FROM A FARMER IN MAGALANG, PAMPANGA: ‘THERE CERTAINLY IS A BRIGHT FUTURE IN BUFFALO DAIRYING’

It is almost 20 years now since Andy Poe Garcia of Magalang, Pampanga started rearing buffaloes. It began in that day when his brother-in-law talked to him and convinced him to try it. Try he did and he never was sorry for it. He now owns a herd of about 60 buffaloes and earns a six figure income annually from his dairying business.

“I will be in this kind of livelihood for the rest of my life and I like it,” Andy Poe said with a big smile on his face.

Andy Poe used to work as an Overseas Filipino Worker. When he returned to the country, he juggled work as a rice farmer and as a truck driver. When he decided to try dairying, his parents gave him a calf.

“For almost four years, I silently prayed that the animal given to me would become a fine dairy buffalo,” he said.

He had no steady income then but he never stopped believing that one day he will reap the fruits of his labor. Indeed it happened. That calf given to him turned to a good milk yielder.

Then in later years, the number of buffaloes he was tending increased as he became among the farmers given by the PCC@CLSU with dairy buffalo as loan. This was coupled with the necessary guidance and assistance on buffalo dairying.

His immense patience and diligence led him to become a very progressive dairy buffalo farmer-entrepreneur which he never imagined. He was even recognized in their community as a member of the Mapiña Irrigators Association with the most number of dairy buffaloes.

Nowadays, he collects an average of 80 liters of milk a day which he sells at Php80 per liter. He considers it as a big blessing as it drives away worries on how to provide for his family’s needs every day. At the break of dawn, he is certain that lots of milk will be flowing from his lactating animals and that means money that is more than enough for their expenditures.

He doesn’t focus on dairying alone. He also rears male calves that he sells in due time.

He helps fellow farmers in his community, by entrusting some of his animals through a “paiwi” system.

“I am not a rich man. I would say I just have a quiet comfortable life due to the rewards I reaped from my buffalo. In fact, whenever I’m asked about my income, I simply say that I just have something adequate for my family,” Andy Poe modestly said.

He admitted that there were times he thought of giving up because of the big load on his shoulders in tending his animals. But his family’s welfare serves as his motivation to continue. He definitely aspires to give a life better than an ordinary to his family.

Due to his endeavors, Andy Poe was able to support, without much financial problem, the education of his three children. Two of them had earned their respective college degrees while the other one is about to enter college.

He was also able to build a good shelter for his animal, renovate his house, and acquire a few vehicles for his easy travel and transport of his milk harvest.

His advice for those who want to pursue dairying: “Be tough, continue on looking for the bright side of things, and be patient enough in order to succeed”.