PCC beefs up carabao genetic program in Ilocos Norte

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff Reporter

Batac City—The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) here has intensified their campaign to conserve native water buffalos by increasing their genetic potential and promote it as a source of alternative livelihood among rural farming villages.

Threatened by the apparent decline of land available for cultivation due to a dramatic increase of infrastructure developments such as construction of commercial buildings and houses, the PCC recognizes the need to intensify crop-livestock integration, eyeing improved breeds of water buffalo as a great source of meat, milk and draft.

Grace Marjorie Recta, PCC regional center director, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture based in Batac City, said every year they are targeting about 5,000 artificial insemination services to water buffaloes in Ilocos Norte’s rural farming villages mostly in Marcos and San Nicolas towns.

With highly-skilled private technicians the PCC trained to perform artificial insemination (AI), Ms. Recta hopes that the Philippines no longer need to import to improve the quality of native water buffaloes here.

With a success rate of 25 to 30 percent, the PCC reported that they have produced at least 800 mestizos in 2013.

At present, the PCC still provides free semen to beneficiaries but the actual conduct of AI performed by private technicians now has a standard fee of at least P500 for water buffalo and P600 for cow.

Ms. Recta added that riverine breeds produce more milk and doubles farmer’s income through organized crossbreeding of swamp and riverine buffaloes.

For example, the income derived from milk of crossbreed in comparable with that derived from 1 hectare of rice. Income from fresh milk increases with the increase milk yield resulting from backcrossing with dairy breeds.

In Marcos and San Nicolas towns, Ms. Recta said the PCC has assisted several farmer-beneficiaries there to improve the breed of their carabao. At least two of the farmer-beneficiaries have successfully produced crossbreeds for their local milk supply and some being shared to neighbors after they were trained on milk processing.

Classified as a swamp-type buffalo, the native carabao plays an important role in rural farming communities particularly among small time farmers.

In 2010, the volume of meat production from this sector reached 148,000 metric tons valued at P10.05 billion, based on the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. Meanwhile, milk production from Carabao is estimated at 5.4 million liters in 2009 valued at P248.4 million.

The Philippines however remains dependent on imported milk as 99 percent of the demand for fresh milk come from milk-producing countries notably from New Zealand.

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