Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the inauguration and turnover ceremony for the infra support to the Cagayan Dairy Enterprise (CDE), an income-generating project of the Integrated Farmers Cooperative (IFC) that is involved in the operating of a commercial-scale production of carabao raw milk, processing, and marketing of milk-based products including milk bars, pastillas, pasteurized, and unpasteurized milk.
The dairy enterprise was one of the completed projects of the I-REAP under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that was inaugurated on November 9, 2019 in Namabblan Norte, Tuguegarao.
The total project amounts to Php 22.42M with 16.36 M from DA, and the counterpart funds from the local government of Tuguegarao (Php 1.36M) and the provincial government of Cagayan (Php 4.7M).
“Layunin ng proyekto na tulungan ang pag-usbong ng local dairy industry sa pamamagitan ng produksyon, processing, at marketing ng fresh (raw) milk at carabao milk-based products,” Dar said.
The primary beneficiaries of the enterprise are the 254 members of the IFC, specifically the 55 dairy farmer-members.
“Noong nakita ko mismo ito sa area nila, meron silang request na dagdag na 100 dairy carabaos, ito ay in addition to the existing number of dairy carabaos. Ibibigay natin ang hiling nila, ito ay upang masuportahan na rin ang milk supplementation program ng gobyerno para sa pagpapainom ng gatas sa mga maliit na bata,” Dar said.
The milk supplementation program is in support to the Republic Act 11037 known as “Masustansiyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act” as signed into law on June 20, 2018. The law prioritizes the localities that have highest prevalence of under nutrition and nutrient deficiency among school children aged 3 to 6; and provides additional income to milk producers, collectors, processors, distributors and marketing agents.
The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) allocated Php 1.0 M for the milk supplementation program in Tuguegarao City and in San Agustin, Isabela; and another Php700,000 for support supplies. In Tuguegarao alone, 2,518 pupils in 57 day care centers have benefitted from the program. The IFC has been the supplier for this initiative.
“Kung hindi masustansiya ang kakainin ng isang bata during his first 1,000 days from birth ay maapektuhan siya in terms of his/her intelligence. So mas gagaling po ang mga bata na napakain ng mas masustansiyang pagkain. Dito sa kanayunan, palagi nating sundan ang balanced diet so that they would become productive citizens of this country,” Dar concluded. ### (Rita dela Cruz, DA-Communications Group)
