Local milk for feeding program pushed

Senator Cynthia Villar has proposed the use of locally-produced milk in the implementation of the National School Feeding Program to help address malnutrition among school children as well as provide Filipino dairy farmers livelihood.

Villar, chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, proposed the insertion of a new section mandating the use of locally-produced milk in government’s feeding program in Senate Bill 1279 or the “Pagkaing Pinoy para sa Batang Pinoy Act” sponsored by Sen. Bam Aquino.

Under the Villar amendment, the Department of Education shall collaborate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), and the National Dairy Authority for the incorporation of a milk feeding program into the proposed National School Feeding Program.

She said the use of locallyproduced milk in cycle menu and recipes should be encouraged and developed to increase livelihood opportunities of dairy farmers and boost the local dairy industry.

“This program will not only provide an opportunity for the children of less privileged families to improve their nutritional status but will also motivate farmers to produce more milk because of the ready local market where they can supply their products,” Villar said. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)