Author: Charlene S. Joanino

Soon, local dairy farmers’ produce in Nueva Ecja (NE) province will easily find their way to customers as NE provincial government had committed support in the improvement of milk processing facility and expansion of market for carabao’s milk and dairy products.

NE Governor Aurelio “Oyie” Umali made the pledge during his conversation with DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Arnel Del Barrio at Milka Krem in the Science City of Muñoz last May 22.

In his visit to the DA-PCC headquarters, Gov. Umali said he will personally make this happen as he recognizes that carabao-based livelihood is a crucial component of farming in NE. His office plans to procure equipment, put up a processing facility and marketing outlet.

According to him, this initiative supports the province’s aim to officially become the “Dairy Buffalo Capital of the Philippines”.

He added that marketing of dairy products produced in NE should expand to the Metro Manila market considering that carabao’s milk is a highly valued commodity. While this is obtaining, he said schools in the province should carry carabao’s milk as a must-drink beverage among schoolchildren.

Meanwhile, Dr. Del Barrio said DA-PCC will show the same enthusiasm as the Governor in pursuing its mandate and in rendering its services. “We are happy to support his administration and accept his challenge in continuing our efforts to help local dairy farmers in NE,” he said.

Also present during the visit were 2nd District Board Member Joseph Ortiz, who is an avid customer of Milka Krem dairy products, and former Board Member Rommel Padilla.

At present, there are about 50 farmer-cooperatives assisted by the DA-PCC in NE, which is also the National Impact Zone for carabao-based enterprise development.

Sixteen women carapreneurs (carabao raisers and entrepreneurs) from different cooperatives and associations participated in a training on “Baking and Pastries Making” conducted by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center at Cagayan State University (DA-PCC@CSU) last May 12.

The training was conducted to provide additional source of livelihood to participants through processing of products using carabao’s milk as one of the ingredients.

The trainees were divided into two groups to ensure that social distancing measures are observed in the training hall in compliance with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) guidelines amid coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Group A was led by Melchora Macarubbo, board of director of Integrated Farmer’s Cooperative (IFC) while Group B was headed by Precy Sibal, processor of IFC.

Klidel Fae Rellin, a licensed chemist whose hobby is baking, was tapped as the resource person for the said training.

Prior to hands-on training, Ms. Rellin provided lectures on the correct mixing and measuring technique for a particular ingredient to guarantee better baking results and demonstrated the baking process.

Ms. Rellin taught the particular recipes of four different products such as chocolate chips cookies, hot milk cake, milk cake, and vanilla sponge cake, all products were later on processed by each group. A taste test, led by DA-PCC@CSU Center Director Franklin Rellin, was conducted afterwards. Among the four recipes, hot milk cake emerged as the “Best Product of Choice”.

“This training will motivate women to engage in activities that will harness their full potentials and hone their entrepreneurship ability,” Director Rellin said.

The training was part of the Gender and Development activities of the center.

 

(With reports from Aileen L. Bulusan)

In pursuing its vision of modernizing and improving further its extension and advisory service (EAS) delivery to its clientele, the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) through its Knowledge Management Division (KMD) has entered into a technical consultancy services contract with Grameen Foundation to work on the Phase 1 of a 30-month project titled “Consulting Services for Extension and Advisory Services Information System (EASIS)”.

In general, the project aims to enhance the dairy production management capacity of local dairy buffalo farmers in Nueva Ecija (the pilot site) through information and communications technology (ICT)-enabled EAS modality. The modality is envisioned to provide two main functionalities namely (1) a content delivery tool or CDT (learning videos) and (2) a quick response tool or QRT (mobile application for timely interaction or two-way communication between the field extension technicians or knowledge brokers and the DA-PCC national headquarters).

Phase 1 of the project, which started last March 9, involves identification of scope of work and learning modules development. Activities include focused group discussions, desk research, human-centered design exercises, learning needs, and resource assessment, which will inform the content of the five learning videos and design of the ICT-based EAS solutions. Phase 2 will involve solution development and implementation (i.e., creation of second set of learning videos, development and roll-out of CDT and QRT, and training of trainers) while Phase 3 will involve farmer profiling, complementary SMS extension service, and monitoring and evaluation.

