SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija—The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm (GKEF) have agreed to enter into a partnership to put up a project that could help the stakeholders in the dairy industry.
The “Dairyard” project is envisioned to enrich and empower every stakeholder and consumer in the dairy industry, including farmers on the aspects of livelihood, health and wellness.
The PCC-GKEF joint project aims to form a model throughout the country, bringing together strategic partners, who have the resources and capability to produce high-value carabao milk-based dairy products.
PCC Acting Executive Director Arnel N. del Barrio said that the agency is working closely with the GKEF to ink a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to officially launch the Dairyard project.
“The PCC’s part in the project is the provision of 10 dairy buffalos to GKEF as its starting herd. We will also provide technical assistance to the recipient of buffalos by training them on buffalo production and management,” del Barrio said.
He also said the PCC will continue to assist the recipients in the duration of the project or until such time that success in dairy farming is evident.
Del Barrio said since the project of the GKEF is a public-private type of partnership, the GKEF will also help the PCC in terms of looking for new markets of milk produced and capability building of the PCC-assisted farmers in Bulacan.
He also explained that since GKEF will only provide 1 hectare of land as forage area for the 10 carabaos that will be awarded to them, collaboration with the PCC-assisted farmers in Bulacan who already have buffaloes and allocation of land are the first steps that should be taken to attain its mission of building the Filipino dream through the establishment of Dairyard
models all over the Philippines.
“The project of GKEF on Dairyard advocates raising of carabaos for milk and supports social entrepreneurship in the country. The intention is to provide Filipinos with livelihood opportunities on dairy farming,” del Barrio added.
Meanwhile, Marie Cavosora, chief enabling officer and founder of the Dairyard, said the farmers of GKEF community in Bulacan will be the pilot recipients or beneficiaries of the project.
Cavosora said the project ultimately aims to address poverty in the country.
“A specific manifestation of this project would be the production of gourmet keso, a high-end kind of cheese, which we produced and processed in the GKEF. Through the project, we will be processing high-end dairy products that are worth selling with competitive prices not only in the local market, but in the global market, as well,” Cavosora added.
