BUFFALO DAIRYING IS FOR THE YOUTH, TOO

In the Philippines, everyone with a college degree commonly aspires for a white collar job.

Such is not the case for Patrick Pascual, 29, of Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija. He has a degree of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education, which he earned at the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology in October 2009, but decided to engage in dairy buffalo production and dairying right after graduation. He is also a VBAIT. To fully acquire the knowledge and skills in this kind of undertaking, he first assisted his father, Ricardo, a member of a dairy cooperative in their place, in tending the buffaloes loaned out by the PCC under its “Dairy Module Program”.

In 2016, he attended the PCC’s training on AI and Pregnancy Diagnosis. He then became a certified VBAIT serving the needs for AI of the carabaos or buffaloes in his community and those owned by fellow members of the Pulong Buli Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

He also became a milk collector of their cooperative as a sideline.

In time, he acquired a dairy buffalo of his own. Through diligence and hard work, he soon built a herd of eight dairy buffaloes, which are all females and three are lactating. Another two dairy buffaloes are considered as family owned. To maximize the benefits from dairy farming, Patrick also engaged in vermicomposting. He sells the vermicompost at Php200 per 50-kg bag. “There are indeed lots of benefits from dairy buffalo raising. Aside from the milk which gives me daily income, there is also money from the organic fertilizer generated out of the animal waste,” Patrick said.

Every day, he collects an average of 4-5 liters of milk per dairy buffalo which is sold at Php55 per liter. From his three lactating animals, he easily earns at least Php660 to Php825 daily.

Considering that the lactating buffaloes can yield milk for 300 days, the income is more than enough to sustain the basic needs of a bachelor like him who can additionally save up for his future.

He said that through their family’s buffalo dairying, they were able to finance house improvements and even bought some home appliances.

In the nine years that Patrick is in buffalo dairying, he said he has already mastered the dairy production and routine management including deworming, feeding and vitamin supplementation.

“I am thankful for the enduring assistance and support of PCC. I also appreciate the fact that through PCC, my father and I have found a sustainable source of income,” Patrick said. On advancing his stake in the dairy venture, he also wants to learn about the production of milkbased products and probably meat processing in the future.

“I know that raising dairy buffaloes has a great potential to become a sustainable source of income. I see a wealth of opportunities that are just waiting to be tapped. Another profitable enterprise, I think, is processing buffalo meat,” Patrick said.

In 2017, Patrick was named “Modelong Kabataan sa Kalabawan” for his accomplishments as a young dairy buffalo farmer, milk collector, organic fertilizer producer, animal health provider, and VBAIT.

At his young age, Patrick has already made his mark as a model and an inspiration for the youth. He is a college degree holder but didn’t hesitate to engage in agriculture, particularly in the field of livestock production.