Senator Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the senate committee on agriculture and food, declared her full support toward the continued development of the dairy industry
She gave this assurance as keynote speaker during the 5th Dairy Business Conference and Stakeholder’s Forum held at the Cagayan State University (CSU) – Andrews campus last December 6-7. The theme of the conference was “Greening the Dairy Industry, Levelling-Up for Greater Production and Sustainability.”
“With the help of government line agencies and non-government organizations, we will work hard to position ourselves in leading the dairy industry in the country,” she declared.
She described the dairy industry as a budding business enterprise established by farmers who are unceasingly engaging in the harvesting or processing of milk, mostly from carabaos, cows or goats. She added that this industry is an important contributor to the overall welfare of the society.
Topics related to the updates and development of the dairy industry and the sharing of practices and success stories from dairy cooperatives were taken up during the conference.
Among those who spoke during the conference were Eastern Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative (EPMPC) Chairman Gilbert Daduyo of San Jose City and successful entrepreneur Isagani Cajucom of Lupao, Nueva Ecija. They encouraged fellow farmers by way of presenting their own personal experiences in dairy buffalo production and the establishment of related enterprise like commercial silage production.
Matters about silage production, total mixed ration, solar power, milking machine operation, grass chopping machine operation and rice straw baler machine were taken up in the plenary talks sessions of the conference. The talks were complemented by a field demonstration.
The PCC buffalo breeding strategies, processing and marketing of dairy products, dairy hub concept, as well as the Production Loan-Easy Access (PLEA) were also discussed during the conference.
They were meant to inspire the participants to explore various possibilities and opportunities for their livelihood and buffalo management and production activities.
Awards, recognition
One of the highlights of the two-day conference was the awarding of the “outstanding carabao farmers” citation. The search was spearheaded by the PCC at Cagayan State University (PCC@CSU). Eight carabao raisers from the region were given awards under different categories.
Cited as “outstanding native carabao dairy farmer” was Redden B. Dupaya of San Antonio, Lal-lo, Cagayan.
Winners of the three awards for rearing outstanding crossbred dairy buffalos based on bloodline (87%, 75% and 50%), were San Agustin farmers namely Romulo Domingo, Roland de Leon and Eddie Allado, respectively.
The Outstanding Bulgarian Buffalo Farmer award was won by Ricardo Pamittan from IFC, Namabbalan Norte, Tuguegarao City while Mr. Leonardo Bautista from Bagunot MPC, Baggao, Cagayan brought home the dairy farmer award in the Italian breed category. The average daily milk production of Ricardo’s Bulgarian buffalo was 6.7 liters while Leonardo’s Italian breed was 6.8 liters.
Likewise, ownership of two purebred bulls was turned over to Johny Laurente of Cordova and Edwin Medrano of Campo, both in Iguig, Cagayan, for successfully fulfilling the requirements of the bull loan program.
Engr. Nestor Bautista, Chairman of CaVaFeDCo, extended his congratulatory message to the dairy farmer-awardees.
The event’s almost 500 participants included dairy farmers, input providers, market outfits, and enablers, and students.
The event’s organizers were the PCC@CSU, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office (DA-RFO II), Isabela State University (ISU), CSU and Cagayan Valley Dairy Cooperative (CaVaFeDCo).
Most of the speakers in the plenary sessions were from the PCC national headquarters, National Dairy Authority (NDA), DA-RFO II, Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 2, and ISU. Select private individuals, entrepreneurs and representatives of different organizations also gave their talks during the event.
