With its unwavering commitment to enhance technologies and practices that conserve, propagate and promote the carabao as a source of milk, meat, and draft power for the benefit of small-holder farmers, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) will be celebrating its 24th anniversary on March 22-31, 2017.
This event’s theme, “Boosting milk and meat production for better income and nutrition”, is in support of the basic mandate of the Department of Agriculture in securing the food supply of the country, according to Dr. Eric Palacpac, Chief of the Knowledge Management Division of PCC.
“Here at PCC, we are focusing on increasing the volume and quality of meat and milk from the carabao. This will lead to increased incomes for the farmers and other key players in the carabao industry, and better nutrition for the consumers of carabao’s milk and meat,” he explained.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food will serve as the keynote speaker during the anniversary program on March 28.
There will be an awarding of purebred buffaloes, equipment, and supplies to partner-farmer-cooperatives and institutions during the event.
The plenary sessions will be in the afternoon of the same day. The agency’s “Partnership with DSWD on milk supplementation”, “Value Chain Analysis of Carabao and Carabao-based Products in Visayas and Mindanao”, “Status of carabao industry and updates on listing of dairy enterprises”, “MILK-P (Mga Impormasyon at Lokasyon ng Kalabaw sa Pilipinas) geo-tagging of carabaos and CBED (Sindangan Model)”, will be presented.
Furthermore, the R4D pre inhouse review will be held in two parts, i.e., on March 24 and 29. This activity will present on-going and recently completed researches that aim to address the carabao industry’s gaps and concerns.
“We expect 500 PCC employees, farmers, and representatives from different government agencies and private entities to attend the event,” Dr. Palacpac said.
The “Gabi ng Parangal”, where awards will be given to outstanding employees of the agency, will be on March 30.
