Cocamilk in English or Kakanggatas in Tagalog. The first is a portmanteau of the words coconut and carabao milk sand the second, of kakanggata, a Tagalog word for first milk extract from coconut, and gatas whose English word is milk.
Whatever name it is, the product is meant to combine the nutritional powers of the two liquids that come from two agriculture industries in the country to produce a very nutritious, ready-to-drink product.
It was Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala who thought of the concoction in a breakfast meeting with the officers of the Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperatives, Inc. (NEFEDCCO) and officials of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) in a visit here recently. Alcala was elated to know that the programs on carabao development and carabao- based enterprises are doing well in changing the lives of farmers and rural families.
In Nueva Ecija alone, he was told, there are 54 dairy carabao cooperatives and individual farmers tending more than 3,000 purebred and crossbred dairy carabaos.
From these animals, milk production is about 1.3 million liters of milk a year which is priced at P45 to P50 per liter.
He was also told that thousands more of the farmers in different parts of the country are raising dairy carabaos.
Alcala, however, was stirred when a number of requests from various cooperatives and groups of farmers
were presented to him. The requests were either for provision of equipment or facilities for forage production, processing of milk, products development or marketing of the products.
“Mahirap lutasin ‘yang ganyang pa-isa-isa ang inyong kahilingan (It is difficult to resolve your requests on a piecemeal basis),” the secretary said. “Iharap ninyo ang kaukulang mga tala, pagsama- samahin natin ang mga isyu at problema, at bigyan natin ng kaukulang solusyon (Present your data, consolidate all the issues and problems, and let’s resolve them),” he added.
When told that carabao’s milk production continues to accelerate but that its consumption by the public, particularly the children, is sluggish as it is overwhelmed by other kinds of milk drinks that are less costly, that’s when he made his suggested concoction. “Mixed it with coconut milk to make it cheaper as a readyto- drink product,” he said.
The secretary is well aware of the coconut milk as he hails from a coconut producing region. He said his suggested product can be offered as a nutritious drink in the feeding program in schools supported by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which has a budget for it.
In the past, it was reported that many government officials funded milk-feeding in schools but soon stopped doing it because of the high cost of pure milk. Some of them resorted to using soy bean milk which is cheaper, although, the raw material is imported.
Upon hearing his suggestion, most of the PCC officials said the combination of carabao milk and coconut milk is feasible. Many companies, they said, have been doing it for their products such as ice cream and other refreshment items.
They added that the resulting drink product from carabao milk and coconut mixture will “pack a wallop” as it will be a very nutritious concoction since both have distinct nutritional elements.
Analysis by the experts showed that carabao milk is superior in six out of 11 substances over that of cows and goats and is almost at par with that of the human milk. On the other hand, the coconut milk contains vitamin C and E, B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and potassium, and rich in anti-oxidants.
Dr. Arnel del Barrio, acting PCC executive director, immediately formed a team of the agency’s experts in products development to develop the product in due time.
Right then and there, suggestions about the name of the product, among them “cocamilk” and “kakanggatas” came out, but del Barrio said this will be resolved later. What is important is to come out with the right product with better nutritional qualities, well-packaged and cheaper in price, he said.
Alcala, in his subsequent meeting with the stakeholders in the two programs, said he is issuing an order soon to serve the product in all the meetings and conferences of his department including its attached agencies.
He said he will ask the assistance of the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Services of the DA and will appeal to industrial buyers in the marketing of the product and all the other products in the carabao- based enterprises “Hold workshops and conduct a summit for the carabao development program and carabao-based enterprises and let’s resolve at once your problems,” Alcala said. “You have in your hands programs that are changing the farmers’ lives. Let’s give full focus and concentration on them,” he added.
