Month: November 2023

During the recent “Kabaw sa Kadalanan (Carabao Float Parade)” on October 27, farmer-carabao duos proudly displayed their float adorned with the city’s abundant harvests through the streets of Mati City, Davao Oriental.

The Kabaw sa Kadalanan is a prominent feature of the 23rd Sambuokan Festival and 3rd Abunda Festival. This event aims to exhibit the city’s unique crafts, plentiful harvests, and the advancements in its agricultural sector.

Mati City Vice Mayor Lorenzo Leon Rabat expressed that this event demonstrates the city government’s commitment to bolstering food security for its residents.

Benjamin John C. Basilio, center director of DA-Philippine Carabao Center at USM, was among the judges for the competition, praising Mayor Michelle Rabat and the City’s Agriculture Office for their continuous support to DA-PCC.

The Kalaparan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association, a DA-PCC at USM supported organization, participated in the parade, showcasing their dairy products and crossbred buffaloes.

“This event serves as a platform to enlighten Matinians about the diverse roles of carabaos. Presenting carabao milk and crossbred carabaos showcases to the public the potential for increased profit and benefits beyond their traditional use in farming,” stated Nasrola Ibrahim, DA-PCC at USM Carabao-based Enterprise Development program coordinator.

Derived from the Mandaya term “buok,” meaning “one,” Sambuokan is an annual celebration promoting unity and oneness among the people of Mati.

Would you rather go cash or cashless for your dairy carabao-based product purchases?

Whichever you prefer, the newly installed Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) ATM machine and online payment platforms in Milka Krem offer you a variety of payment options for that seamless transaction.

The ATM machine, launched today at the Milka Krem compound, is a collaborative effort between DA-PCC and the LBP-CLSU branch. This is to allow convenient transactions for customers of dairy carabao-based products at Milka Krem, Dairy Box, and the Kardeli All-day Breakfast Diner—all located beside the DA-PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool compound in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija.

Ultimately, the facility is seen to boost the income of local dairy carabao farmers supplying these stores.

“We want to provide our customers easier access to our local dairy-based and meat products by providing various payment solutions. Our customers can now withdraw at the Milka Krem grounds, pay via QR, debit card, or through LinkBiz Portal every time they make a purchase at our stores,” said Jeraldin Torres, Marketing Manager of the DA-PCC Processing and Marketing Unit.

Link.Biz Portal is an e-payment facility for online purchases of products and services that incorporate various source accounts such as ATM saving accounts, VISA debit cards, BancNet member banks, international credit/debit/prepaid cards, and Globe GCash.

“Customers can now have many options to pay for their purchases, and this will minimize cash handling and security risks,” Group Head of LBP CLSU Branch Group SVP Sylvia Lim also added.

The inauguration was sealed with the presentation of the MOA by LBP CLSU Branch Manager AVP Aurelio Bagaoisan and SVP Lim to DA-PCC OIC Executive Director Dr. Caro Salces.

In his acceptance message, Dr. Salces expressed his thanks to LBP for its support of DA-PCC in assisting its clients and promoting the agency’s services. Dr. Salces hopes to have similar services soon in its regional centers nationwide.

The Bantog Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BSNMPC), regional winner of the medium agri-business category in the Ilocos Region, emerged as a national finalist during the 2023 Productivity Olympics awarding ceremony held at Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas City on October 19.

The Productivity Olympics is a national and biennial competition organized by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) in coordination with Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) nationwide under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Said competition aims to promote productivity, stimulate healthy and positive competition, and recognize the best micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in terms of productivity.

Enterprises were evaluated based on business excellence, employee engagement, innovation and green programs, and corporate social responsibility.

According to Rolly Mateo, Sr., BSNMPC’s chairperson, they are happy to win the regional level, but overjoyed to know that they made it to the national finals. Mateo said they were admittedly not ready for the competition but the recognition made them even stronger as a group as they were made aware of aspects that they still need to improve on.

Mateo also extended his utmost gratitude to the DA-Philippine Carabao Center for being the co-op’s consistent enabler and supporter.
“Syempre po […] gusto kong magpasalamat sa DA-PCC kasi sila naman talaga ang dahilan kung bakit kami nandito ngayon,” he said.
Through the DA-PCC’s collaboration with DepEd and DSWD for the Milk Feeding Program, the assisted cooperative has been actively supplying carabao’s milk from 2020 to the present, amounting to PHP177 million worth of milk supplied for the program.

Aside from milk-based products they offer, such as fresh, pasteurized, and chocolate milk, flavored yogurt milk drinks, polvoron, espasol, and pastillas de leche, BSNMPC has also ventured into marketing carabao’s meat such as karabeef bulalo, skinless longganisa, and tapa in chili garlic and sweet & spicy flavors to step-up into the growing industry.

All their dairy buffalo products are available at their Dairy Box outlet located in Bantog, Asingan, Pangasinan.

BSNMPC is one of the DA-Philippine Carabao Center at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University ‘s (DA-PCC at DMMMSU) assisted cooperatives.