The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Hankyong National University (HKNU) recently started its collaborative project titled, “Improving Income Generation of Farmers through the Enhancement of the Value Chain Capacity from Milk Production to Sales”.
According to Dr. In-Sik Nam, project manager, the collaboration aims to achieve the following: (1) improving productivity of dairy buffaloes and quality of dairy products, (2) activating high quality milk production technology, (3) expanding high quality hygiene and safety dairy product processing technology, (4) strengthening value chain capacity in the dairy sector, and (5) training of farmers to improve the quality of local dairy farmers’ life in the Philippines.
KOICA-volunteer and Public Relations (PR) and Information Technology (IT) head leader EunGyeom Ahn, meanwhile, said that some 20 smallhold farms that are yet to be identified by the DA-PCC and KOICA will be the project beneficiaries.
“We also divided ourselves into four teams to ensure the smooth implementation of the project. The teams are the following: (1) dairy production, (2) milk processing, (3) milk hygiene and safety, and (4) PR and IT,” EunGyeom Ahn said.
The KOICA team is composed of 15 Korean volunteers and one field manager.
DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Arnel Del Barrio said that for DA-PCC’s part, full support and assistance will be accorded to the KOICA volunteers to include sharing of database related to dairy production and management, providing an office space for the KOICA volunteers, and designating personnel who will directly assist the volunteers all throughout the duration of the project.
“This project is in support of the national dairy program and is aligned with DA’s goal of augmenting farmers’ yield and income,” he added.
The project will run for 18 months.
