Bohol to Be Developed as PH Dairy Capital

Bohol to Be Developed as PH Dairy Capital

Dairy Farming in the Philippines 

5,000 heads of Girolando dairy cattle will start the ambitious program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) of increasing the production of 22 million liters of milk annually. 

Bohol is being targeted to be the Dairy Capital of the country. This was announced by DA Secretary Emmanuel Pinol. The site of the Philippine Dairy Development Program is the 3,000-hectare Ubay Stock Farm which is conducive to optimizing dairy cattle farming.

“I will be meeting with Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto and Ubay Mayor Costan Reyes to present to them a proposal which would turn the province of Bohol into the dairy capital of the Philippines,” DA Sec. Pinol stated.

The DA Secretary also said, “The project is expected to provide employment for the local people and additional sources of income for the farmers who would be engaged in the planting of forage and in the fattening of the male offsprings of the dairy cattle.” 
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IN 2016, dairy production increased four percent to 21,160 metric tons, registering the highest increase under the livestock sector at 10 percent to P715 million.

But, the industry still could not supply the local requirement as the country imported 453,000 metric tons of dairy valued at $808 million in 2016.

The main source of the imports is New Zealand that accounts for 39 percent of the total and the US (24 percent). Other sources were Australia and Germany.

The success of the dairy program will then be replicated in other areas of Bohol wherein the targeted communities will also benefit economically so as to spur further development and more income for the people.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017 Agriculture, Cattle, DA, Dairy Farming, Technology-Others

Augmenting PH Cattle Population

Augmenting PH Cattle Population

The Philippines Cattle Industry is the least developed in terms of technical, production and organization I the Agriculture Industry sector.

Declining cattle population in the Philippines has been noted since more than a decade ago and yet demand for beef continues to increase.

It must be acknowledged that since it is among the least developed sectors in agriculture, it needs to be upgraded. Currently, cattle raising is a privately held enterprise such as smallhold or backyard type of industry.

It is thus in need of technical assistance since most or 94% is of the backyard type. In ASEAN, the Philippines has the lowest growth rate in terms of cattle population, scoring a “negative” in growth in population rates.

The solution has been to import cattle from Australia and even India. Now, the Department of Agriculture is set to import cattle from Latin America. 

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) laid down guidelines that will allow the country to import the breeding materials.

The protocols have already been set by the OIE according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol. This will enable the country to import cattle from Brazil and Argentina without violating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free without vaccination status policy.

“It would involve the quarantine of the cattle for six months in an area to be cleared by the OIE before the animals are shipped to the Philippines,” Piñol said.

“It would involve the quarantine of the cattle for six months in an area to be cleared by the OIE before the animals are shipped to the Philippines,” Piñol said.

“Since all animals in both countries receive mandatory FMD vaccination, the six-month quarantine will be enough time to determine whether the animals are healthy or not,” the DA secretary stated.

Private sector investors will be provided with an area and support by the DA for the establishment of the breeding program.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 Agriculture, Cattle, Policy, Science and Technology, Technology-Others