The Department of Agriculture (DA) is planning to establish Bohol as the country’s “dairy capital” through the Philippine Dairy Development Program (PDPP).
According to Secretary Manny Piñol, he will be meeting with Gov. Edgar Chatto and Ubay Mayor Costan Reyes this week to discuss the proposal.
“Very soon, Bohol will not only be known for the Chocolate Hills but also as the producer of fresh milk in the country,” Piñol said in a Facebook post.
Bohol was considered as a top candidate to be the center of dairy production mainly due to the Ubay Stock Farm, a 3,000-hectare farm in Ubay owned by the DA, and its physical features.
“It [Bohol] is a natural confinement area for imported cattle since it is an island,” he added.
Piñol noted that the project would have abundant benefits to the province should local officials and Boholanos be in favor of the DA’s proposal.
“Along with the establishment of the Dairy Farm in Ubay, we will ask big milk companies like Nestle to look into the prospects of establishing a fresh milk-packaging plant in the Ubay Stock Farm,” he said.
The project is expected to generate jobs in Ubay and nearby towns and improve the livelihood of farmers “who would be engaged in the planting of forage and in the fattening of the male offsprings of the dairy cattle.”
According to Piñol, a modern slaughterhouse and processing facility will also be set up in the town of Ubay.
In the upcoming meeting of the DA secretary and Chatto, stakeholders in the local livestock industry, representatives of big milk companies and officials of the DA VII are also expected to attend. (Allen Doydora)