Iloilo expands dairy zone
Iloilo province is expanding its dairy zone as the number of cattle heads continue to increase expected to provide fresh milk to the Day Care and pre-elementary pupils here.
In an interview, Iloilo Provincial Agriculturist Ildefonso Toledo said that out of the initial 115 heads of Holstein cattle obtained by farmers in the established dairy zone in the first and second districts of Iloilo in 2004, the herd has now grown to about 506 heads.
Toledo said that because of the increase in the number of cattle heads, they intend to expand the dairy zone initially to Miag-ao, Oton, Tigbauan, Igbaras, Leon and Cabatuan towns and the fifth district of the province.
"We are looking right now for farmers who are interested to go into milk production so we can distribute the cattle to them," he said.
Toledo said that the Holstein cattle were availed by the farmers from the dairy zone through the National Dairy Authority and a loan from the Quedancor. They now producing an average daily of seven liters of fresh milk per head.
The milk are being sold from P12 to P15 per liter at the processing plant in Tigbauan, which is being run by the Iloilo Federation of Dairy Cooperative.
The raw milk is being processed and sold to the various municipal governments through a cost-sharing scheme with the provincial government as part of the milk feeding program to the Day Care and pre-elementary pupils to address malnutrition problem in Iloilo.
The other processed food items like pastilles and candies are being sold in the various outlets in Iloilo city.
Iloilo's fifth district being eyed as the expansion area because of the five-hectare property of the Department of Agriculture located there. The said property has been devolved to the Iloilo provincial government.
Toledo said this site will be utilized for breeding of the cattle. (PNA)