Month: September 2023

The Canahay Dairy Farmers Association (CADAFA) in Surallah, South Cotabato was hailed as the 2023 Outstanding South Cotabateño – Group Category during the 24th T’nalak Festival and 57th Founding Anniversary of South Cotabato. The awarding ceremonies were held last July 16 at the South Cotabato gymnasium.

CADAFA President Emilita Cabino led the group who received the award. Said recognition cites their contribution in bringing the name of the province on the national stage, contributing to the growth of their community, and uplifting the spirit of their fellow South Cotabateños.“Maliban sa tulong ng ahensya ng gobyerno, hindi namin nakamit ang award na ito kung wala ang pagkakaisa ng bawa’t miyembro ng CADAFA. Ang pagsisikap at mga karangalang nakamit ng bawa’t miyembro ang naging daan upang masungkit namin ang award at maging namumukod-tanging asosasyon sa South Cotabato,” Cabino said.

CADAFA is one of the assisted associations of DA-Philippine Carabao Center at University of Southern Mindanao (DA-PCC at USM). Today, the association produces an average of 600 liters of carabao’s milk per month and serves as the supplier of raw milk for various PCC-assisted cooperatives participating in the national milk feeding program under R.A. 11037 or the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act.

“In the past few years, CADAFA has been receiving recognitions from various award-giving bodies for their good buffalo production and management practices. Wala itong mga award na ito kung wala ang taos-pusong pagtanggap ng mga magsasaka sa programang pagkakalabawan,” PCC at USM CBED Coordinator Nasrola Ibrahim said.

During the 8th National Carabao Conference of the DA-PCC, members of CADAFA bagged several awards to wit:

OUTSTANDING DAIRY BUFFALO FARMER FAMILY MODULE Champion Joselino C. Cabino; BEST DAIRY BUFFALO COW (SENIOR CARACOW CATEGORY) 1st Runner Up Melgin M. Zenith; BEST DAIRY BUFFALO COW (JUNIOR CARACOW CATEGORY)2nd Runner Up Rodel B. Estañol; and OUTSTANDING VILLAGE-BASED AI TECHNICIAN2nd Runner Up Reyjohn R. Estañol.

Meanwhile, DA-PCC at USM Center Director Benjamin John C. Basilio expressed his gratitude to the provincial government of South Cotabato in recognizing the dedication and achievement of CADAFA.

“We made this great impact to the lives of our carapreneurs through the collective effort of DA-PCC, Provincial Agriculture and Veterinary Offices, Municipal Agriculture Office, the local government unit of Surallah and other government agencies who serve as channels of blessings to our dairy farmers,” Basilio said.

Today, with the help of LGU-Surallah, the CADAFA envisions greater opportunities for its members as they started applying for becoming a cooperative and be later called Surallah Integrated Dairy Farmers Cooperative.Photos by LGU Surallah

Farm managers and extensionists from the 11 institutional herds of the agency completed the Training-of-Trainers (TOT) that aimed at scaling up the KBGAN iHealth and KBGAN iFeed mobile applications for improved animal health and feeding management on July 25–27, 2023, at the DA-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) national headquarters.

In 2020, the DA-PCC, through the Knowledge Management Division (KMD), in partnership with the Grameen Foundation Philippines, started working on a three-phase project called the Extension and Advisory Services Information System (EASIS).

Grameen Foundation developed two mobile applications known as KBGAN (Knowledge, Brokerage, Guidance, and Advisory Network) iHealth and KBGAN iFeed in consultation with DA-PCC’s technical experts in the fields of animal health and nutrition. These apps aim to ultimately improve the extension and advisory services provided by DA-PCC on enhanced dairy buffalo production and the management of small-scale carabao farmers.

The participants were immersed in training and actual field testing. The Grameen team facilitated the proper navigation and troubleshooting of basic issues of the KBGAN mobile apps. A hands-on activity on how to use these applications was conducted at the DA-PCC at Central Luzon State University (DA-PCC at CLSU) dairy farm.

“The two applications will help our farm managers and extensionists to perform the correct diagnosis and treatment for the animals. The same with iFeed, it will help us accurately compute the proper feed ratio,” said Jay Donnevie Rocutan, farm manager of DA-PCC at Mariano Marcos State University (DA-PCC at MMSU). The same activity is expected to be conducted in Bohol province, which showed interest in the use of mobile apps for its Barangay Livestock Aide (BALA) program. On July 18, the two mobile apps were launched in Mabini, in the same province, during the 7th Bohol Dairy Festival.

Farmers’ cooperative San Julio Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (SJARBC) is now the operator of the first Dairy Box outlet in Tanjay City with opening and turnover ceremonies held last July 21 in Barangay San Jose of this town. DA-PCC at La Carlota Stock Farm (DA-PCC at LCSF) led the opening rites ahead of the Tanjay City fiesta last July 24 as an effort to promote dairy carabao-based entrepreneurship and develop local tourism.

