IMPACTS OF PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCES ON INVESTMENT EFFICIENCY OF BUFFALO ENTERPRISE IN EGYPT

In the Era of Economic liberalization, investment attractiveness has become the major criteria of decision in agricultural activities. Buffalo enterprising, as a livestock activity, is a dynamic type of investment. Where the time element is a function of biological cycle. Such cycle composes of several variables that characterize the potentiality of the livestock type. These variables are age at first calving, service period, milking interval, calving interval, milk season, etc. A considerable number of animal scientists from the western schools, postulate that the norms of productive performance, particularly the milk yield and reproductive performance, calving interval, and conception rate are constraints that limit the survival of investment in dairy buffalo as economically attractive enterprise, particularly, when the full economic liberalization of the market and foreign trade dominates the agricultural sector. Therefore, this study would test the sensitivity of the return to investment from the dairy buffalo along the productive life with respect to milk yield and calving interval, as the major traits that affect the efficiency of the buffalo Production, as well as the changes in milk price. The technique of switching value was applied to identify the critical level of the productive and reproductive performance. At such level the return to investment in dairy buffalo enterprise would switch from profitable to non-profitable decision. Accordingly, the study shows the limits of the productivity performance for the development of dairy buffalo and the expected return.