Dairy agency to put up cattle-breeding farm in Bukidnon

The National Dairy Authority (NDA) has signed an agreement with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to establish a dairy cattle multiplier farm in Bukidnon this year. The 300-head breeding farm will be established on 83 hectares of land owned by the Bureau in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. It will be similar to NDA's breeding farm in Ubay, Bohol and have a dairy milking facility, animal housing, feed silos and a water system. Local milk production has been growing by an average of seven percent in the last five years. Raw milk production increased by 12 percent year-on-year from 16.45 million liters to 18.45 million liters in 2012, exceeding the agency's 10-percent growth target. The NDA intends to keep the growth rate at 12 percent or more. At present, the country's milk sufficiency level is at 40 percent. After recently adjusting its projections upward, the NDA hopes to increase this to 50 percent by 2016 and reach self-sufficiency by 2021. In order to do this, the country's number of dairy animals should go from the present 40,696 to one million. In 2012, the government imported 10 bulls and 2,100 female cows for breeding, with their offspring to be redistributed to dairy farms. More multiplier farms will also be established to increase the breeding stock. The NDA also intends to procure 700 additional milking cattle. The government is targeting a milk production output of 20 million liters this year. — BM, GMA News