The Dairy Box is a one-stop dairy delicatessen store established nationwide as market development support for carabao farmers engaged in dairying. This is a market support component under the Carabao-based Business Improvement Network (CBIN) or ALAB Karbawan project funded by the Office of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform chaired by Senator Cynthia Villar.

Dairy Box-Tanjay City carries a variety of dairy goods from buffalo’s milk including pasteurized milk, flavored milk, yogurt milk, “Karavron”, kesong puti, Karabun with fillings, pastillas de leche, dulce de leche and dulce gatas.

The SJARBC sees the opening of the Dairy Box as an offering for a better quality of life to the Tanjayanons by promoting better incomes and nutrition.

SJARBC and DA-PCC at LCSF officials were present during the handover event led by SJARBC Chairperson Eva Montecino and General Manager George Yleana and DA-PCC at LCSF Center Director Eva Rom. Tanjay City local government officials led by Mayor José T. Orlino and Arjay C. Venus, representative from the office of Senator Villar also graced the event.

The Rosario Dairy Farmers Cooperative (RDFC) in Rosario, La Union emerged as the regional winner for Small-agri-business and Industry category during the 2023 Productivity Olympics held at ARVI Scenery Resort, San Fernando City, La Union earlier today.

The Productivity Olympics is a national competition initiated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which aimed to recognize the exceptional productivity exhibited by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the agribusiness, service, and industry sectors.

“The cooperative must optimize the utilization of its resources to enhance both productivity and profitability. By ensuring the co-op’s profitability, sustainable operations are guaranteed, leading to substantial benefits for the nuwang (carabao) farmers, as they gain a dependable market for their milk harvest,” Annalyn Tade, RDFC’s manager, said. RDFC is one of the assisted cooperatives of DA-Philippine Carabao Center at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DA-PCC at DMMMSU).

From 2021 to 2022, the co-op actively participated in the Milk Feeding Program of DepEd and DSWD as a supplier of carabao’s milk. In one school year alone, they supplied PHP8 million worth of milk to DepEd.The co-op also operates a Dairy Box outlet situated in Rosario, La Union. This establishment serves as a direct platform for the cooperative’s dairy products, proving to be advantageous for both dairy farmers and the local community. The store offers a diverse range of milk-based products, such as pastillas, fresh milk, and flavored milk drinks.

Young carapreneur Allen Paul Santos, 23 years old and founding leader of Eden Youth Association (EYA), led his team of other young carabao-based entrepreneurs in receiving the prestigious Villar SIPAG award as “Most Outstanding Youth Social Enterprise” last July 21 at the Villar SIPAG Center in Las Piñas City.

EYA, a young carapreneurs’ group located in San Francisco, Tarlac City, established Ka’Gatas Dairy Farm. The area was previously used for dog breeding but is now converted to a bustling carabao-based enterprise that actively engages its community of youths in various milk production and marketing activities in Tarlac and neighboring province of Pampanga.

Ka’Gatas Dairy Farm is supported by DA-PCC at Central Luzon State University and the local government of Tarlac City.

Santos shared their experience having successfully hurdled the stringent selection process that took over a month of rigorous evaluation.

“Ang aming napanalunan ay para sa pinapangarap ng grupo na magkaroon ng sariling dairy processing at outlet. Ang layunin namin ay ang umasenso ang bawa’t kasapi ng grupo,” Santos said.

The young carapreneur, with other founding members Mikee Anne Castañeda, Patrick Rican Navarro, Philip Navarro, and Ron Mikko Rodriguez who were with him during the awarding ceremonies, said he is grateful of the people behind EYA’s inspiration to join the competition. It was because of these people’s constant support, he said, that their group is aiming to achieve more and go wider.

Dr. Ericson dela Cruz, center director of DA-PCC at CLSU, said the center will be in full support of the young carapreneurs’ journey as they soar high in their chosen enterprise. The young carapreneurs, he added, prove that Rizal’s immortalized line “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan” couldn’t be any truer today.

The Villar SIPAG Awards program is managed by the Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance)—a hub of advocacies, activities and action to help poor Filipinos. It aims to recognize outstanding initiatives of community enterprises and models of good practices.

A groundbreaking ceremony and signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the construction of a dairy processing plant and marketing outlet was held last July 20 in Brgy. Sto. Tomas, Lubao, Pampanga.

The said facility called Dairy Box is the seventh in a row established in Region 3 and to be operated by the Lubao Farmers and Fisherfolk Agriculture Cooperative (LFFAC).

The outlet, a market development support for carapreneurs, will rise in the area where Lubao town’s former slaughter house and National Food Authority (NFA) office was. The trading hub, which is owned by the LGU, was chosen as a strategic site for the Dairy Box because of its prime location according to Mayor Esmeralda Pineda. The MOA was signed by Mayor Pineda, LFFAC Chairperson Jesus Nuqui, DA-PCC at Central Luzon State University Center Director Dr. Ericson Dela Cruz and witnessed by partner stakeholders.

The Dairy Box is an infrastructure component of the Carabao-based Business Improvement Network (CBIN) or ALAB Karbawan project supported by the Office of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Senator Cynthia Villar.