UNUSED USAID FUNDS FOR DAIRY PRODUCTION
The National Dairy Administration (NDA) on Wednesday revealed that it is eyeing to tap an unused fund from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to boost the country’s dairy production and lessen the reliance on imports.
In a statement, the NDA said that its dairy goat farming program — set to be launched next week — will see the distribution of goat heads and the establishment of goat farms and processing plants in 69 areas nationwide.
The agency also noted the program is expected to increase the country’s capacity to produce milk — an important component for mothers and children dietary requirement. At present, the Philippines imports 99 percent of its annual dairy requirement of 2 million metric tons.
The USAID has already allocated P1.56 billion to the Philippines under its US Public Law 480 scheme, commonly known as the Food for Peace and through the aid, the US government donates food commodities — in this case, dairy goats — to countries requesting assistance in combatting hunger and malnutrition.
According to NDA spokesman Karen Joy Manalo, the funding was already approved by the Department of Budget and Management in 2018 and would be directly released to the agency.
Manalo said that the funds would be used to purchase goat farms that would be propagated in various provinces, and to provide infrastructure, technology and other inputs to increase goat milk production.
With the budget, NDA aims to distribute around 7,875 heads of dairy goats to new and existing dairy areas nationwide. It is also looking to establish 75 dairy goat farms, 10 mini milk processing plants, and six semen collection and processing centers.
The project is expected to supply 1.2 million liters of goat milk to the country’s feeding programs and increase national dairy goat inventory to 19,125 heads from 13,975 heads.
Hopes are high that addressing the lack of dairy infrastructure and high production costs could breathe new life into the sector amid the increasing demand for milk.