Dairy project to flow

To 20 more towns

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Dec 11 (PIA)—Bohol’s dairy production would flow from its concentration in Ubay, to 20 more Bohol town in the next three years.

In 2019 to 2022, in the project called Active Rural Transformation Thru Integrated Community Dairy Farming, the government is earmarking over P61 million, from national government through the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries and the local government unit including municipal governments to present more options to livestock owners who have not yet seen the other uses of their draft animals.

The project intends to exponentially multiply the local milk production to respond to the needs for milk in the national food supplementation program, increase farmers’ incomes from the dairy industry, according to Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz, provincial veterinarian.

Proposed by the Provincial Government through the Office of the Provincial veterinarian, the project is collaborated by the Department of Agriculture, Philippine Carabao Center, National Dairy Authority, Municipal LGUs, LETS HELP Bohol people’s organizations, Bohol Dairy Cooperative and the Agricultural Training Institute.

In early 2019, the OPV had the project’s first phase implemented in Ubay, Mabini, Alicia, Pres. Garcia, San Miguel, Dagohoy, Bien Unido, Talibon, and Trinidad, and this increased local milk production to over 500 liters.

In its phase, the project gest to Getafe, Danao, Sierra Bullones, Carmen, Catigbian, Buenavista, Inabanga, Sagbayan, Tubigon, Pilar and Balilihan by this year, sources at the OPV said.

Since the program inception, the dairy production in Bohol was mostly concentrated in Ubay where the PCC, the NDA and the BBODACO is.

While there were some member-cooperators already spread thinly in the other neighboring towns who helped produce the 702 liters per day (or 256,563 liters per year) from the 723 center based milking carabaos and another 336 milking carabaos from the farmers, the projected need is so high now that national government wants to cut on its dairy imports and source it from the local industries, added Dr Lapiz.

On the side of the dairy cattle however, Boholanos who own 72,274 cattle heads can do huge.

It may be recalled that since the beginning of 2019, Bohol, through the collaborating agencies have started the initial phase of the project that include social mobilization, selection and identification of project areas, project marketing and orientation and cluster formation.

As 2020 rolls in, the project’s phase two starts with organizational development and stakeholders capacitation, more cluster Formation, trainings and capacity development, value based planning, enhancing knowledge, attitude and skills on dairy farming and enterprise and farm immersions, the data from the project proposal showed in its timeline.

As to the farm immersion, this incorporates expansion of dairy herd, the enrolment of qualified animals for dairy program, inputs on animal health, breeding program, artificial insemination and synchronization, training of additional Village-based AI technicians, training on animals and feeds and feeding program, the establishment of Feed mill, massive forage and pasture development, farm by product utilization, training cum production, establishment of Communal Milking Facilities, the construction of Milking Parlors with chute, the procurement of support equipment and supplies, Milk Processing, Marketing and Product Development and processing of sterilized milk.

Phase 3, according to Dr. Lapiz would be scaling up on the Production of Dairy Animals and Milk, more social mobilizations, organizational development and stakeholders capacitation, expansion of dairy herd, breeder infusion, expanded AI training, establishment of more communal milking facilities, related enterprise development, commercial silage production, feedmill establishment, vermicomposting facility establishment, establishment of additional processing and marketing outlets, enhancing private partnership participation in milk and feed production and milk processing, marketing and product development.

By this, the proponent PLGU Bohol and MLGUS are expected to invest 11,665,000 while the DA through the Senate Committee on Agriculture Senator Cynthia Villar pledges to put in P 49,370,000.00.

The importance of milk, most especially fresh milk, to health is an established fact that needs no further discussion, the project proposal states.

Republic Act No. 11037 dubbed as “Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act” is advocating for the incorporation of fresh milk as component to the standardized cycle menu and fortified meal for undernourished children, that the Bohol Division of the Department of Education rolled the dairy for food supplementation for the underweight school children, assuring the farmers a huge market.

Thus came out Gatas sa Eskwelahan Para sa Kabataan ug Katawhan Project.

When the law emphasizes the use of locally produced milk in order to enhance the outcome of the feeding program, the farmers anticipated the demand for locally produced milk to increase as milk will now be part of the regular household diet, Dr. Lapiz remarked.

This craving will now open the opportunity for the locals to produce more fresh milk to feed in the ready market, making the dairy enterprise a promising proposition.

In late 2018, Bohol daily dairy milk production reached 702 liters, the milk output readily converts into dairy line products from fresh milk, to milk bars, yoghurts, mozzarella, pastillas and other delicacies.

When a huge part of the milk is supplied to about 40 schools thru “Gatas sa Eskwelahan, freezers exclusively for fresh milk products are given to schools throughout Bohol.

In fact, according to the PCC, when the national per capita requirement for ready to drink milk is 21 liters, and only uses 5% of the raw milk in the formulation, the milk in the schools have more nutrients than the commercially available milk in the malls.

Even then, with Bohol having 1.3 million population, the annual local demand for raw milk reaches 1.3 million liters.

Now, with an average yearly production of only 256,563.21 liters, the shortage is apparent.

In areas where small land holdings dampens the mechanization to increase production and incomes, manual agriculture that uses carabaos and cattle also presents an opportunity in the dairy side.

All that has to be done is to turn the mindset of farmers to expand their usage of carabao from a “mere draft animal and meat source” into a more profitable “dairy” source, OPV planning officer Romulo Garcia said, thus the community-based dairy farming.

As a liter of milk now fetches P50 per liter and a milking cattle can give as much as 6 liters per day other than the requirement of the suckling calf, a single carabao can yield a family additional income for a month .

The project implementers now implement a clustering approach to ensure sustainable and holistic implementation.

In it are milk production clusters, composed of neighboring people’s organizations (PO) with a minimum number of 40 dairy animals enrolled and assisted.

There is also feed production clusters composed of POs with forage and pasture development, corn, sorghum and azolla production as well as availability of farm by-products, the level of assistance extending to operation of a commercial scale feed mill.

The other cluster is tasked with marketing where BODACO acts as the main marketing cluster. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

MAKING BOHOL PH DAIRY CAPITAL. Senator Cynthia Villar is channeling government funds worth 58 million for the development and realization of the P61 million Bohol Dairy Project which is now community based dairy farming. With her is Bohol governor elect Arthur Yap, former aggie secretary. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol