Author: Ma. Theresa Sawit

PCC, partners launch school-based milk supplementation program

Posted on | by Ma. Theresa Sawit

Children are said to be the hope of the nation. It is, therefore, relevant to say that providing for their better nutrition is a wise development investment for their future.

As an immediate response to this cause, PCC and its local partners launched a 120-day milk supplementation program last July 29. Its partners are the local government unit, Barangay Licaong Health Office, Licaong Elementary School (LES), Majestic Christ Church (MCC) and Licaong Parents-Teachers Association (PTA).

The launching was part of the National Nutrition Month celebration at LES to reduce the incidence of undernutrition in the Science City of Muñoz. The event highlighted a dance contest, ceremonial milk toast, and slogan and poster making contests.

In his message, Dr. Felomino Mamuad, PCC deputy executive director, thanked the various sectors who expressed their willingness to take part in the operationalization of the program. He underscored the importance of collective action and partnership in addressing the issue of undernutrition and in sustaining the livelihood of Filipino farmers.

Prior to the formal launch of the program, the City and Barangay Health Office conducted deworming activity in the school.  They also committed to provide nutrition education and to monitor the anthropometric (height and weight) measurement of the schoolchildren.

PCC, on the other hand, conducted a “Milk Pasteurization Training for PTA” to capacitate parents and teachers on proper handling and pasteurization of milk.

PTA’s counterpart in the program is the daily pick-up and pasteurization of milk from PCC. MCC, on the other hand, pledged to conduct activities that can help nurture the values and character of the schoolchildren.

The program, which will run from August 2016 to January 2017, will serve as an initial study to document the effect of milk on children’s nutrition and school performance. This is in preparation to the national government’s plan of institutionalizing milk feeding in the country.

 

Sultan Kudarat farmers set to receive buffaloes from PCC

Posted on | by Ludivina J. Estimo

Dairy farmers in Sultan Kudarat are bound to receive 20 head of buffaloes after having undergone a social preparation training (SPT) conducted by the Philippine Carabao Center at University of Southern Mindanao (PCC-USM).

The SPT, conducted last June 30 to July 1, aimed at developing the commitment of the beneficiaries to the program. Officers and members of Barangay Margues Dairy Farmers Association are set to receive the buffaloes this year after meeting all the requirements of being the program beneficiaries.

The personnel involved in the Department of Agriculture-Local Government Unit also joined the recipients in the SPT.  It is expected that a common understanding of the appropriate practices required in dairy buffalo management will be established after the training. It also ensures that the qualified recipients of buffaloes under the Carabao-based Enterprise Development (CBED) program are prepared to take on their new responsibility as farmer-trustees cum dairy entrepreneurs.

Through their active participation in the various workshops and activities conducted during the SPT, the farmers expressed their excitement and readiness in the program.

Mr. Jeffrey A. Rabanal, Training Coordinator; Ms. Mary Joy S. Paman, CBED Coordinator; and Ms. Raquel R. Bermudez Community Organizer, all PCC-USM frontline development officers, served as the resource speakers.

The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) through its newly appointed Provincial Veterinarian, Dr. Edwin Nacito, extended its all-out support to the program by committing to a sustainable partnership. The PVO will also give free biologics for the animals.

A closing program, attended by municipal agriculturist Rainier Cachero and other DA personnel, capped the two-day SPT which was funded by the LGU of Esperanza through Mayor Helen T. Latog.

 

Championing CDP thru partnerships

Posted on | by Khrizie Evert M. Padre

Over the years, the Carabao Development Program (CDP) of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) has demonstrated that buffalo-based dairy enterprises can indeed lead to substantial economic and social gains for farmers and their families. These developments include strides in dairy animal herd build-up, increased incomes and job opportunities, and expanded tie-ups among key industry players.

The PCC’s linkage with concerned stakeholders in the buffalo-based dairy industry continues to be highly productive and beneficial. Linkaging and partnership proved to be an effective strategy in pursuing PCC’s development goals for the dairy industry, particularly in implementing its widescale carabao upgrading program (CUP) through artificial insemination (AI), bull loan (BL) along with enterprise development initiatives. This strategy, is being sustained with partner agencies and local government units (LGUs) at the provincial and municipal levels.

The PCC’s partnerships find significance in the context of its mandate as a research for development entity focusing on the improvement of the genetic potentials of the Philippine Carabao for milk and meat as a means toward uplifting the economic and social well-being of smallholder farm families, and as the lead agency in livestock biotechnology R&D in the Department of Agriculture network.

Exemplary partners emerged from these partnerships who have already successfully implemented village-level dairy buffalo projects which can be found in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bohol and in Region 2.

Creating big impact thru partnership

Dairy farming in Nueva Ecija is now considered a progressive sector thru the collaborative efforts of PCC and its partner local government units.

Nineteen municipalities and cities in Nueva Ecija are consistently benefiting from the widescale CUP since the declaration of the province as the National Impact Zone (NIZ) of PCC for dairy buffalo enterprise development in 1998.

Through the NIZ template, the province became the country’s major buffalo’s milk producer. The NIZ promotes an integrative agribusiness system through the 25-dairy buffalo module. It served as the gear for speeding up the development of a viable carabao-based enterprise in Nueva Ecija. Also, the genetic improvement of the native carabaos through crossbreeding with the dairy breed was included in its goal.

As of December 2015, the total animal inventory in the NIZ is 3, 505 head of purebred buffaloes. Of this number, 2, 579 are female and 926 are male buffaloes.

Currently it has 51 dairy cooperatives with 1,051 farmer-trustees which constitute the Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperatives (NEFEDCCO).

The federation was established as a marketing arm of the member-cooperatives. It facilitates all processes within the value chain from milk collection to marketing of raw and processed milk products in local and mainstream processors and consumers.

In 2015 alone, a total traded volume of 833,216.35 kilograms of milk is produced by the dairy cooperatives,which is translated to Php42, 177,041.66 amount of sales.

The average income of a dairy farmer per lactating animal ranges from Php48,000 to Php62, 000 for a 10-month period.

Out of this daily cash flow, farmers were able to send their children to school, get better health care for their families, purchase new household appliances and vehicle, save additional fund for house improvement, expand animal pen and forage areas, and purchase new farm implements.

Aside from the tangible benefits of daily income, access to everyday supply of fresh buffalo’s milk has helped reduce malnutrition incidence in the province and some localities. A total of 18,741 malnourished children were assisted from 2002 to 2007.

The dairy impact zone development framework has also generated additional jobs for farm families as well as the cooperatives, artificial insemination technicians, bull caretakers, milk collectors and delivery men, milk processors and many others involved in the dairy enterprise. These include ancillary businesses in the form of vermicomposting, effective microorganism (EM) organic fertilizer production, milk processing and private milk distribution.

Along these developments, synergy and critical support between and among dairy secondary stakeholders are maintained to ensure the sustainability of the success of the dairy sub-sector within respective municipalities. These stakeholders are composed of the Nueva Ecija Provincial Government (NEPG), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (SMEDC), Department of Science and Technology and the local government units of Llanera, Talavera, General Natividad, San Jose City, Science City of Munoz, Guimba, and Sto. Domingo in Nueva Ecija.

For example, with the help of DTI, the institutionalization of Gatas ng Kalabaw Festival in Nueva Ecija’s became possible starting 2007. The localization of the event aimed to promote carabao’s milk as the One Town One Product (OTOP) of Llanera, San Jose City, Science City of Munoz, Talavera, General Natividad, Guimba, and Sto. Domingo.

In its pursuit to create more avenues for opportunities and marketing support to dairy farmers in the province, PCC, with support from DTI and DAR, launched in 2015 a market venue called “Dairy Box Dairy Delicatessen” that showcases buffalo-derived products.

The one-stop-shop offers “pasalubong” treats and pastries made by Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CAMPC) and other local dairy buffalo farmers’ cooperatives.
This direction of partnership between PCC and its partner-agencies will continue to prosper toward empowering farmers as support is promised to continuously flow even with the change of leadership in their respective municipalities.

Strengthening regional development of CDP

Partnerships also continue to stimulate regional development in Region 2 and parts of the Cordillera Administrative Region along the areas of CDP promotion and advocacy.

Leading this mandate in the Northern Luzon development is PCC at Cagayan State University (CSU) covering the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, Quirino, Batanes, Apayao, Kalinga and Ifugao.

Through the program “Strengthening the Philippine Carabao Research and Development” in 1981, PCC at CSU started the development of the carabao for milk, meat and draft purposes through crossbreeding with native carabaos. Program implementation was ensured to smoothly progress thru close partnership with various government and non-government agencies and organizations.

As partnerships are continuously established, the protocol for CUP was steadily refined thru the help of reproductive technologies such as AI complemented with bull loan program (BLP). The organized efforts of PCC at CSU in the north began to pay off as tangible outputs became more visible on the ground.

From 1981 to 2014, the AI output totaled to 79, 313 animals or equivalent to 20.6% calf production rate. Through the launching of the Unified Artificial National Insemination Program in 2000, the service rate for the carabao population was increased while more AI technicians in the region were trained.

To fast-track the crossbreeding of native carabaos, purebred bulls were provided where AI service is not available. It was in 1994 when the BLP was implemented in various municipalities in Cagayan and Isabela and later on carried out to the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Viscaya and Batanes.

As of 2014, a total of 411 bulls were loaned out to these provinces with 4,309 crossbred calves produced.

With the right combination of AI and bull loan, production of crossbreds increased in the municipalities of San Agustin, Isabela, (1,794 crossbreds in 13 barangays), Solana, Cagayan (459 crossbreds), Amolong, Cagayan (375 crossbreds), Naguilian, Isabela (314 crossbreds), and Bagabag, Nueva Viscaya (127 crossbreds).

As more crossbreds are seen on the ground, the CUP partners saw the need for developing carabao-based enterprises.

The carabao-based enterprise development (CBED) started in 1997 with the Dairy Multi Purpose Cooperative (DMPC). Tuguegarao City as the pioneering program recipient of 300 head of imported Bulgarian buffalos that arrived in Region 2 from 1999 to 2000. The animals were later awarded to eight dairy cooperatives and four government institutions in the region.

In 2000, the Carabao Strategic Development Zone was launched in partnership with DAR-02, Cagayan, DTI-02, Department of Science and Technology Region 2 (DOST-02), Tuguegarao, and National Economic Development Authority Region 2 (NEDA-02). This initiated the development of the impact zone concept.

To further guide the investment and development of the dairy industry in the region, the Integrated Regional Dairy Development Plan for the period 2006 to 2015 was approved in September 2007.

Members include NEDA, PCC, DAR, DOST, LGU, National Dairy Authority (NDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PhilExport), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), State College and Universities, Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and Landbank of the Philippines (LBP).

The number of established dairy associations increased as an additional 28 dairy associations of crossbred owners were established from 2008 to 2014.

To enhance the capabilities of dairy farmers and others involved in the dairy enterprise, five Canadian expert volunteer advisers provided assistance through the support of DTI in the areas of dairy management, AI reproduction and health, milk processing, training and extension, packaging proposal for international funding assistance and study mission to Canada.

In order to achieve 25% growth rate of milk from 2010 to 2025, the DTI and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the National Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (NICCEP) granted Php1 million fund assistance as its support to the industry dairy cluster capacity enhancement program that includes a study mission in Thailand and attendance to dairy business conference and trade fairs.

NICCEP is a three-year project that aims to enhance the capacity of selected industry clusters to plan, implement, facilitate service delivery, evaluate projects and improve industry competitiveness and business environment.

Another Php1.5 million was granted to PCC at CSU by the DTI Shared Service Facilities (SSF) program in 2013 to 2015 to provide equipment to the dairy cooperatives and associations that will help improve production and processing of milk to achieve better quality and increased shelf life.

The SSF beneficiaries include Integrated Farmers Cooperative (IFC), Dairy Multi Purpose Cooperative (DMPC), San Antonio Dairy Carabao Raisers Association (SADCRA), San Agustin Dairy Cooperative (SADACO), Bangag Carabao Owners Dairy Association (BCODA) and Sampaguita Livestock Producers Dairy Association (SLDPA).

The PCC-Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and PLGU also provided Php10 million fund assistance to SADACO in 2010 to 2013 to support the implementation of the CUP through the organization of dairy associations and cooperatives, establishment of milk processing plant, AI, BL and CBED, deployment of Korean Overseas Volunteers, provision of processing equipment and mobility and construction of five milk barns.

All of these efforts resulted to the total milk production of 1,110,297 liters valued at Php49.9 million from 1999 to 2014.

In 2015, financial support amounting to Php505 million was also given by the World Bank through DARFU-O2 and the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) to support the dairy industry in the region.

Beneficiaries of PRDP include Integrated Farmers Cooperative (Dairy Buffalo), Malaya Development Cooperative (Dairy Cattle) and Rang-Ay Ti Pussian Multi Purpose Cooperative (Dairy Buffalo).

Part of this fund will be used for the entrustment of 150 head of Italian buffaloes and 45 Bulgarian buffaloes to multiplier farms and select dairy farmer cooperatives.

That same year, dairy cooperatives in the region registered their umbrella organization Cagayan Valley Federation of Dairy Cooperatives consisting of 11 member-cooperatives.

“PCC is just one of the drivers of development and our partnership with various government agencies like DTI, DARFU, DAR, DOLE, DOST, DILG, PLGUs, MLGUs, SCUs, CDA, DENR, PCIC, PSA-BAS and foreign government agencies like JICA, KOICA, CESO and World Bank, including non-government organizations and local financing institutions were instrumental in the development of the carabao industry in region 2,” PCC at CSU Center Director Franklin T. Rellin, said.

Enriching the Boholano CDP partnership

Dairy farmers in Bohol now produce more than 50,000 liters of buffalo’s milk in a year compared to its milk production of less than 11,000 liters of milk in 2010.

The number of farmers actively involved in dairying increased from 18 in 2010 to 512 in 2015.

So far, the biggest achievement in Bohol dairy industry was the institutionalization of carabao improvement and development in the province.

The PCC at Ubay Stock Farm (PCC at USF) spearheaded the implementation of CDP in the Bohol province.

Determined efforts to develop the local dairy industry had its beginning in 2009 where the Comprehensive Health Agricultural Technologies and Tourism Opportunities Development Program (CHATTO) for the towns of Ubay and Mabini was conceptualized. This was approved for implementation in 2010 and has been replicated by interested municipalities in partnership with the local government units since then.

The program paved the way for the establishment of school-based dairy enterprise as well as milk feeding program in the six town-beneficiaries.

In 2014, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) signed a partnership agreement in the development of sustainable livelihood through Dairy Enterprise Development in Bohol under the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

To boost the dairy enterprise in Bohol, the DSWD downloaded Php10 million worth of starter kit training fund to PCC at USF recently.

Six hundred Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries from the towns of Ubay, Mabini, Alicia, San Miguel, Dagohoy, and Trinidad will be supported in the project. Under the partnership between DSWD and PCC, families will each receive a native carabao for milk production and a provincial government support for insurance.

Aside from the DSWD fund, the Bohol provincial government, through Gov. Edgar M. Chatto, provided a counterpart fund of P916,500 for the one-year insurance of the animals.

“Under our Dairy Development Program, we have seen an impressive 15% increase in the production of raw milk, amounting to P11.575 million. This has also led to an 81% increase in the sales of dairy products, amounting to P9.425 million in 2014. And the future looks even brighter for the dairy industry, with our forthcoming Bohol Carabao Dairy Processing Marketing Enterprise, a P13-million project to be implemented under the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP),” declared Gov. Edgar M. Chatto during his State of the Province Address in 2015.

Dr. Arnel N. del Barrio, PCC acting executive director, said the convergence initiative is significant because it means income generation not just for the farmers but also for the Bohol province as a whole. He hopes to replicate the partnership program in other parts of the country.

PCC conducts annual R4D in-house Review

Posted on | by Paul John P. Villamor

A novel study on a gene associated in water buffaloes won this year’s “Best Paper” in the recent R4D In-house Review, June 27-28 at the PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool.

From seven completed researches evaluated by the board of panelists, the team of Dr. Eufrocina Atabay, Dr. Edwin Atabay, Dr. Claro Mingala, Dr. Emma Venturina, Dr. Rafael Fissore, and Roseline Tadeo who worked on the Molecular Characterization and Comparison of Phospholipase C Zeta (PLCZeta) Between Swamp type (Bubalus carabanensis) and Riverine type (Bubalus bubalis) Buffaloes garnered 91%, making it as “Best Paper”. Tadeo, science research assistant at the Reproduction and Physiology Unit, who served as the presenter, won as the “Best Presenter”.

The evaluators recognized the potential contribution of the study where Phospholipase C Zeta, a novel sperm-specific protein which is widely known to induce oocyte activation following fertilization, was finally characterized this time in water buffaloes.

“The study is a pioneering work and will give new molecular information on water buffalo (swamp and riverine type) of gene associated to fertility identified as PLCZeta, which was previously characterized in various mammalian species but never in water buffaloes. Our study will serve as baseline for a potential molecular genetic marker of bull fertility,” Tadeo said.

This was one of the studies presented in various disciplines in livestock industry research such as biosafety, product development and management, animal genomics, cryopreservation and techniques, socio-economic dimensions of the Carabao Development Program implementation, and five other commissioned researches.

Twenty other research papers in the undergraduate thesis category and commissioned researches were also presented.

The study on “Molecular detection of tetracycline-resistance genes in respiratory bacterial isolates of small and large ruminants” by Allan Jeffrey Francia, Gemerlyn Garcia, Dr. Michelle Balbin, and Dr. Mingala won the “Best Paper” in this category.

Dr. Florencia Charito Sebastian, University of the Philippines-Diliman Extension Program (UPDEPP) in Pampanga director; Prof. Ianne Calica, also from UPDEPP; and Anna Reylene Montes, PCC at UPLB science research specialist moderated the discussions on PCC commissioned researches.

Resource panelists tapped for the two-day in-house review were experienced veterinarian Dr. Jose Arceo Bautista of the Dairy Training Research Institute at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, College of Veterinary Science and Medicine dean at the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) Dr. Virginia Venturina, and College of Agriculture at CLSU faculty Prof. Zosimo Battad II.

R4D national coordinator Dr. Eric Palacpac said the review has an impact on producing compelling researches for the advancement of the PCC’s mandate and the continuous development of the livestock sector.

Dr. Palacpac also encouraged scientists, researchers from PCC network, as well as student-participants to strive harder to create meaningful and relevant researches. He also enjoined all participants to expand their learning by joining the annual Philippine Society of Animal Science Scientific Seminar and Annual Convention in Manila in July.

 

PCC at CLSU researchers up proposal writing skills

Posted on | by Paul John P. Villamor

PCC researchers at PCC at Central Luzon State University (CLSU) recently honed their skills on effective proposal writing during a Training Workshop on R&D Formulation and Proposal Writing at the said PCC station. 

PCC at CLSU Center director Dr. Daniel Aquino said the workshop is meant to challenge researchers to write compelling research proposals for funding. 

“Our emphasis now is on writing and conducting researches that are more beneficial to farmers,” Dr. Aquino said.

The four-day workshop, which started last June 21, tapped resource speakers from the Research, Extension, and Training (RET) Office of CLSU, which included vice president for RET Dr. Fe Porciuncula, vice president for Business Affairs Dr. Edgar Orden, and research office director Dr. Maria Excelsis Orden.

PCC research for development national coordinator Dr. Eric Palacpac said the training aimed to inspire PCC at CLSU staff to work hard and yet enjoy doing researches.

“Let’s put enthusiasm in the way we perform our technical capabilities such as in writing research proposals to meet our R4D agenda. Inspiration can be translated to meaningful researches,” Dr. Palacpac said.

During the writeshop, participants reviewed, critiqued and rewrote the proposals based on the pointers that they learned from the series of discussion.

Potential research papers in the area of forage and pasture, carabao-based enterprise, and product development were identified after the lectures and draft proposals were evaluated on the final day. The workshop’s outputs are expected to be finalized and submitted to the national R4D coordinator office for screening.

PCC, GK partner to build Filipino dreams in the dairyard project

Posted on | by Chrissalyn L. Marcelo

The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm (GKEF), a private organization located at Barangay Encanto, Angat, Bulacan, recently agreed to enter into a public-private partnership in building Filipino dreams through the “Dairyard” project.

The Dairyard is envisioned to enrich and empower every stakeholder and consumer in the dairy industry including farmers on the aspects of livelihood, health, and wellness.

The PCC-GKEF joint project aims to form model throughout the country, bringing together strategic partners, who have the resources and capability to produce high-value carabao’s milk-based dairy products. Through this public-private undertaking, a huge network of like-minded and like-hearted collaborators of GK all over the Philippines can be created to provide a wide array of support mechanisms to empower and increase the income of Filipinos in the countryside.

The Dairyard, eliciting a new social enterprise in GKEF, was conceptualized by Marie Cavosora, chief enabling officer and founder of the Dairyard, along with her team composed of Atty. Alexander L. Lacson and Atty. Patricia Ann T. Progalidad.

Cavosora presented the collaborative project during the 1st National Carabao Conference (NCC) held at the PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool in Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija last December 3-4.

PCC Acting Executive Director Dr. Arnel N. Del Barrio said that the agency is working closely with the GKEF to pen a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the two parties to officially launch the Dairyard project.

“The PCC’s part in the project is the provision of 10 dairy buffaloes to GKEF as its starting herd. We will also provide technical assistance to the recipient of buffaloes by training them on buffalo production and management,” Del Barrio said. He added that PCC will continue to assist the recipients in the duration of the project or until such time that success in dairy farming is evident.

Del Barrio said that since the project of the GKEF is a public-private type of partnership, the GKEF will also help the PCC in terms of looking for new markets of milk produced and capability building of the PCC-assisted farmers in Bulacan.

Del Barrio further explained that since GKEF will only provide one hectare of land as forage area for the 10 carabaos that will be awarded to them, collaboration with the PCC-assisted farmers in Bulacan who already have buffaloes and allocation of land are the first steps that should be taken to attain its mission of building the Filipino dream through the establishment of Dairyard models all over the Philippines.

“The project of GKEF on Dairyard advocates raising of carabaos for milk and supports social entrepreneurship in the country. The intention is to provide Filipino’s with livelihood opportunities on dairy farming,” Del Barrio added.

Meanwhile, according to Cavosora, the farmers of GKEF community in Bulacan will be the pilot recipients or beneficiaries of the project.

Cavosora said the project ultimately aims to address poverty in the Philippines. “Beyond addressing the poverty of the pocket, the project also wants to address the poverty of the mind and the spirit of every Filipinos. The Dairyard was built to make every Filipino’s dream come true through dairy farming,” Cavosora happily said.

She added that since the Dairyard is a social enterprise, it seeks to create social impact in the following manner: restoring the dignity of the poor, inspiring excellence, and leading by example.

“This would all result in igniting and sustaining the Filipino’s mindset to dream for a better future and a better living,” she said.

“A specific manifestation of this project would be the production of gourmet keso, a high-end kind of cheese, which we produced and processed in the GKEF. Through the project, we’ll be processing high-end dairy products that are worth selling with competitive prices not only in the local market, but, in the global market as well,” Cavosora added.

Incoming DA secretary vows to make milk feeding in public schools a national program

Posted on | by Ma. Cecilia C. Irang

Incoming Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” F. Piñol has vowed to intensify the DA’s support to the milk feeding program by making it a national program. Such plan aims to address the problem of dairy farmers in marketing and distribution of milk and at the same time help alleviate malnutrition among school children.

After he was named by presumptive President Rody Duterte, Sec. Piñol embarked into “Biyaheng Bukid” (countryside tour) to feel the heat of the situation of the agriculture sector in the most impoverished areas around the country.

As part of his “Biyaheng Bukid”, Sec. Piñol recently visited PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool along with the other DA attached agencies in the Science City of Muñoz last June 10 to see for himself the outcomes and the relevant issues about their respective programs.

The agriculture secretary was toured by PCC top personnel at the Milka Krem where carabao’s milk products such as mozzarella, bocconcini, kesong puti, pastillas, yoghurt, fresh milk and different flavoured milk drinks were served. Thereafter, he was ushered to the national gene pool to visit the purebred buffaloes and later toured the Livestock Innovations and Biotechnology Center wherein he was briefed about the PCC program in a video presentation featuring success stories of farmers.

Eastern Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative chairman Melchor Correa, who served as the representative of the buffalo dairying community, shared his testimony on how the PCC’s program helped them improve their daily living.

“In dairying, climate change is never a problem. We can still harvest milk from our buffaloes whether it is raining or shining. In fact, I am earning more than Php2,000 a day from the milk sales. I won’t need to look for another source of income since I am netting more than enough. Also, I am now hiring workers so that I could also be of help to others especially to those farmers like me,” he said in Filipino.

“I can say that carabao raising is indeed a successful venture and I think PCC has done its job well in implementing the program and we are the fruits of its success. We are the face of triumph of PCC in its pursuit of helping improve the lives of smallhold farming families,” he declared.

In behalf of the dairy farmers, Correa also took the opportunity to ask for help from the government in their problem with the supply and demand of milk. “We hope the secretary can help us address this problem through institutionalization of the milk feeding program,” he said.

In response to Correa’s entreaties, Secretary Piñol said:

“Even before you have mentioned that problem, we already have a crafted program. The concept is from milk collection you will deliver it at the pasteurizing area and then we will have a milk feeding program in public schools from grades 1-4. We will support that program and it will be a national program. That is what we would like to happen and our target are those children in places or areas with high rates of malnutrition”.

According to him the program would be multipurpose. It will serve as a business for the dairy farmers, job for the farmworkers, and a channel to address malnutrition among children.

“We will coordinate our efforts with the National Dairy Authority and Department of Education to identify schools or barangays that have high rates of malnutrition and we’ll focus our program there. If the carabao program could be replicated in other province successfully, then we will support it all the way,” he said.

He also bared one of their incoming programs and aspirations together with the incoming President Duterte, which includes provision of identification card to farmers so that their names will be included in the database and be able to avail pension fund and life insurance.

Before the end of his statement, he expressed his appreciation towards the positive impact of PCC’s programs on the lives of dairy farmers.

“Thank you for bringing me here. After listening to your stories, my impression about PCC has changed for good. I will surely come back. Your program is acceptable, just make sure to improve carabaos not only for milk but for draft purposes as well,” he said.

PCC, DTI continue to fortify ties for dairy development thru SSF project

Posted on | by Ma. Cecilia Irang

For more than a decade now, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) have been strong partners in fulfilling one goal and that is to contribute to the continuing progress of the dairy industry in the country.

The DTI was recognized as PCC’s secondary stakeholder partner-champion in March 2015 for its valuable and staunch support to the Dairy Development Program in the countryside since 2001.

It provided incessant technical support in the areas of product development, entrepreneurship capacitation and market-matching services for the 50 assisted dairy cooperatives of PCC, initiated the institutionalization and annual celebration of “Gatas ng Kalabaw Festival”, and allocated fund of Php3.5 million in 2014 for the purchase of milk collection and processing equipment and more storage facilities thru the Shared Service Facility (SSF) project, which resulted in the increased quality of milk production and income of rural dairy farmers in Nueva Ecija. The “Gatas ng Kalabaw Festival” is an important activity that showcases carabao’s milk as an instrument to improve the nutrition and source of income of rural farming families.

The PCC-DTI partnership is also gained in the relentless pursuit for Nueva Ecija to be recognized and declared as the “Dairy Capital of the Philippines”.

“We have been pro-actively supporting the development of the dairy industry for the benefit of smallhold dairy farmers and farming communities as a whole for quite some time and we will continue to do so through our SSF project. We are glad to be one of the partners of PCC in this endeavor,”Engr. Eladio N. Duran, chief of the Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Division of DTI, stated.

SSF project

SSF, considered the DTI’s flagship program for small business development, seeks to provide micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge that can be shared and implemented economy-wide with non-government organizations, people’s organizations, cooperatives, industry/trade/business associations, local government units (LGUs), state universities/colleges technical vocational schools and other similar government and training institutions.

The ultimate goal of SSF, which started in 2013, is to promote the growth of innovative and globally competitive MSMEs by addressing the gaps and bottlenecks in the value chain of priority industry clusters. This is done through the provision of processing equipment for the common use of the MSMEs within those clusters all over the country.

According to the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation, the DTI’s Regional Operations and Development Group (RODG), under the SSF project, can provide the processing equipment through its private sector partners or cooperators which, in turn, house these equipment and machinery in sustainable facilities.

The DTI’s partners in implementing SSF, aside from the private sector, are the Department of Science and Technology, the LGUs, and the academe.

Partner-champion in dairy industry

Currently, the DTI has awarded equipment as part of its SSF project to PCC’s 13 assisted dairy cooperatives in Nueva Ecija to include the following: Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperatives (NEFEDCCO), Bagong Pag-asa sa Bagong Talavera Cooperative (BPBTC), Dimasalang Sur Credit Cooperative (DSCC), San Vicente Dairy Producers Cooperative (SVDPC), Casile Dairy Producers Cooperative (CDPC), Eastern Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative (EPMPC), Pulong Buli Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PBPMPC), Ayos Lomboy Producers Cooperative (ALPC), Simula ng Panibagong Bukas Cooperative (SiPBuPCo), Kabulihan Farmers Producers Cooperative (KFPC), Kalipunang Pangkaunlaran ng Agrikultura sa Gen. Natividad (KaPaGeNa), Nag-iisang Masikap Multi-Purpose Cooperative (NMMPC), and Buklod Producers Cooperative (BPC).

