malaysiangManila: The National Dairy Authority (NDA) on Tuesday said it is strengthening efforts to increase youth participation in the agricultural sector in line with the goals of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
In an interview at the Radyo Pilipinas, NDA Information Officer IV Ian Caro Agbayani said these include internship programs and training for new farmers in the dairy industry.
‘May mga internship na nasa farm, kasalukuyan po mayroon din kaming internship na nasa lab (laboratories). So, ito po iyong mga (We have internship in farms, we now have an internship in labs. So, these are on) food safety. Kadalasan ito iyong mga courses na nasa food technology, sila po ay na-a-assign sa aming (Mostly, these are in food technology courses that are assigned in our) lab,’ Agbayani said.
He said NDA trainers are also visiting farm cooperatives to teach basic animal husbandry, feeds, and animal health for free.
He also recognized the ‘generational business’ of private stakeholders, the practice
of passing their dairy businesses to the younger generation.
‘Ang mga batang exposed po sa family business na dairy, kadalasan po sila rin ang nagpapatuloy ng kanilang negosyo (The children exposed in their family dairy business are most likely the ones who continue their businesses),’ Agbayani said.
Besides opportunities for the youth, the NDA currently implements various programs, including Dairy Herd Buildup, Dairy Enterprise and Development program, milk feeding program in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Milk Quality Assurance program.
Agbayani also highlighted the NDA’s use of technology to speed up the increase of the sector’s production efficiency.
National Dairy Summit
The NDA, meanwhile, urged stakeholders in the dairy industry to join the National Dairy Summit 2024 in Iloilo City from Oct. 28 to 30.
Agbayani said the summit will be the first to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Ngayon po ay nagbabalik itong conference
na ito bilang (Now it comes back as) National Dairy Summit. Ito po ay inisyatiba ng aming farmers at stakeholders sa (This is an initiative of our farmers and stakeholders in) Western Visayas,’ he said, citing the Western Visayas Dairy Farmers and Stakeholders Agriventures Inc.
‘Hinihikayat namin lahat ng interesado sa pagda-dairy na pumunta at makilala rin po iyong iba pang nagde-dairy (We are inviting all those interested in the dairy industry to come and meet other dairy stakeholders),’ he said.
Agbayani underscored the need for such an event to boost the country’s performance in increasing milk production and sufficiency level.
NDA data showed that the country’s milk sufficiency is at only 1.6 percent, considering the high supply and demand gap.
‘Balak po namin sa 2028 ay makapag-produce na kami ng 80 million liters of milk o ito po ay nasa 5 percent ng (We plan to produce 80 million liters of milk by 2028, equivalent to 5 percent of the) milk sufficiency,’ he said.
Earlier, the NDA projected to hit
40 million liters or half of the 80 million liters target production by 2025.
Source: Philippines News Agency
