Philippine Carabao Center Director Dr. Caro Salces reports Ubay now produces over two thousand liters of native buffalo and cow’s milk, a thousand liters coming from native buffalo. This he related at the launching of the Gatas sa Eskwelahan Para sa Kabataan ug Katawhan Project in Ubay Central Elementary School on Thursday. The school based dairy enterprise project is a partnership of the Provincial Government and the PCC with the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Ubay under the Comprehensive Health Agricultural Technologies and Tourism Opportunities Development Program (CHATTO Program). Gov. Edgar M. Chatto congratulated Ubay on its advancement in technology, its industrious people and its partnerships which has paved the way for achievements in milk enterprise.

“I met with the Provincial Board on plans to visit national and local programs implemented all throughout the province to identify outstanding learning areas which will serve as models for other LGUs to pursue programs and projects that complement with each other. We are looking at the Philippine Carabao Center as one of these areas. We want to be able to look at the development of the province as a whole,” he said. One inspiring story was shared by an outstanding dairy cooperator and farmer in the town. Valentina Balaba shared the difficulties she had sending her first child to college and how she is now sending her second child to college through native buffalo milking under the CHATTO program. Balaba now makes up to Php 5,400 a month, producing 4 liters of milk per day.

A similar success story is one of Raul Dupalco, a best performing dairy farmer of San Vicente, Ubay, who currently earns Php 8,100 a month by producing 6 liters of native buffalo milk per day. Ninety nine percent of milk in the country is imported. Ubay wants to be able to produce and consume our own milk, and in the future become a major producer of milk, said Mayor Eutiquio Bernales. The project shall initially be implemented in the barangays of Poblacion, San Pascual, Benliw, Tipolo, and Biabas by setting up milk collection centers as a way of supporting farmers through economic enhancement and also as a means of addressing malnutrition at the same time. Chatto has been championing the implementation of programs that hit priority areas for development taking in hand positive outcomes for related target areas as well. (Leah/EDCom)