The Buffalypso committee
 There are several papers, workshops and entreaties for the establishment of a milk industry coming from the Buffalypso. Most of it stretches back for decades, and at the heart of most of them is the name Rastogi – both Leela and Rajendra – who have been passionate advocates for developing both the milk and meat elements of it. Now retired, Mrs. Rastogi has visited several of the countries where the Buffalypso had been exported and during her time at the Ministry of Food Production she sought many ways to excite people about the prospects.
She is a member of the steering committee which is planning to hold a symposium on the Buffalypso in June, mainly to discuss the current state of the Buffalypso and the decision to eradicate the infected herd, but also to try to revive interest in something she calls, “potential and lost opportunity.” She talks about a visit to Columbia where a big breeder is developing the Buffalypso Columbiano; and a visit to the World Buffalypso Congress in Caratagena where Buffalypso queso was on display at the expo.
Her frustration is as clear as Professor Brinsley Samaroo’s, a retired historian, who told me about the planned symposium and their fear that the herd will be destroyed before anyone even knows what is going on. It goes deep for him as a boy from Rio Claro who grew up among cattle, including water buffalo. When he went to India to study, he said, “for five years I drank buffalo milk.”
There are powerful emotional connections for these two, and they have teamed up with others from The UWI to try to raise awareness of the plight of the buffalypso and the potential for reviving the industry. The committee is co-chaired by Dr. Karla Georges and Dr. Marc Driscoll from the School of Veterinary Science.
THE PLANNING COMMITTEE
- Prof Brinsley Samaroo (Principal advisor)
- Dr. Karla Georges (Chair UWI-SVM)
- Ms. Akilah Stewart
- Dr. Marc Driscoll
- Ms. Rhonda M. Thomas
- Dr. Adesh Ramsubhag
- Mr. Douglas Bennett
- Mrs. Leela Rastogi
- Dr. Winthrop Harewood
- Prof. Bhakthavatsalam Murali Manohar
- Dr. Ayanambakkam P. Nambi
- Mrs. Kristal Gosine (Secretariat)
|
