SAN AGUSTIN- Farmers in this northeastern town of Isabela will get a big boost in their bid to become the country’s dairy capital with the World Bank providing them with technical assistance for the development of a feed component for crossbreed carabaos.
The World Bank project partnered with the Philippine Carabao Center with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture and Central Luzon State University.
Mayor Virgilio Padilla said the grant is the first batch of technical assistance to the farmers here. The project is expected to make the crossbreed carabao produce 15 liters more of milk from its present production rate.
“We are actually expecting this weekend some technical people who are coming over here to demonstrate and assist our farmers and stakeholders on the new kind of feed which will enable our crossbreed carabaos to produce 15 liters more of milk from their usual production,” he said.
Padilla said the WB will also finance the construction of modern facilities of San Agustin’s dairy and processing plant as well as road concreting and construction of milking barns.
He said foreign nationals from Korea and Canada connected with the WB also financed the conduct of surveys and feasibility studies in the town.
“The grant from the World Bank was initially considered during the 9th Nuang (Carabao) Festival where national PCC officials saw the potentials of our municipality as the crossbreed carabao capital of the Philippines,” Padilla said.
Padilla also said that the PCC has already coordinated with the local government contacted and consulted our farmers of their intent to make San Agustin the crossbred carabao capital of the country.
“Our farmers have successfully learned the crossbreeding of buffaloes with our native carabaos through artificial insemination and our crossbreeds now number more than 2,000 heads,” he said.
Padilla said the crossbreeding activities in the town became noticeable as the number of animals grew and their production of milk and other dairy products began reaching markets outside Isabela.
He said these products bearing the name of the local government seal are now available in malls like Mart1, Robinsons, Savemore, Xentro Malls and Puregold as well as in trade fairs in the region. This has earned for the town a recognition from the Department of Trade and Industry – Region 02 in 2012 as the Dairy Capital of the region.
Padilla said carabao development program in his town began in 1993.
“We then saw the need for another source of livelihood for the townsfolk using their carabaos which would be left idle with the advent of farm mechanization,” he said.
Padilla said that with the opportunity to promote agri-tourism and its one-town-one-product came the idea of highlighting its agro-industry with the annual Nuang Festival in time with the three-day founding anniversary celebration.