By Deisy Buitrago

BARINAS, Venezuela (Reuters – Venezuela’s cattle ranchers, Barinas state in Venezuela, milk their animals in the early hours of the morning. The milk is then sold in dollars for a living. This happens because of a persistent economic crisis.

Years of regulation and land expropriation have hurt Venezuela’s agricultural industry. This has led ranchers, who depend on the sale of meat, to reduce cattle breeding and switch to dairy.

In Venezuela, ranching used to boast 2.5 million cattle heads, although this was just four years ago. However, the number of cows has declined to 1.7 millions as rearing costs have risen. High inflation means that beef prices have risen and fewer cattle are being killed.

Although President Nicolas Maduro’s government relaxed business regulations in 2019, it hasn’t allowed the complete reactivation key areas of the South American nation’s battered economic system.

Some ranchers are now able to sell their milk for dollars. This helps offset the decline in Venezuela’s bolivar.

Jose Labrador (president of Barinas rural producer association), said that milk is what gives us the chance to have a little cash on the farm…that keeps us running,” he added, warning that the situation was dire for him and other ranchers.

Labrador explained that one liter can cost 30-60 cents.

Fedenaga stated that the use of the dollar helped farmers survive while also making it less appealing to smuggle cattle to Colombia.

The production of beef is more slow and requires longer time to produce income than it was in Venezuela, where the annual consumption dropped from 26 kilograms in the 1990s to 8 kilograms in 2016.

A small number of beef ranchers are able sell their cattle abroad. The government is pushing for exports to Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

According to estimates of producers, Barinas milk production is approximately 2 million liters each day. The production of milk in Barinas was not available before the crisis.

Labrador stated that producers have been restricted in the ability to borrow new money. This has caused some farmers to leave their land, and others to turn to other options, such as raising sheep, goats, or corn.

The government’s measures restricting loan availability and spending on bolivars in order to curb hyperinflation have also been criticized by ranchers.

The central bank estimates that Venezuelan inflation will reach 686.4% in 2021.

One farm near Barinas, the capital state of the same name, produced approximately 14,000 liters per day of milk before Venezuela’s economic crisis. However it now produces 9,000 liters because of high production costs.

Labrador stated that only one farm’s milking system is functional after the lack of funding paralyzed it. Labrador was able to increase daily production by 8,000 liters, but the problem with the first.

Produces added that there have been other problems due to attacks by criminal gangs, which destroy farms, kill animals, and also damage nearby forests.

According to producers, the gangs are out to take ranchers off their lands and then sell them to other parties. Ranchers share videos and social media photos showing cattle being starved or abuse until their deaths.