Backyard farmers to benefit in P167B program for ruminant industry

BY PAUL ICAMINA
WHAT may look like obstacles are opportunities.

All that’s needed is a well-coordinated push for the ruminant animal industry to be a vibrant agribusiness, according to the Ruminant Animal Industry Road Map 2010-2034.

The government will spend P167 billion starting last year until 2034, or P7 billion annually, to kick-start the country’s moribund dairy and ruminant industry.

The aim is to increase the 3.9 million ruminants in 2010 to 6.9 million by 2034.

The output: increase in breeding stocks every generation of about five years, with corresponding increase in the production of milking animals for distribution to small farmers.

One of the perceived opportunities – instead of obstacles – is the ever-increasing demand for milk and meat due to the high population growth rate, urbanization and rising income.

Ruminants – dairy cattle, carabaos, goats and sheep – can produce high-value products such as milk.

But each year, the country imports 99 percent of milk and dairy products worth $712 million (in 2008). About 84 percent of that is in powdered form.

While it is rising ever so slowly, domestic milk production is only about 35 percent of total liquid milk supply.

With meat, local ruminants contribute only about half of the carabeef and beef.

All these because of the small local herd: less than 30,000 heads of dairy buffaloes, cattle and goats.

Ruminants are also raised basically in smallholdings; nearly all of beef cattle are raised in backyards – 98 percent of the beef cattle and 99.9 percent of buffaloes, cattle and goats.

The formula to correct the dire situation, as charted by the road map, is simple enough: raise more ruminants by using crop by-products and idle lands. More.