Bohol eyed as dairy capital of PH; key projects mulled
CEBU CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is poised to make Bohol the dairy capital of the Philippines. DA secretary Manny Piñol bared the said plan after his meeting with the Organizacion Mundial de Sanidad Animal or OIE in Buenos Aires, Argentina recently.
The Bohol Information Office said that Piñol will soon meet with Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto and Ubay town Mayor Constantino Reyes on December 19 as well as the members of the Bohol dairy producers’ associations to present and discuss the project. Ubay Stock Farm According to Piñol, Bohol is being considered as the center of the Philippine Dairy Development Program mainly because the DA owns the 3,000hectare area Ubay Stock Farm which is a natural confinement area for imported cattle.
Piñol said that should Bohol officials and the people accept the project, the province stands to benefit greatly since along with the establishment of the dairy farm in Ubay, major firms may be interested in setting up fresh milk-packaging facilities in Ubay.
To complete the set-up, a modern slaughterhouse and processing facility is expected to rise in Ubay.
Some 5,000 Girolando cattle from Brazil will also be imported and are expected to produce an estimated 22 million liters of milk per year. Welcome development Chatto welcomes the project as he had long dreamed of making Bohol a milk-producing province for the Visayas.
Chatto said he is excited to work with Piñol on the project since it will have direct impact on poverty reduction initiatives in the countryside.
Chatto added that Bohol has already completed its commodity investment plan for the dairy industry.
Milk, milk, milk The province has embarked on a milk production program through animal dispersal under the ‘Let’s Help Bohol’ program of the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian.
Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz, Bohol provincial veterinarian told the Manila Bulletin that this development is a boost to what Bohol envisions for the dairy industry here.
Lapiz said Ubay Stock Farm is ready and capable of the plan.
“We have an existing dairy producing stocks of more than 1000 animals from the Philippine Carabao Center, National Dairy Authority and from the dairy producer farmers in Ubay and neighboring towns in Bohol,” she said.
“These stocks are already producing more than 1,000 liters of fresh milk daily”, she added.
Other concerns According to the provincial veterinarian, health and security issues that will still be discussed during the December 19 meeting.
Lapiz is optimistic though that all these can be addressed including guidelines in allowing the Philippines to import breeding materials for meat and dairy cattle from Brazil and Argentina.