Sinaloa prepares a four-year plan to restore and revive livestock

Sinaloa’s agriculture ministry and the Unión Ganadera Regional de Sinaloa are developing a four-year livestock recovery programme covering the state’s rain-fed areas and agricultural valleys. The initiative includes investment intended to span government terms, with measures for animal-health surveillance, herd restocking, water infrastructure and dairy development.

A central objective is to recover the sanitary status required for exporting live cattle to the United States. The accreditation was suspended by the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Mexico’s Senasica after observations concerning bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis controls.

The proposed health campaign would cover all 18 municipalities. It includes standardised field testing, the removal and compensation of breeding cows that test positive, and stricter use of the SINIIGA identification and traceability system. Internal inspection points would also be reinforced to address unauthorised movement of animals.

The programme also contains measures for prolonged drought and declining water sources in Sinaloa’s grazing areas. Planned works include drilling deep wells, repairing livestock-watering ponds and building filtration dams. Producers would receive rain-fed forage seed, while the programme would support improved pasture and silage facilities to build feed reserves for the dry season.

For dairy and dual-purpose cattle operations, the initiative seeks to connect small farms with formal collection and marketing channels. Support would cover hygienic milking equipment, continuous-cooling tanks and training in livestock-management practices. The plans are linked to federal schemes including Leche para el Bienestar and to new collection facilities such as the “La Despensa” project in Ahome, allowing farmers to participate in the guaranteed-price system and reduce reliance on informal intermediaries.

Other elements include concessional finance, insurance funds and direct subsidies for genetic improvement. These would support artificial insemination and the purchase of registered purebred bulls. Livestock representatives and state officials said that budget continuity and technical implementation were part of the four-year framework, alongside efforts to limit the sale of breeding cows for slaughter and maintain rural employment for farming families.