SAN JOSE De BUENAVISTA, Antique — The National Dairy Authority (NDA) will be distributing 50 cattle to Antique farmers this month.
Vicente Bitolinamisa III of the NDA said in an interview Thursday that Antique has been allocated 300 heads of pregnant dairy animals this year, of which the initial 50 will arrive on January 28.
He said the initial 50 cattle will be distributed to farmers who have already been identified from the towns of Barbaza, Laua-an, Bugasong and Patnongon.
“The cattle is a crossbreed Holstein Sajiwal,” he said.
The crossbreed will come from Mindanao and Luzon areas and are expected to produce 35 liters of dairy per animal per day.
It is estimated to cost PHP85,000 to PHP95,000 per head.
“The cattle dispersal is not a dole out to farmers but a soft loan with no interest to farmers and repayable within four years,” he said.
The repayment will also be in the form of animal that will again be dispersed to other farmers.
Bitolinamisa said the total 300 heads of pregnant dairy animals will be distributed in three clusters in northern, central and southern Antique.
He said since the initial cow heads to be dispersed are expected to be five to six months old pregnant, then the dairy production will be after three to four months.
The dairy will be supplied to the Belison Multi-Purpose Cooperative which has embarked in dairy processing since 2010 and had been successful so far and to the University of Antique milk processing facility.
He added that private players would also be interested to avail of the dairy production from the farmers. (Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/PNA)
