(MILKA KREM. It’s about empowering the smallholder dairy farmer through provision of opportunity for value-adding and greater income. Photo Courtesy of DA Usec. Segfredo Serrano)
(Third of 4 Parts)
SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ – None can be more significant and satisfying than to see the results of any endeavor generally bringing about positive impact on the target clientele. It not only catches attention but also fires up the enthusiasm and initiatives of those mesmerized by the results of the endeavor.
This has obtained in the Carabao-based Enterprise Development (CBED), one of the pillars of the Carabao Development Program (CBP).
Owing to the improved breed of the carabao, sustainable enterprises for numerous farmers emerged. Thus, from “beast of burden”, the carabao has become “beast of fortune”.
The CBED provided impetus, mechanism, research and development, monitoring and evaluation and other attendant factors for the farmers’ enterprises. Its buffalo dairy modules guide buffalo-based enterprises to become viable at the village level as it forms groups into production, processing, marketing, and support services assemblage.
Records indicated that the dairy products are the second largest agricultural import of the country next to wheat, at $588 million in 2010 and $848.68 million in 2011. In 2017, import cost of milk and milk products was $903.10 million.
Milk products, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, constituted the bulk of import at 58%, skimmed milk, 34%; whey powder, 13%; whole milk, 4%; and butter milk, 7%.
Happily, local production of milk increased by 8% or more than one glass out of four glasses of liquid milk supply in the country.
Dairy coop
The first dairy module in the country was established in Tulong, Urdaneta, Pangasinan in 1997.
From the lessons learned in that enterprise, Nueva Ecija was established as the “national impact zone” (NIZ) under the CBED program.
The incubator module serves as nucleus in the distribution to qualified farmer-recipients of 25-head purebred dairy buff aloes.
The NIZ is replicated in smaller version on the regional level.
In Nueva Ecija, the farmers’ dairy coops federated into “Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperatives” (NEFEDCCO) which processes and markets dairy products. It also provides technical and organizational support to the member-coops.
In the study, “Intensifying Village-level Carabao-based Dairy Enterprise Development in Non-traditional Dairy Communities” (2002-2008), the dairy cooperatives in Nueva Ecija and their umbrella organization had the following achievements:
From the initial base of 1,000 dairy buffalo dispersed, it ballooned to 3,365 heads. At P65,000 estimated farm gate price of each, the total value was P218.7 million, and the milk collected was 1,741,163.71 liters valued at P62,681,893.56.
In Gen. Trias, Cavite in 2011, the coop had gross sales of P5 million. Its products carried the brand name “GenTri’s Best”.
In Talavera, Danilo Fausto, businessman-investment-banker, also engaged in dairy farming and emerged very successful in it. He is currently the president and chief operating officer of the DVF Dairy Farm, Inc. which started as a single proprietorship in 2000.
In one of Fausto’s reports, he said his farm processes from 800 to 1,200 liters of milk a day, turning them into liquid products (pasteurized milk), flavored milk (choco, buko-pandan extract, and melon flavored), cheese line (kesong puti, quesoblanco, and mozzarella cheese), yogurt line (creamy, crunchy yogurt with nata de coco, non-fat yogurt, and mango-flavored yogurt), and dry products (pastillas, espasol, and milk candies). About 10% of the products are retained for in-house business and the rest to different malls and other clients outside of the province.
Nonpareil
Also in General Trias, Francisco Solis, a dirt poor farmer used the cash gifts given by his wedding sponsors to buy a dairy carabao. In time, he raised P12,000 from the sales of milk and from the yearling male off spring that he sold and used it to start his herd buildup.
Eventually, he acquired four passenger jeepneys, an L200 van, an owner-type jeepney, tricycle, hand tractors, threshers, a grocery store and a bakery. Then he acquired a Ford Everest which he used occasionally to deliver his milk collection.
“Had it not been for carabao dairying, I would not be able to acquire what we have today and would not have sent my children to good private schools,” Ka Asis loves to say.
Milk processing
For entrepreneurs, the PCC-CLSU Milk Processing and Outlet serves as a model. It is a village-type processing entity whose equipment can be obtained readily and can process 100 to 120 liters of milk per day.
Kitchen-type pieces of equipment are its primary use. It include gas stove with gas tank, cooking utensils that include wooden spoon, big frying pan, casserole, milk buckets, trays and stirrer; freezer and cooking tank for storage and as cooling bath, weighing scale for accurate measurement of products, measuring cup and spoons for measurement of ingredients, and packaging materials.
Aside from pasteurized milk, choco milk, white cheese, yogurt, lacto juice, pastillas de leche, and pulvoron, it produces ricotta, mozzarella cheese, butter, and quark cheese.
Its gross income averages P800,000 a month.
At the nearby PCC headquarters, the ‘MilkaKrem’ plant and outlet were put up to serve as an avenue to empower smallholder farmers in having access to commercial market for greater income. It is anchored on products development thru science-based practices.
AI tech
In San Miguel, Bulacan, Eduardo Manuzon, a former overseas worker, became a PCC-accredited village based artificial insemination technicians (VBAIT).
He became known to carabao owners and per documentation by PCC, he provided AI (artificial insemination) services to 388 carabaos which gave him an income of from P30,000 to P50,000 a month.
To be concluded
