TO INCREASE the demand for locally sourced carabao’s milk and boost the income of carabao farmers, a government agency is aiming to provide carabao’s milk for the government’s schoolbased feeding program.
This commitment came from the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), an agency under the Department of Agriculture, and its assisted cooperatives.
The PCC said it aims to supply 50 percent of the milk needed for the school-based feeding program by next year.
Providing carabao’s milk to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) feeding program is an opportunity to boost sales for both carabao milk farmers and milk processing firms since this would create a high demand for carabao’s milk, according to the PCC and the cooperatives.
This was part of the discussion during the National Carabao Conference in Pinamungajan town, Cebu, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. At least 500 farmers and cooperative representatives from different parts of the country attended the event.
PCC Executive Director Caro Salces acknowledged that it is a challenge to sell carabao’s milk to a public that is more familiar with cow’s milk; however, he said he does not want to create a competition between the two dairy products but to provide more options to the public.
Milk demand
Pursuant to Republic Act 11037 (the Masustansyang Pagkain Para Sa Batang Pilipino Act), the PCC has tapped its member cooperatives to supply the demands for milk for the schoolbased feeding program of the Department of Education.
The feeding program provides hot meals or nutritious food products and milk to undernourished K-6 (Kindergarten to Grades 1-6) public school learners to encourage enrollment, improve classroom attendance, provide nourishment for growth and development, and contribute to the improvement of their nutritional status.
Arnold Lucero, manager of Lamac Multi-purpose Cooperative’s processing center, which produces carabao’s milk, told SunStar Cebu that they are tasked with supplying some school divisions
in both Western and Central Visayas regions.
He said they are expected to deliver carabao’s milk to around 79,000 students identified as undernourished K-6 in Central Visayas.
In Cebu, Lucero said they supply students in southern Cebu with pasteurized carabao’s milk, adding that they sell the processed milk for P20 per 200 milliliters.
He said other parts of Cebu are supplied by other firms with cow’s milk.
Great help
Lucero said the PCC program will be of great help to them, particularly to the backyard farmers, as it will increase their income.
He said they buy freshly farmed milk from the farmers for P85 per liter. He said that a lactating carabao usually produces at least five liters a day, meaning they can earn at least P425 per head of carabao daily.
Lucero said they are only waiting for the approval of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte for the start of the milk program.
He added that for the School Year 2023-2024, he expects that the milk program will start early next year.
According to Salces, there are many health benefits to drinking carabao’s milk, including that it is a good source of protein, high in fat content, making it good for healthy weight gain, rich in calcium and minerals, and low in cholesterol content.
The PCC is poised to establish milk laboratories within its 12 regional centers nationwide, offering cooperative members access to milk quality testing services.
It said that these initiatives will be funded with the help of Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform.
Since its establishment in 2019, the milk feeding program has demonstrated its value, providing benefits to more than 4.2 million undernourished children and simultaneously increasing
the earnings of 53 PCC-assisted cooperatives, resulting in a combined revenue of P2 billion, according to the agency. (KJF)