Acupuncture has been found to improve the fertility of female carabaos and raise their milk output, prompting a noted veterinarian to promote the practice among carabao dairy farmers.
Dr. Jezie Acorda, who has been pioneering the use of acupuncture among carabaos and other ruminants, said he has proven that it increases the productive and reproductive performance of water buffaloes.
Speaking before an audience of predominantly veterinary medicine students and faculty at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, recently, Acorda said this could be a big help to small farmers, who have to rely on a low-cost, yet natural and sustainable, system of production and veterinary medicine.
He revealed his own study of acupuncture on carabaos at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) professorial chair lecture dubbed “Role of Acupuncture in Increasing Productive Efficiency of Water Buffaloes.”
Acorda said that in the Philippines, the potential of water buffaloes for meat and dairy has not been maximized because of low fertility and low milk production.
Acorda noted that acupuncture used in the production of analgesia and therapy of various disorders has been extensively studied in other ruminants, particularly in dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, and goats.
However, Acorda revealed that research on the use of acupuncture in water buffaloes is quite limited which is mostly conducted by himself.
The vetenararian’s investigations showed that hypodermic needle acupuncture and the use of herbal solutions for aquapuncture, can help prevent respiratory and digestive diseases in water buffaloes. It can also be used to complement conventional medical procedures.
“More research is needed to see how acupuncture can address reproductive and productive efficiencies in water buffaloes. While arguments against the use of alternative medicine remain, to smallholder livestock raisers, what is important is that these methods can bring a cure,” Acorda said.
