The PPGCA belongs to the Center of Agricultural Sciences (CCA), of the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA), and was created from an initiative of professors of the Veterinary Medicine course. This program had its academic activities started in 2006, offering the Academic Master in Animal Science, in a multidisciplinary character, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Benito Soto Blanco. After a three-year assessment (2007–2009), the PPCGA obtained a change of concept from 3 (three) to 4 (four), which made it possible, in 2010, the approval of the Academic Doctorate in Animal Science, whose entry of students took place in March of 2011.
In the evaluation of the 2013–2016 quadrennium, the PPGCA again changed its concept from 4 (four) to 5 (five), enabling its definitive insertion in the national and international scenario of graduate studies. Thus, until 2020, more than 214 (two hundred and fourteen) masters and 97 (ninety-seven) doctors in Animal Science had their dissertations and theses defended, respectively, totaling more than 311 (three hundred and eleven) graduates. All the work developed is within an investigative approach to the Brazilian Semiarid in various scientific, commercial, technological, innovative, conservationist and ecological sectors.
Briefly, the PPGCA proposes to provide subsidies to clarify and solve the problems found in the Semiarid Region of Northeast Brazil. We are the only program with a Master’s and Academic Doctorate on a 250 km axis in the area of Veterinary Medicine, fully inserted in the semi-arid region, at the interface of the urban and rural areas. Without a doubt, this is our biggest differential, we are a program outside a Federal Capital and that is intrinsically involved with the scenario of a semi-arid region. In this sense, the PPGCA has contributed intensively to the qualification of professionals working in the research interiorization and in the teaching of the region. This assertion can clearly be proven by the number of PPGCA graduates inserted in different public and private education institutions, as well as in autonomous and supervisory sectors in the region.
The semi-arid region of Northeast of Brazil has peculiar characteristics, especially in terms of weather conditions, fauna and flora. In general, this region presents as a striking aspect the succession of years followed by drought, associated with high spatial and temporal variability of rainfall. This region has an average annual temperature of 27 ° C, with irregular rains, which are often distributed over a short period of three months, followed by a long dry period. In addition, the semiarid region is dominated by the Caatinga biome, which represents one of the most inhospitable areas in the country, being considered the only biome exclusively Brazilian. Therefore, the associations of all these edaphoclimatic aspects in combination with cultural and social diversity reinforce the need for quality research aimed at the development of this region.
Below are listed the different managements (Coordinator / Vice-Coordinator) of the PPGCA:
- 2006 to 2009: Benito Soto Blanco / José Domingues Fontenele Neto
- 2009 to 2011: Alex Sandro Campos Maia / Alex Martins Varela de Arruda
- 2011 to 2013: Alex Martins Varela de Arruda / Alexandre Rodrigues Silva
- 2013 to 2015: Jean Berg Alves da Silva / Alexandre Rodrigues Silva
- 2015 to 2017: Valeria Veras de Paula / Jean Berg Alves da Silva
- 2017 to 2019: Alexandre Rodrigues Silva / Alexsandra Fernandes Pereira
- 2019 to 2021: Alexsandra Fernandes Pereira / Alexandre Rodrigues Silva
