Author: Chrissalyn Marcelo

A branch of ‘Milka Krem’ and a dairy and pastries processing plant and outlet were opened in two strategic sites in Luzon as showcases of the Philippine Carabao Center’s (PCC) continuing efforts in strengthening its Carabao-based Enterprise Development program (CBED).

The Milka Krem branch is on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) beside the Baker Memorial Hall while the Rosario Dairy & Pastries (Processing Plant/Outlet) is located at Poblacion East, Rosario, La Union.

The grand opening of Milka Krem at UPLB was last April 7 while the launching of the Rosario Dairy & Pastries (Processing Plant/Outlet) took place last March 17.

Both stores were established to serve as a technology-business demonstration and learning hubs for the farmers.

Milka Krem at UPLB

The Milka Krem at UPLB is established on a 300 sq m facility with PCC funding worth Php10M. Its establishment was made possible through the collaboration of PCC@UPLB and UPLB.

Products that are being sold in this branch include fresh milk, choco milk, coffee milk, fruit-flavored juices, white cheese, mozzarella, pastillas de leche, assorted flavors of yoghurt and yoghurt drink, flavored yema and ice cream. They carried the brand name “Carabest” with the products coming from dairy cooperatives and/or associations and an entrepreneur being assisted by the PCC @ UPLB.

The cooperatives and associations are the General Trias Dairy Raisers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Rosario Dairy Raisers Association, Magdalena Dairy Raisers Association, and the  Llano Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative while the private entrepreneur is from Balayan, Batangas.

The branch is managed by the PCC@UPLB under the supervision of its OIC center chief Dr. Thelma Saludes.

Rosario Dairy & Pastries

The Rosario Dairy & Pastries (processing plant and outlet) was established with a funding of Php2.9 million on a 120 square meter area. It is managed by the Rosario La Union Dairy Producers Association, Inc. (RLUDPAI), one of the dairy cooperatives being assisted by PCC@DMMMSU.

The establishment of this facility was made possible through the collaboration of PCC@DMMMSU with the local government unit of Rosario, La Union and the Department of Trade and Industry. The Rosario LGU provided the land where the facility was established while the DTI gave dairy processing equipment that included freezer, refrigerator, chiller double burner, and a working table.

The facility was established for the processing and selling of the milk produced by crossbred and purebred carabaos of the farmers in Rosario, La Union and its other neighboring towns, according to Dr. Gloria Dela Cruz, center chief of PCC@DMMMSU.

Presently, five farmers’ cooperatives or associations are selling their milk harvest in this facility. They are the  RLUDPAI; Aringay Dairy Carabao Raisers Association, Bantog Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Samahan ng Maralitang Magsasaka ng Patalan in Lingayen, Pangasinan; and Naguilian, La Union farmers who were entrusted with carabaos by the PCC.

Among the products currently available for sale to the public are pasteurized milk, chocomilk, fruit-flavored milk (pineapple, four seasons, strawberry, blueberry, mango and pineapple-orange), pastillas-de-leche, yogurt, espasol, ube halaya, puto, chicharabao, macaroons, dulce de leche candy and brownies. A number of private entrepreneurs in Luzon also sell their products on consignment basis.

These two facilities are expected to boost the farmers’ income from the sales of their carabao’s milk and processed dairy products.

The first batch of assessors and trainers in milking machine operation were trained through the joint effort of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), and National Dairy Authority (NDA) at the PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool on May 8-12, 2017.

Representatives from NDA, PCC, state universities offering Agricultural Engineering, Bureau of Animal Industry, National Meat Inspection Service, and the local government unit of Cebu participated in the week-long training called “Agricultural Machinery Operation NCII on Milking Operations for Trainers and Assessors”.

“The first group of trainers and assessors on milking machine operation will come from these participants,” Kemuel Borromeo, ATI Development Management Officer, said.

The participants will undergo another training called ‘Training Methodology 1’ with the assistance of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), where they will prepare milking operations standard modules. They will use these modules when they train farmers and other groups who are interested to be NCII-accredited ‘Milkers’.

