Iloilo milk feeding program wins award
Iloilo's milk feeding program dubbed as Batang Ilonggo, Palangga (BIP) Ka is one of the five Most Outstanding Project in Health and Nutrition given by Nestle Philippines because of its great benefit among preschool children.
Iloilo Provincial Planning and Development Officer Mario Nillos received the award on behalf of the province at the Intercontinental Hotel last April 13. He said that this project has been launched by the provincial government headed by Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. to address the malnutrition problem among preschoolers.
It could be noted that malnutrition in the province has been identified as one of the causes why preschool children drop out from school because of their hunger and lack of concentration.
Because of this, the provincial government came up with a supplemental milk-feeding project in tie up with the National Dairy Authority and local government units (LGUs) that give counterpart fund.
The provincial government for the past three years already has been appropriating P800,000 annually to subsidize the milk-feeding project.
The LGUs project beneficiaries that number 32 of the 42 municipalities and 1 component city of Passi also gave their counterpart.
Nillos said that the fresh milk being fed every morning for six months to preschool children is being provided by the Federation of Dairy Cooperatives existing in the province due to the establishment of the dairy zone in the first and second districts of Iloilo particularly in the towns of Miag-ao, Igbaras, Oton, Tigbauan and Leon.
Because of the dairy zone, farmers are now encouraged to raise cows from New Zealand being provided by the NDA for milking. There is also now a dairy processing plant put in the town of Tigbauan that pasteurize and bottles the cow's milk.
(PNA)