TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, July 23 (PIA) -- In the spirit of convergence which is among the best practices in Bohol, Bohol’s dairy industry and its stakeholders heaped funds of about P30M this year as the industry celebrates its sixth year.

Over the noticeable increase in milk production volume per day, the 6th Milk Festival is a fitting reason to celebrate the resilience of the dairy industry which has suffered from last year’s calamities and the pandemic, said Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz during the Sandugo Festival held in Ubay.

During the recent 6th Bohol Milk Festival held at the new Ubay Bus and Food Terminal in Brgy. Bood, it was disclosed that over P30 million worth of funds have been set for the industry and its stakeholders in a bid to spread the good promise of dairying as an alternative income for farmers.

The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), which initiated the viability study on dairy production, handed out a P5-M milk processing building for Bohol Dairy Cooperative (BODACO) to be built in San Pascual, Ubay and P11-M for the repair and Improvement of the PCC Training Center and Milk Processing Facility at the Ubay Stock Farm.

In a research and accompanying field study, PCC said as long as farmers use crossbred and hybrid carabao to milk, a farmer gets double to triple the milk yield against the native varieties.

The same pattern was also observed in dairy cattle.

In Bohol, Fernando Dupalco, a carabao dairy adopter, said he now milks a carabao and gets an average of six liters of milk every day, plus the calf which he can sell and nurture to productive age and milk or use as draft animal.

PCC buys the milk at P50 per liter, which every farmer adopter collects.

He also has four more animals now pregnant and could add to his milk yield in months.

PCC Deputy Executive Director and former PCC Ubay Center chief Dr. Caro Salcez turned over the assistance during the ceremony witnessed by Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado, Department of Agriculture Regional Executive Director Joel Elumba, PCC Bohol Center Chief Dr. Dinah Loculan, and Balilihan Mayor Ma. Pureza Chatto with PCC Bohol officials.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), a national government and World Bank facility for enabling agriculture based industries, is giving through the DA over P9.2-M for Bohol dairy industry alone.
PRDP Visayas Cluster Deputy Project Director Engr. Albert Barrogo said that in terms of agri-enterprise, Bohol dairy is the first approved big ticket project funded by them.

As the PRDP operates on a counterparting scheme, the entire fund is magnified with the local government and the beneficiary counterpart, enhancing the value of the grant.

From the PRDP fund comes the procurement of equipment and supplies for milk processing, cold storage like freezers, and mobile reefer vans as well as a mobile parlor for the marketing support, according to Lapiz.

Part of the fund would also be used as a working capital to buy processing supplies and to buy raw milk from the farmers, she added.
During the program, authorities turned over the documents and keys of the dairy rolling store complete with freezers and equipment for a fully functional milk parlor.

Moreover, Elumba also announced their dispersal of 12 carabaos for Cagting Small Farmers and Fisherfolks Association, which could start off the dairy production in that part of Ubay.

The festival also highlighted the launching of Zone 2 cluster of town adopters of the dairy production.
Authorities announced the launching of the expansion towns that committed to the milk production program.

These are the towns of Talibon, Carmen, Sagbayan, Danao, Clarin, San Isidro, Catigbian, Antequera, Balilihan, Corella, Sevilla, Sikatuna and Batuan.

These towns would be served by a Philippine Coconut Authority-funded multi-million Milk Processing Facility in Libertad, Tubigon.

To date, Bohol now has 22 towns dedicated to milk production.

Under Zone 1, the first towns which proved the promise of the industry were Ubay, President Carlos P. Garica, Mabini, Alicia, Trinidad, Talibon, Bien Unido, San Miguel, and Dagohoy.

The PCC and the National Dairy Authority institutional milk processing facilities serve the processing requirements of these towns. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)