“The Milking Operation NC II Qualification consists of competencies that a person must achieve to conduct pre-milking activities, perform milking operation and carry-out post-milking operation,” Borromeo explained.

The need for government institutions to incorporate Gender Analysis (GA) in all stages of their program or project cycles was stressed during a technical caucus at the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) National Headquarters and Gene Pool.

The activity was organized by the PCC Research and Development Division and was attended by PCC scientists and researchers.

“GA is a systematic methodology for examining the differences in roles and norms for women and men, girls and boys; the different levels of power they hold; their differing needs, constraints, and opportunities; and the impact of these differences in their lives,” Ma. Fe B. Singson of the National Gender and Development (GAD) Resource Program, Philippine Commission on Women said.

Singson explained that the GA’s goal is for the implementers of projects or programs to get a better understanding of the different genders and their roles in the community, and for them to get better results from development programs they want to implement.

She added that GA will provide analysis of the division of labor and access and control of resources and an understanding of gender relations and their implications for development policy and implementation.

It also disaggregates specific genders to get a better view of their important roles, a review of women’s priorities, women’s practical needs and strategic interest and ways to address them; and a review of social, economic, and political power dynamics, she added.

Singson also said that government institutions, among others, should have an understanding of what gender is and they should apply gender analysis in all situations.

“This is what we call gender perspective. It is an outlook and a way of seeing a set of an insight which informs our understanding of people, the society and how they interact in terms of what men and women do when and why,” she explained.

She emphasized that GA should be conducted in all aspects of a program or project – from its identification, planning, and design of activities to its implementation and evaluation.

“We should use our ‘gender lens’ so we can see the participation, interests, and realities of both men and women,” Singson concluded.

The Philippines, according to a report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which covered the years 2011-2016,   ranked 9th among 134 countries based on an index gaps in providing equal opportunities and resources for women gender analysis implementation.

The index gaps were identified in the 2010 World Economic Forum.

The ADB report meant that the country has made significant progress in promoting gender equality.

A relatively big “kesong puti” (white cottage cheese) was among various dairy products displayed during an exhibition of products that features the best of the Filipino cuisine at SM Cabanatuan recently.

The cheese, measuring 118cm by 98cm, with a thickness of four inches, was made by the experts of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC). It used 300 liters of carabao’s milk provided by four dairy cooperatives in the province as the main ingredient.

The donor-cooperatives were the Eastern Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Bagong Pagasa sa Bagong Talavera Cooperative, and Pulong-Buli Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

The showcasing of the relatively big “kesong puti”  was made possible thru the initiative of the  Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Nueva Ecija in partnership with PCC, SM City Cabanatuan, and the Provincial Government.

“This activity was also in support of our common vision of making Nueva Ecija the ‘Carabao Dairy Capital’ of the Philippines. It also helped promote the dairy products of the various dairy cooperatives in our province as well as the expertise of our local chefs,” DTI Provincial Director Brigida Pili said.

She said Nueva Ecija is being pushed with the annexation of the title with the ultimate aim of inviting the attention of investors as well as the buying public in this other unique attribute of the province.

Nueva Ecija remains the premier rice producing province in the country. Since the 1920’s, it has earned the moniker “Rice Granary of the Philippines”.

The display, and later public tasting of the PCC-made “kesong puti”, was the product featured in the first-ever “Madrid Fusion Event” held at SM City in Cabanatuan City.

The event was also mounted in 17 other SM Supermalls nationwide to promote the country’s culinary traditions and globally recognized innovations.

Also part of the activity at SM City in Cabanatuan was the ceremonial slicing of the big “kesong puti” and the culinary demonstration by known local chefs who used carabao’s milk as the main ingredient for their products, that include leche flan, among others. Products developed by the different dairy cooperatives in the province were also shown in the three-day trade fair.

