22 May 2012

2 minute read

Asia

Dairy Confederation National Chairman Danilo Fausto bared this before the more than 500 participants of the 15th Dairy Congress and Expo which opened at the Hotel Supreme, 16 to 18 May.

According to Mr Fausto, with the continuous collaboration between the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the National Dairy Authority (NDA) and the DairyCon, much have been accomplished over the years, including the crafting of the Dairy Roadmap; but much still need to be done to bring the dairy industry to a higher level.

Fausto lauded the NDA for taking a bold step for its efforts to infuse 60,000 heads of dairy animals and the production of 50,000 genetically-upgraded dairy cattle yearly until 2016, in support of the country’s dairy industry.

He stressed that that aside from animal infusion, there is a need for the establishment of a milk feeding program, from the local government unit (LGU) up to the national level, which, according to him, is another major driver to set the Dairy Roadmap on its course.

“We call on all of you present here to knock on the door of your congressman, governor, mayor, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional offices, and the non-government organizations to convince the people in authority to undertake a milk feeding programme in your area, which would not only address the malnutrition among children but will also provide a ready market for the milk, you, as dairy farmers are producing,” Mr Fausto said.

In addition, to ensure the profitability of the dairy enterprise, Mr Fausto also called for appropriate market studies and support for the management of dairy animals, which includes capability building and technical training, as well as organisational infrastructure and facility support from government.

According to DA Assistant Secretary Davinio Catbagan, the country consumes an average of P65 billion of dairy products a year and in 2011 alone, the figure stood at P90 billion, although more than 90 per cent of our milk supply are still being imported since out of the nine million cattle in the country, only 37,800 are dairy animals.

Meantime, aside from the large number of participants that supported the 15th National Dairy Congress, the dairy industry also got statements of support from various guests during the programme, which included, New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Reuben Levermore, US Department of Agriculture – Foreign Agricultural Service counselor Phillip Shull, Batangas Congressman Mark Mendoza, who heads the House Committee on Agriculture, former Senator Leticia Shahani, and NDA Administrator Grace Cenas.

TheCattleSite News Desk