IN THE cool highlands of Marilog, Davao City, dairy farmers have long relied on tradition to run their operations—feeding cows at sunrise, milking by hand, scribbling records in worn notebooks. However, this age-old rhythm, centered on paper and memory, leaves room for error and hinders progress, making daily management more challenging than it needs to be.
This may soon change, thanks to a homegrown startup. A group of young innovators from Davao believes the future of dairy farming can now be managed with just a few taps on a phone.
That idea became MooManage, a mobile app designed to transform how farmers manage their herds, feed, and profitability, by putting intuitive digital tools in their hands.
From farm owner to tech founder
Behind MooManage is Charlemagne Lamela, its founder and CEO. Lamela wasn’t always a tech entrepreneur; he once managed a small dairy farm in Tagum City with 10 cows, four of them milking. Living in Panabo City, he wanted a way to keep track of the farm even when he couldn’t be there.
“Bahalag naa ko sa layo, makita nako unsay nahitabo (Even if I’m far away, I can see what’s happening),” Lamela recalls. He dreamed of a system that could instantly notify him of feed levels, breeding schedules, and profits. What started as an idea for a complex ERP (enterprise resource planning) system evolved into something simpler and more accessible: a mobile app designed specifically for farmers.
Though he eventually sold his share of the farm to focus on building MooManage full-time, Lamela’s experience as a farmer shaped the app. “I saw how hard it was to manage data on paper. It was scattered, incomplete, and you couldn’t analyze trends. That’s what we’re fixing,” he told SunStar Davao in the vernacular during an interview.
How MooManage works
The app offers practical tools:
Cow Profiles that track health, reproduction, and daily milk yield, helping farmers avoid inbreeding and improve milk quality.
Automated Task Scheduling so feeding, milking, and cleaning routines aren’t forgotten.
Feed Inventory Monitoring to prevent costly shortages or waste.
Profitability Insights so farmers know if their operations are sustainable.
What makes MooManage stand out is its offline capability, a must in rural areas where the signal is patchy. “We designed it so even farmers in remote sitios can still use it,” Lamela explains.
Farmers on board, but with challenges
The first pilot test of MooManage was conducted with LPD Farm in Kidapawan City, but it had to be temporarily halted after several bugs surfaced during actual use. The development team has since gone back to fix these issues, with plans to re-launch the pilot next month once the app is more stable.
In the meantime, MooManage has been actively engaging other farming communities. The team presented the app to cooperatives and farmers in Marilog through CLP AgriVentures, and to KG Farms at the foothills of Mount Kitanglad in Bukidnon, where feedback continues to shape app improvements. Pilot tests will also be conducted soon in Marilog and Bukidnon, alongside a scheduled rollout with a farm in Carmen, Davao del Norte, next month.
The response so far has been encouraging, though not without hiccups: phones would lag, internet connections were unstable, and some older farmers needed more guidance. To address this, the team simplified the design, added offline mode, and made the onboarding process as farmer-friendly as possible.
“They were very enthusiastic and willing to adapt to technology,” Lamela said.
Expert backing
Dr. Rayan Ysulat, NDA’s acting manager for Southern Mindanao, sees MooManage as a breakthrough for the local dairy sector. “Our farmers only use paper. The data is basic—no analysis. With MooManage, they can see their milk production over days or months, and spot when something’s wrong. That’s something a notebook can’t do.”
Ysulat adds that the app could also help managers like him monitor farms remotely. He also suggests linking the app directly to NDA so their office can stay updated on the status of dairy farms and cooperatives, allowing them to address concerns more quickly.
“With that, I can just check the app and see how Farm A is doing—production, cow health, feed supply. It becomes a conversation starter between NDA and farmers, based on real data,” Ysulat added.
Building toward the future
MooManage is still in closed testing. For now, only pre-registered accounts can access it, and the app isn’t on Google Play or the App Store yet. “The Google Play Store version is still in progress, and the iOS version is under development, which limits our reach since iPhone users can’t download it yet. This reduced visibility is temporary, but it’s something we’re working hard to fix before full rollout,” explains Christian Geonzon, MooManage president and project lead.
Geonzon adds that the team has been deliberate in choosing where to pilot the app. “During our validation stage, we engaged with dairy farmers in Cotabato, Bukidnon, and Marilog. We didn’t just pick these areas randomly; we went where dairy farmers are most active and willing to talk about their challenges. We identified pilot sites by joining farmer communities and cooperatives, and with the help of Dr. Ysulat, who connected us directly with local farmers.”
The app is now in Phase 2 of development, focused on improving features after initial testing. Instead of separating rural and urban trials, the team studied how farmers actually work day-to-day, making sure MooManage could fit seamlessly into their routines.
Looking ahead, the team plans to expand across Davao within the year, roll out to the rest of Mindanao in the next three years, and go nationwide within five.
Beyond dairy, MooManage aims to branch into other livestock sectors, eventually becoming an all-in-one farm management platform. They are also building features to link farmers directly with feed suppliers, processors, and NDA learning modules.
For Lamela, the vision remains clear: “We want MooManage to be more than record-keeping. It’s about making farmers’ lives easier and farms more profitable.”
A digital lifeline for small farmers
The Philippines imports 99 percent of its dairy needs. NDA hopes to slowly grow local production, but farmers face uphill battles: few cows, limited resources, and outdated systems. To address this, NDA targets a growth rate of 2.5 percent by 2025 and five percent by 2028.
MooManage doesn’t solve everything, but it gives farmers something they’ve never had before—a simple, reliable way to track and improve their farms using data they can actually use.
"As innovators, we are committed to helping the dairy industry grow through technology that supports local production, improves efficiency, and empowers farmers," Moomanage says in its briefer.
In Marilog alone, about 50 dairy farmers supply milk that ends up in local brands and even DepEd’s feeding programs. With tools like MooManage, those farmers can focus less on paperwork and more on producing quality milk.
As Ysulat puts it: “Technology like this helps farmers not just survive, but plan. It gives them control.”
MooManage is still finding its footing, but farmers already see its promise. For those used to juggling notebooks and memory, the app feels like a lifeline, making the daily grind a little easier and the future a little clearer.
In the highlands and beyond, Lamela and his team hope to add a new rhythm: the quiet tap of a phone, helping farmers see their hard work turn into something sustainable.
With new pilot tests set in Marilog, Bukidnon, and Carmen, alongside its first run in Kidapawan, MooManage is slowly finding its way into the hands of more farmers, offering not just data, but confidence that they can keep their herds healthy, their milk flowing, and their families moving forward. MLSA