“We are delighted to be part of this momentous event in our province. Of all the dairy cooperatives in Nueva Ecija, we are honored to be one of the cooperatives that donated liters of carabao’s milk to make this event a success. We don’t regret donating 50 liters of our coop’s harvested milk for the making of the biggest kesong puti,” Michael Pascual, chairman of Bagong Pag-asa sa Bagong Talavera Cooperative, proudly said in Filipino.

Special guests during the event were Pili, PCC Scientist I Dr. Peregino Duran, Provincial Cooperative Entrepreneurship Development Office head Elvie Ronquillo, as the Governor’s representative; Governor’s chief of staff Ricky Velasco, SM City Cabanatuan Manager Mark Carlo Herrera, and SM store assistant branch managers Joel Ilagan and Carolyn del Rosario.

Select staff members of PCC and DTI, dairy farmers, businessmen, and members from the Provincial Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council also attended the event.

Thirty-seven researches were presented during the annual R4D pre in-house review last March 24 and 29 at the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC). Ten of these researches were completed, and twenty-seven are on-going.

The technical researches were presented on March 24, while the researches intended for farmers were presented on March 29.

The researches were divided into four thematic areas. These are biosafety, genetic improvement-animal genomics/genetic diversity and cryopreservation, genetic improvement-reproductive and cryopreservation techniques, and production management system.

“This activity is an avenue for sharing of research results among PCC researchers,” Dr. Annabelle Sarabia, R4D Coordinator, said.

The studies presented were evaluated in preparation for the in-house review to be held in June, where these researches will be evaluated by external evaluators.

Some of the topics discussed during the activity were urea-treated rice straw as feedstuff for buffaloes, enhancement of buffalo milk production (feeding and nutritional requirement), the efficiency of ArtificiaI Insemination, animal healthcare practices, milk quality and safety assurance, as well as the modalities and projects that focus on strengthening the carabao-based enterprise development in San Agustin, Isabela and in the National (Nueva Ecija) and Regional Impact Zones.

Researches on the enhancement of milk production under the five projects funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) were also presented. These projects will serve as models for increasing milk production through nutrition, reproduction, health, and milk quality and safety assurance.

In his opening remarks on March 24, PCC Executive Director Dr. Arnel Del Barrio encouraged researchers to write more research proposals and assured them that the top management will support their research endeavors.

“Do not get discouraged [if your proposals do not get approved]. Continue researching and I encourage you to do more researches on nutrition and on improving the livelihood of our farmers,” he said.

He further encouraged the researchers to relay the results of their studies to the sectors of the society that need it such as the farmers.

Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) Scientists Dr. Danilda Hufana-Duran of the Reproduction and Physiology Section and Dr. Claro N. Mingala of the Livestock Biotechnology Center received Achievement Awards from the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) during its Annual Scientific Conference and 84th General Membership Assembly on March 22, 2017 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Manila.

The Achievement Award is given annually by NRCP in recognition to individuals and institutions that performed excellently in their respective fields.

The NRCP is mandated to promote and support fundamental research for continuing improvement of research capability of individual or group scientists; foster linkages with local and international scientific organizations for enhanced cooperation in the development and sharing of scientific information; provide advice on problems and issues of national interest; and promotion of scientific and technological culture to all sectors of society.  It is a body of scientists and researchers under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and is divided into 13 Divisions according to specific fields of expertise of the members. Dr.Hufana- Duran is a member of Division VI (Agriculture and Forestry) while Dr. Mingala is a Division XIII (Veterinary Medicine) member.

Dr. Hufana-Duran is recognized for her pioneering research and accomplishments on the development and use of advanced reproductive biotechnologies and establishing laboratory standards and protocols that resulted in the production of genetically superior buffalo calves out of embryo transfer of in vitro-produced-vitrified embryos. Dr. Mingala, on the other hand, is recognized for his contributions in the fields of veterinary immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, and public health; as well as development of DNA-based and rapid diagnostic tools for economically important animal diseases.

Both were conferred a plaque of recognition, medallion, and cash gift.