Maria Odessa R. Manzano, senior trade and industry development specialist under the DTI-Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) support services, specifically cited the kind of equipment that each cooperative received. The NEFEDCCO received two units of freezer, EPMPC received two upright chillers and two vacuum sealers worth Php135,000 while all other cooperatives received two double-bucket type milking machines (electrical and gas engine-driven) and two units of milk bucket made of stainless steel with 40-L capacity.

Manzano also said that DTI is set to award processing equipment to Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CAMPC) and two double-bucket type milking machines to Bagong Pag-asa ng Magsasaka Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BPMMPC).

The dairy cooperatives that were awarded with the equipment expressed their deep appreciation to DTI and PCC.

“The equipment awarded to our cooperative especially the upright chiller is a big help in the handling and storage of our milk produce. We also see it as an advantage that the chiller is transparent, so that our customers can immediately see the available milk products on display,” Melchor Correa, chairman of EPMPC said.

“For my carabao to be accustomed to the milking machine, I just expose it to the sound of the milking machine while I am doing manual milking. After a week, my carabao got used to the sound and the machine became efficient for me to use,” Arnold Cunanan, member of Simula ng Panibagong Bukas MPC, said.

On the other hand, DTI, according to Engineer Duran, sought technical expertise from PCC in terms of maintenance of the milking machines and other equipment. However, the beneficiaries were also trained to troubleshoot a broken milking machine. The training, which was held last May 26 at the national headquarters of PCC, involved lectures and actual demonstration.

“Using a machine in milking is undoubtedly faster than manual milking. It also saves time, which makes the delivery of harvested milk to the collection center faster, minimizing the chances of spoilage,” Engr. Duran explained.

According to him, as of December 2015, a total of 13 SSF projects in the dairy industry amounting to Php2,924,217 were established in Nueva Ecija.

NEFEDCCO opens new branch store

Posted on | by Ma. Cecilia C. Irang

The Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperatives (NEFEDCCO) recently opened its new branch store “Cremeria Ecijana” to bring buffalo milk products closer to the market for wider customer reach last May 30 along Maharlika Highway, Pinagpanaan, Talavera in Nueva Ecija.

NEFEDCCO serves as the umbrella organization and marketing arm of dairy cooperatives formed under the guidance of PCC in the province which has been designated as the national impact zone (NIZ) for the carabao development program.

Its main store and milk collection and processing center is located at barangay San Ricardo, Talavera, Nueva Ecija which produces and markets fresh, pasteurized, non-fat and flavored milk drinks (pandan, lacto-juice, coffee, strawberry and choco), pastillas (pastillas de leche, plain pastillas, yema pastillas, and ube pastillas), cheeses (cottage cheese, quick-melt white cheese, paneer and plain white cheese), yogurt drinks, leche flan, ice candy and ice cream.

Said products are also available in the branch store and NEFEDCCO now entertains and accepts additional buffalo milk treats from consigned local entrepreneurs such as milkaroons, bibingkang gatas and macapuno which are being developed by the Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative, a PCC-assisted dairy cooperative.

According to NEFEDCCO chairman Gerardo F. delos Santos, they will also display different carabeef products in the future after ironing out standard requirements.

“We want this branch store to be completely packaged, offering not only milk-based products but meat as well,” he said.

He added that they are also planning the same expansion in Quezon City and other parts of Luzon if the venture of the Pinagpanaan branch store becomes a hit.

Other promotional activities, according to chairman delos Santos, include leaflet distribution to terminals and passersby and the use of social media through a dedicated facebook page for its products.

Dr. Arnel N. Del Barrio, PCC acting executive director, promised to support NEFEDCCO in its endeavor and left a piece of advice to the people behind the federation.

“As you expand your market, it is important that you maintain the good quality, availability, and speedy delivery of your products. To top this all, good customer service must always be your way of practice. If you consistently do this, customers will freely come and patronize your products and they themselves will become ambassadors of your store and products,” he said.