“We are excited to engage with Grameen Foundation because for a long time we wanted to digitize PCC’s extension services using ICT tools, and such will be made possible through this project,” said Dr. Eric Palacpac, DA-PCC Knowledge Management Division chief, who spearheaded the project’s conceptualization.

Grameen Foundation provides technical assistance on smart-farming solutions geared toward the “evolution of digital technology for agriculture.” Ms. Christine Violago, Grameen Foundation’s Country Manager for the Philippines, serves as Project Leader for the EASIS Project.

Cotabateños can now avail of various products made from fresh buffalo’s milk amid COVID-19 after the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center at University of Southern Mindanao (DA-PCC@USM) launched its “Buffalo Milk on Wheels” on May 13, 2020.

DA-PCC’s Buffalo Milk on Wheels or BMW is an initiative of the institution in line with the DA’s Kadiwa on Wheels.

DA-PCC@USM Center Director Benjamin John C. Basilio gave emphasis on the objective of BMW, i.e., to let the people access milk products such as fresh carabao’s milk, chocomilk, yogurt and pastillas while under the general community quarantine (GCQ) to curtail the spread of the COVID-19.

DA-PCC@USM Dairy Processing and Marketing Head Ludivina J. Estimo acknowledged the support of the Local Government Unit of Kabacan led by Honorable Mayor Herlo P. Guzman, Jr. being the pilot municipality in launching the mobile market in Cotabato Province.

Director Basilio ensured that safety health precautions such as use of face mask and observing social distancing are strictly enforced to protect buyers at the BMW.

More than 500 undernourished children have started to benefit from a milk feeding program in Ilocos Norte, which will run for 120 days from April 27 to August 25.

Said program was made possible through Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc with the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center at Mariano Marcos State University (DA-PCC@MMSU) as the supplier of chocolate-flavored milk to the provincial government.

This feeding program is initiated by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Resiliency Council (PDRRMC) and Provincial Nutrition Council (PNC), which resolve to feed undernourished children with Nutribun and pasteurized chocomilk during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to the PDRRMC and PNC, this project is part of the service package under “Nutrition in Emergencies” where attention to feeding malnourished children during the COVID-19 pandemic is deemed essential and relevant to improve their nutritional status and to boost their immune system.

Twenty-one municipalities and two cities with a total of 533 beneficiaries will benefit from this program. For 120 days, a weekly supply of 3,731 100ml packs of chocomilk will be dispatched to the beneficiaries.

DA-PCC@MMSU is thankful to the provincial government because this initiative provides for a sure market for the milk produce of dairy carabao raisers in Ilocos Norte. This will mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to their livelihood.

More than 100 residents bought products at the DA-PCC’s Buffalo Milk on Wheels (BMW) at Kegkeg Plaza at the San Jose City (SJC) Hall earlier today. Some of the products sold were pasteurized milk, yoghurt flavoured drink, chocomilk, and kesong puti.

The BMW was facilitated by a DA-PCC team led by Wilma del Rosario, National Impact Zone (NIZ) Coordinating Unit head. Behind her is a team of marketing experts composed of creative staff from the Planning and Information Management Division- Business Development and Commercialization Unit, Knowledge Management Division, Research and Development Division (RDD), NIZ Coordinating Unit, and RDD- Reproduction and Physiology Section (RPS).

Dr. Danilda Duran, Scientist I and RDD-RPS head, assisted in the rolling out of the BMW on proper coordination with the LGU of SJC. Social distancing measures were strictly observed during the mobile market.

Also present to support the DA-PCC BMW were City Cooperative Development Officer Cristina Corpuz and her staff.

Apart from SJC, DA-PCC BMW will be visiting other places in Nueva Ecija such as Science City of Muñoz, Bongabon, Aliaga, Rizal, Guimba, General Tinio, and Lupao.

