Bohol stock farm reverses 

decrease in carabao production

By Rey Anthony Chiu

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — Despite a decrease in the production of carabao in Bohol in 2024, the Philippine Carabao Center at the Ubay Stock Farm (PCC-USF) has reported a 318 percent increase in its production of genetically improved calves for dairy in the last two years.

“The PCC has significantly increased the production of genetically improved dairy-type calves from 2,035 in 2022 to 6,480 in 2024,” said PCC information officer Leinefe Libres-Aton.

Another factor that led to the increase in carabao production is increased farm mechanization, where the growing adoption of mechanized farming has reduced the need for draft animals, influencing farmers’ decisions to raise or maintain carabaos.

This prompted the PCC-USF to pursue the promotion of carabao-based dairy farming as a complementary livelihood.

Aton said dairy farming can potentially provide additional income for the farmers.

“For many farmers, carabaos serve as a financial buffer. They are often sold or slaughtered to meet urgent monetary needs, especially in times of crisis,” Aton pointed out.

According to Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) livestock division head Aida Sumampong, the government’s move to buy carabao milk has also contributed to the increase.

“The government is now buying a liter of carabao milk at P70, and a carabao, when properly maintained and nurtured, can give as much as 6 liters of milk a day,” said Sumampong.

With the option for dairy farming, the PCC hopes that farmer carabao adopters of genetically improved calf for dairy farming can also benefit from the potential of around P500 a day income from one dairy carabao.

“Bohol now is the biggest buyer of carabao milk, which it uses to implement its supplemental feeding and solve its malnutrition problems,” said Bohol nutrition action officer Glenda Grafilo.

A report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on March 24, 2025 shows that in 2022, Bohol had 2,824.72 metric tons of carabao produced.

This went down to 2,704.91 metric tons in 2023, and further decreased to 2,520.68 metric tons in 2024, or a -6.6 percent reduction in production volume.

One factor in the diminishing carabao production in the province is the decreasing birth rate versus sustained slaughter rates in the province.

“The annual number of carabaos born has been decreasing, while the slaughter rate continues at a steady pace,” said Aton.

Strategic interventions

The PCC-USF is implementing more interventions to fulfill its mandate to propagate, promote, and conserve carabao as a source of milk, meat, draft power, and hide.

One measure is increasing the diffusion rate of the herd, where through artificial insemination, better breeds now compose 20 percent of the herd from only 17 percent in 2024.

“The goal is to further target an additional 3-percentage-point increase annually thereafter,” Aton shared.

Moreover, PCC is now improving the carabao conception rate, from 35 percent in 2025 to 45 percent by 2030.

“The PCC-USF does this through improved reproductive management and technologies,” she added.

The center is also going into the utilization of sex-sorted semen, a method used to increase the number of female calves.

“Beginning 2025, the use of sex-sorted semen aims to produce more female calves, and this will increase the number of breedable females by 2027, thereby strengthening herd build-up and boosting milk production,” said Aton. (RAHC/PIA Bohol)

CARABAO DISPERSAL. Both local and national governments are implementing carabao dispersal programs to farmer adopters to increase the density of animals in the herd and put in more female breedable carabaos for dairy farming. (PIA Bohol/Photo from Philippine Carabao Center website)