For more than two decades, the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) has been implementing the Carabao Development Program (CDP) with meaningful accomplishments, and as it commemorates its 27th year of existence, current initiatives are focused on helping achieve the DA’s twin goal “Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita”.
Consistent with the said goal, this year’s anniversary is aptly themed “Value Innovations: New Thinking in Carapreneurship”, which feeds directly to the agency’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan titled “Propelling PCC towards a Dynamic Carabao Sectoral Development”.
“As a research and development agency, we create value innovations through the development of technologies that can help progress carapreneurship in both the private and the public sectors,” said Alvin David of the PCC Planning and Information Management Division, also this year’s chairperson for the anniversary celebration.
He noted that technology outputs of PCC, in products development for example, should be able to cut production time and cost while upholding product quality. In this way, not only is the interest of carapreneurs is served but the customers’ as well.
The PCC’s strategic plan is mainly anchored on “Value-creating Innovations to Improve Productivity, Profitability, and Sustainability (VIPS) of carabao-based enterprises (CBE)”. It includes the Carabao Value Chain Improvement Services (CVIS) that usher enterprise development through improvement of organizational capability of credit conduits, province-wide CBE models, client knowledge acquisition, and capability building.
Another initiative is called “Carabao Herd Improvement Program Services” (CHIPS), which aims to support current genetic improvement program initiatives in water buffaloes by way of more efficient data gathering, analysis, and feedback system.
Likewise, modeling solutions to support productivity of PCC ‘s clients such as carapreneurs, carabao raisers, and farmers will be done through the Research for Development and Innovation System (R4DIS).
Digitization of PCC’s extension and advisory services will also be actively pursued.
The PCC was established in 1992 by virtue of Republic Act No. 7307. It is mandated “to conserve, propagate, and promote the carabao as a source of milk, meat, draft power and hide to benefit the rural farmers.”
In 1993, it started its operations through a small central office in Quezon City, as supported by a small network of regional centers. Later in 1998, its national headquarters and gene pool facilities were established in the Science City Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
Currently, the PCC has 12 regional centers across the country, which work together towards achieving its noble mission of improving the plight of its primary stakeholders, the smallholder farmers, along with providing assistance to other actors in the carabao industry value chain.
