Yamang Bukid Farm, one of Palawan’s most visited tourism destinations, is embarking on dairy production to help improve the nutrition of school children, especially those in public schools.
This after the farm tourism destination in the city’s Barangay Bacungan availed of a soft loan from the Philippine Carabao Center to raise imported and high quality breed of carabao that can be a good source of milk and other dairy products.
Some 11 Murrah buffaloes were initially given by the Nueva Ecija-based state animal propagation hub in a “public-private partnership scheme” to the Puerto Princesa City farm destination, according to Dr. Arnel del Barrio, PCC executive director.
“This is part of our carabao enterprise development wherein we help cooperatives, individual farmers and families by lending them the carabaos like a soft loan. Beneficiaries like Yamang Bukid Farm repay it with another carabao which will be given to [another beneficiary],” Del Barrio said.
Ten female buffaloes (also technically known as cows) and a bull were received by Yamang Bukid Farm and were promptly shipped from Nueva Ecija.
One of the four pregnant buffaloes gave birth to a healthy female calf affectionately called “baby YB” during the trip.
Hezir Rabaya, one of the farm’s managers who fetched the herd, said a concrete barn was built on a hill overlooking the sprawling farm to house the animals. “We have enough facilities and personnel for this project,” said Rabaya.
The farming destination, Rabaya said, has several employees who underwent training on quality milk production at PCC. These Yamang Bukid employees are the ones who will help him in taking care of the imported water buffaloes and in milk production.
Del Barrio said PCC typically disperses 200 carabaos yearly on average and that Yamang Bukid Farm is among the “numerous applicants” to the program.
“Yours is exceptional. Your story of doing business to help others is inspiring. I also came to know that you are accredited [as a training center] by [Agricultural Training Institute]. In short, you have everything PCC can hope for in a partner,” the PCC head said.
He said both PCC and Yamang Bukid Farm share the same advocacy of helping provide a livelihood to farmers and their families. “The bottomline is to help alleviate poverty and give good nutrition to the schoolchildren,” del Barrio said.