The establishment and inauguration of the Dairy Box in barangay Bantog, Asingan, Pangasinan last February 28 was made possible through the concerted efforts of the government agencies, local and provincial government units, and carapreneurs.

The Dairy Box, a one-stop-shop for carabao-based products conceptualized by the Business Development and Commercialization Unit (BDCU) of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC), is an infrastructure support for smallhold dairy buffalo farmers designed to provide them opportunities such as access to the commercial market thus increasing their incomes.

DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Del Barrio explained the rationale behind the establishment of the 1st Dairy Box in the country, which is based in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. He shared that it is a response to one of the findings of a Value Chain Analysis conducted two years ago stating that one of the reasons why carabao-related programs are not expanding is due to lack of market channels.

He also recognized the importance of convergence and clear market tie-up for an enterprise to take off.

“I would like to thank our partners who have been with us throughout this endeavor, as PCC cannot do it alone. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of each one of you,” he said.

Managed by Bantog Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BSNMPC), one of the assisted dairy cooperatives of DA-PCC at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DA-PCC@DMMMSU), the outlet in Asingan is now the 9th Dairy Box in the country and the 3rd in Luzon.

It was realized specifically through the collaborative efforts of the DA-PCC@DMMMSU, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), DA-Regional Field Office 1, local and provincial governments of Pangasinan, and farmer-members of BSNMPC.

Counterparting the edifice of this Dairy Box was the additional budget allocated by the DAR for building enhancement. The DTI, on the other hand, provided freezers/chillers and two units of soft ice cream maker, among others, through its Shared Service Facility.

The DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program, DOLE, and DA-RFO 1 also contributed additional stocks of carabaos to dairy farmers in Pangasinan for herd build-up, as more milk is needed for the processing of dairy products.

The local government unit (LGU) of Asingan donated 300 sq.m. of land where the Dairy Box is situated.

Abono Party List Deputy Speaker Cong. Conrado Estrella III, who (along with the late Senator Leticia Shahani) initially provided stocks of carabaos to farmers, bared his plans and commitment to further develop the Dairy Box in their area assuring that this will be the “best building of Dairy Box in the whole country”.

“I want this industry to flourish, thus, I really did my best to allocate Php15 million budget for the construction of a fully furnished two-story building that will complement this Dairy Box. We will put up a display center of various dairy products in it. Its interior will be instagrammable so customers will flock to it and keep coming back not only for its pleasant ambiance, but also for its delectable milk treats,” he shared.

“The ground floor of the building is a restaurant and on the second floor is a glass-walled processing area so customers can view how the products are being processed.
At the back of the Dairy Box, there will be a dormitory-type facility to accommodate tourists or guests who opt to stay overnight,” he added.

Cong. Estrella announced that the groundbreaking ceremony of the said building is slated on the third week of March.

Meanwhile, DA-PCC@DMMMSU Center Director Gloria Dela Cruz encouraged everyone present in the event to continue promoting carabao-based enterprise and patronize products made from carabao’s milk.

Some of the dairy products available in the store are purple corn ice cream, yogurt, fresh milk, chocomilk, lacto juice, polvoron, pastillas, special espasol and ube halaya. All of them, with carabao’s milk as main ingredient, carry the brand name “Creamilicious”.

Currently, the co-op tends more than 300 carabaos and harvests an average of 100 liters of milk a day.

“I would like to thank PCC and all those who have helped us in this undertaking. This enterprise has really changed our lives for the better,” BSNMPC Chairman Rolly Mateo averred.

The Sto. Niño Dairy Farmers Association (SANDAFA) officially ventures into dairy enterprise on February 28, 2020, through an infrastructure, which is the 1st ever dairy store in Region XII to market various carabao’s milk-based products of the cooperative and other smallholder farmers in nearby areas.

SANDAFA is being assisted by the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) through its regional center headed by Dir. Benjamin John Basilio and hosted by the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, North Cotabato.

The launching started off with a motorcade in Surallah and nearby towns, graced by the PCC mascots “Kalaboy” and “Kalagirl” together with the students of Sultan Kudarat Senior High School from Province of Sultan Kudarat and Suinsangaan National Highschool from Sto. Niño, South Cotabato.

