimated that there are about 4 million guanacos
in that province
, the largest population of guanacos in the world, and its growth is exponential considering that each guanaca has one baby per year.
The Tehuelches used guanaco skins as a coat.
But as often happens, an opportunity can also be found in this problem.
According to Martínez de Sanzo, with a correct ordering of the population, sheep, cattle and camelid productions could coexist.
Within this order, the possibility of exploitation of the guanaco is included, within the parameters established by a plan for the sustainable management of the guanaco, prepared by the Ministry of the Environment of the Nation in 2019.
"The guanaco is not produced, it is not a domestic animal, the producers do not exist, only the fencers", clarifies the man from Santa Cruz.
At his El Delfín ranch, 80 kilometers from the town of Bajo Caracoles, where he carries out the complete livestock cycle, a few years ago Martínez de Sanzo began to enclose guanacos.
Enclosure is a complicated craft practice that has a few experts
like Cacho Augustin.
"He is the most emblematic gaucho in Patagonia, he has the art of bringing them together," says the producer, and explains that Cacho arrives in the countryside during the lockdown period -from March to September- with the troupe made up of about 40 people with motorcycles. and with huge fishing nets.
There is a plan for the sustainable management of the guanaco, prepared by the Ministry of Environment of the Nation in 2019.
Knowing the species and its dynamics, the gaucho leads the team to group the herds.
Guanacos run at 60 kilometers per hour, much faster than a horse, for example, which can reach 25 kilometers per hour.
They can also jump over wire fences up to two meters high, but
with patience and dexterity the lockers assemble funnels and manage to capture several cages of 80 guanacos per day
.
A work carried out by the researcher Jorge Rabinovich establishes that up to five percent of the guanacos present in each establishment can be extracted without generating a risk of extinction, although depending on the case, extraction could be as high as 50 percent.
With the completion of censuses by the province and the management of permits, guanaco meat can be
a new trademark of Patagonia in world markets
.
Martínez de Sanzo, who already has a beef export company, acknowledges that he dreams of exporting guanaco meat, and also of imposing its consumption at the local level.
“It is delicious, it has the same cuts as beef, smaller but with a higher protein value.
You can get up to 34 kilos of meat per animal,
the milanesas and loins are a luxury
.
I compare it to the kangaroo, which today in Australia is considered a delicatessen," the producer describes, adding that guanaco wool can cost up to $100 per kilo.
Pure Tehuelche value.
look also
At the head of a family business, an "unbearable" of continuous improvement that does not change the field for nothing