MAGSAYSAY, Davao del Sur has secured the green light for a P148.19-million integrated livestock enterprise project aimed at improving meat and dairy processing, strengthening food safety and expanding market opportunities for local farmers.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the World Bank-assisted Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up, issued a No Objection Letter 1 (NOL1) for the P148,195,721.47 subproject, allowing the municipal government and its partner, the San Isidro Magsaysay Agriculture Cooperative (SMAC), to proceed with procurement and civil works.
The project seeks to address long-standing limitations in the municipality's livestock value chain, including an aging abattoir and inadequate milk-processing facilities.
The existing municipal abattoir, built in 2003, can process only about five hogs daily, while the current milk facility has limited capacity to accommodate increasing supplies of raw goat milk.
Under the project, Magsaysay will establish a modern National Meat Inspection Service-accredited Double "A" abattoir equipped with biosecure holding areas, chilling facilities and refrigerated transport.
It will also establish a Food and Drug Administration-approved goat's milk processing facility compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices. The facility is described as the first of its kind in Mindanao under the project.
The initiative also incorporates waste management through SMAC's existing organic processing facility, which uses DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management rotary composters to convert agricultural and food waste into soil amendments.
The project is expected to benefit 1,330 stakeholders, including 1,281 livestock raisers, 23 meat shop owners and 26 dairy cooperative members. Of the beneficiaries, 230 are members of the B'laan and Bagobo Indigenous communities.
Project estimates indicate that annual net income among goat raisers selling live animals could increase by 79.98 percent, while dairy goat farmers could see a 37.96-percent increase as processed milk gains access to wider markets, including institutional buyers and school feeding programs.
The project is also expected to generate 215 construction jobs during implementation and 37 permanent positions once the facilities become operational.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. leads the DA, which is implementing the PRDP Scale-Up initiative. DEF