The main products featured during the event were the carabao’s milk-based delicacies of “Sweet Plate” such as macaroons, butter scotch, brownies, yema cake, braso de mercedes, and choco moist, as well as ice cream and flavored lacto juice from “Niño Fresh” made by the cooperative-processors of SANDAFA.

Carabao’s milk from D&L Dairy farm like pasteurized milk and choco milk also quenched and satisfied the thirst of the guests during the opening program.

Present during the grand opening were PCC’s institutional partners represented by Flora Gabunales, Regional Director of Department of Trade and Industry XII (DTI), Dr. Flora Bigot of Provincial Veterinarian Office (PVO), Mayor Pablo Jr. Matinong of Surallah Local Government Unit (LGU), and Surallah Municipal Agriculturist Loel Nillos.

During her speech, Ms. Gabunales (DTI) inspired the dairy farmers and provided positive aspirations for the SANDAFA. She emphasized the importance of packaging and uniqueness of products as well as the impact of social media in terms of creating awareness and promotion of products.

“Social media can make or break your products,” she averred.

On the other hand, she congratulated and challenged the cooperative to sustain the quality of its products. Moreover, she expressed further support to the SANDAFA and other stakeholders by mentioning about the shared service facility of DTI, as assistance to smallholder dairy farmers.

She said that the DTI will extend more help to further add more products to be sold in the store, as processing facility and equipment will be accessible to those who are still planning to develop their carabao-based products.

Dr. Bigot (PVO), on the other hand, talked about providing “counterpart” as an essential role of key players (e.g., milk provider, processor, and seller) in the said business venture. She gave the cooperative a challenge to produce the needed volume of milk to sustain the production of milk products.

Furthermore, she focused on the passion that has to be continuously developed in the hearts of the SANDAFA members, and the need to provide their carabaos (their livelihood source) tender loving care, such as providing nutritious forage through cut-and-carry feeding, among others.

Director Basilio expressed his gratitude to industry partners for their support to provide livelihood assistance and other related programs for farmers and/or clients through strengthening the PCC’s Carabao-based Enterprise Development Program.

He encouraged the dairy buffalo farmers by saying, “Start small, but think and dream big”.

For the closing remarks, Ms. Rovelyn Jacang from the PCC national headquarters congratulated and wished everyone a productive and successful venture. She stated the significance of SANDAFA dairy store as the first ever of its kind in Region XII, which also serves as a model for other dairy outlets to emulate.

The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Hankyong National University (HKNU) recently started its collaborative project titled, “Improving Income Generation of Farmers through the Enhancement of the Value Chain Capacity from Milk Production to Sales”.

According to Dr. In-Sik Nam, project manager, the collaboration aims to achieve the following: (1) improving productivity of dairy buffaloes and quality of dairy products, (2) activating high quality milk production technology, (3) expanding high quality hygiene and safety dairy product processing technology, (4) strengthening value chain capacity in the dairy sector, and (5) training of farmers to improve the quality of local dairy farmers’ life in the Philippines.

KOICA-volunteer and Public Relations (PR) and Information Technology (IT) head leader EunGyeom Ahn, meanwhile, said that some 20 smallhold farms that are yet to be identified by the DA-PCC and KOICA will be the project beneficiaries.

“We also divided ourselves into four teams to ensure the smooth implementation of the project. The teams are the following: (1) dairy production, (2) milk processing, (3) milk hygiene and safety, and (4) PR and IT,” EunGyeom Ahn said.

The KOICA team is composed of 15 Korean volunteers and one field manager.

DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Arnel Del Barrio said that for DA-PCC’s part, full support and assistance will be accorded to the KOICA volunteers to include sharing of database related to dairy production and management, providing an office space for the KOICA volunteers, and designating personnel who will directly assist the volunteers all throughout the duration of the project.

“This project is in support of the national dairy program and is aligned with DA’s goal of augmenting farmers’ yield and income,” he added.

The project will run for 18 months.