DA praises Bohol farmers

For model dairy industry

CANDIJAY, Bohol (PIA)—Bohol treated its dairy farmers with a green-carpet recognition for its two-horned program fighting malnutrition and at the same time bringing out farmer entrepreneurs, during the 9th Bohol Dairy Festival hosted recently by Candijay town.

And no less than Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary Dr. Benjamin Albarece lauded Bohol and its farmers for its dairy program that supports the provincial nutritional milk supplement feeding to address malnutrition and in turn, open up and the potential for additional incomes of P6,000 to P9,000 a month to farmers.

What Bohol has done is very commendable, for diving 120 days of milk feeding as recommended by the National Nutrition Council, he said adding that local dairy production only accounts for 2 % of the national consumption.

From solely a backyard industry, dairy industry in Bohol started in 2016, and program implementers have to wait for 5 years before reaching the 700 liters a day of raw milk from cattle and buffalos here.

In partnership with the Philippine Carabao Center in Ubay Stock Farm and the National Dairy Authority, the provincial government through the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) launched then a program to put a cap on the decreasing birth rate and the sustained slaughter rate of dairy animals.

In response, with the partner government agencies, Bohol dispersed genetically improved dairy calves to its adaptive communities while working on the foundations of an industry that would also ease up the use of draft animals over mechanization.

Sustaining an old livestock dispersal program called Livelihood Enhancement Toward Sustainable Human and Environmental Paradigm for Bohol (LETS HELP), the target was to increase herd build-up for a sustainable and resilient raw milk production for climate-smart Gatas Bol-anon, shared Bohol Dairy Program Coordinator Romulo Garcia, during the Bohol dairy overview and program direction sharing at the festival ceremonies.

And as farm families started to see the potential for additional income, carabao, cattle and goat upgrading proliferated by artificial insemination and breeder infusion, that from 10 pilot dairy towns, and additional 15 more towns are designated as expansion zone 2, Garcia explained.

This event underscores the important roles of the sectors in the realization of acquiring a climate-smart and sustainable future for Bohol, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado said at the festival program held inside Candijay Sports gymnasium.

Since 2023, the provincial government has allocated P10 million for the Provincial Milk Feeding Program, and has spent P6.8 million for the raw milk production, he shared to the farmers local government support to the industry.

Bohol has equipped dairy farmer groups in putting up milking parlors, stainless steel milk pails, and sent out scores of livestock technicians to empower farmer communities in dairy production.

To date, OPV reports 11 milking communities in Ubay, Mabini, Alicia, Trinidad, Talibon, San Miguel, Dagohoy, Tubigon, Catigbian, Candijay and Loon, which produced a total of 195,340 liters of raw milk from January to May, this year.

In 2024, the OPV also reported 423,348 liters of raw milk from 245 heads, which earned the farmers a total value of P25,632,889.30. This is also equivalent to 1,175 liters of raw milk harvested every day.

Since 2023, Bohol has topped the 1,000 liters of raw milk every day, which also goes to the provincial supplemental milk feeding program.

Since 2022 to 2025, the Provincial government Milk Feeding program has given supplemental milky buns and milk to 11,698 malnourished pre-school children 2-5 years old.

This model that you have could also be adopted as a template and as a national model and we will be coordinating with our NDA Administrator as well as Assistant Secretary Albarace, DA Under secretary for Special Concerns and Official Development Assistance, Foreign grants, Usec Jerome Oliveros declared, during the August 13 festival. (PIABohol)

DAIRY TA. Officials including DepED Usec for government affairs Usec Trygve Olaivar, Candijay Mayor Thamar Olaivar, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, DA Asst Secretary Benjamin Albarece, NDA Administrator Atty Marcus Antonius Andaya and Bohol leaders join Candijay preschool kids in launching the P10 M milky bun and milk feeding program which now sustains the dairy industry. (PIABOhol)