Two project beneficiaries of the Intensified Community-Based Dairy Enterprise Development (ICBDED) Project are successfully and sustainably managing their dairy goat operations in Central Luzon.
The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) visited on June 14 to 17, 2022 the Sawat Overseas Workers and Family Association (SOWFA) in Tarlac and the Triple Three Jeremiah Association (TTJA) in Pampanga.
Based on the monitoring, SOWFA produces up to 100 liters of milk per day.It took the association eight months to yield sufficient milk from the 104 Saanen and Alpine dairy goats distributed by the National Dairy Authority (NDA) on July 1, 2021. (see related article)
SOWFA processes milk into caramel products to prolong shelf life and make them more appealing to the consumers, given the lack of a permanent market for fresh goat milk.The association also plans to open a coffee shop and a pasalubong center, which will use goat milk as the product base and increase the demand for fresh goat milk.
Meanwhile, TTJA opted to process the goat milk they produce into cheese and ice cream merchandise.
After receiving 37 heads of dairy goats in August 2021, TTJA managed to produce enough milk for selling after five months and now yields 40 to 70 liters daily.
Fifty percent of milk production is sold to dog breeders, while the other half is for kids’ consumption.
TTJA Vice President Randy Velario advises those starting in the dairy goat industry “to have proper knowledge, training, and resources to start a dairy farm.”
It is also for this reason that TTJA offers seminars and training on dairy goat raising with minimal fees.
TTJA received its Agricultural Training Institute accreditation as a Learning Site for Agriculture on June 1, 2020.
The ICBDED is a PhP1.56-billion project under the United States Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act or Public Law 480 (US PL480) Title 1 Program.
ICBDED seeks to increase the income of dairy farmers and improve the nutrition of Filipino families by increasing herd numbers and boosting local milk production.
It is jointly implemented by NDA and the Philippine Carabao Center, with PCAF as the project fund manager and the project monitoring and evaluation lead agency. | JCL (with reports and photos from the Monitoring and Evaluation Section)
