ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija – A four year-old Bulgarian buffalo just delivered a “precious Christmas gift” to its master – twin calves.
Alberto Dorone, 32, a farmer from baranagay Bibiclat here, was overwhelmed with joy upon seeing two healthy calves lying with the beast at about 6:00 a.m. Wednesday under the tree where he left it the previous night.
“Alam ko kasing manganganak na kaya hindi ko na inilalakad pauwi sa bahay,” Dorone said. His house is about three kilometers away from the field planted to vegetables. He works as “kasama” (percentage farming) on a parcel of land owned by his father-in-law, also in Barangay Bibiclat.
“Napakagandang pamasko nito sa amin,” he said.
Most farmers in this village use Bulgarian buffalo, one of the breeds being propagated and promoted by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) under its national water buffalo genetic improvement program (NWBGIP) in Science City of Munoz.
This breed is identified as potential dairy animal, according to a literature from PCC.
But Dorone said his animal was naturally sired by another buffalo owned by a relative.
Each animal is sold at P40,000 to P50,000 in the area, depending on its bulk and gender. A female buffalo is priced higher than male because of its reproductive potential, the farmer said.
For a father of two, the eldest is four years-old, who dreams of having a house, the two calves count a lot.
Alberto Dorone, 32, a farmer from baranagay Bibiclat here, was overwhelmed with joy upon seeing two healthy calves lying with the beast at about 6:00 a.m. Wednesday under the tree where he left it the previous night.
“Alam ko kasing manganganak na kaya hindi ko na inilalakad pauwi sa bahay,” Dorone said. His house is about three kilometers away from the field planted to vegetables. He works as “kasama” (percentage farming) on a parcel of land owned by his father-in-law, also in Barangay Bibiclat.
“Napakagandang pamasko nito sa amin,” he said.
Most farmers in this village use Bulgarian buffalo, one of the breeds being propagated and promoted by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) under its national water buffalo genetic improvement program (NWBGIP) in Science City of Munoz.
This breed is identified as potential dairy animal, according to a literature from PCC.
But Dorone said his animal was naturally sired by another buffalo owned by a relative.
Each animal is sold at P40,000 to P50,000 in the area, depending on its bulk and gender. A female buffalo is priced higher than male because of its reproductive potential, the farmer said.
For a father of two, the eldest is four years-old, who dreams of having a house, the two calves count a lot.
