Edgar Banadera’s family of five were hungry even during the harvest season in Camarines Sur, Philippines. Now, as a member of the Guinaban Multipurpose Cooperative, his new dairy business generates enough to provide for his family. He became a dairy farmer as a beneficiary of a USDA Food for Progress (FFP) Program implemented by Land O’Lakes. The program improves the incomes of rural farmers and provides access to nutritious milk for poor communities.

Land O’Lakes targets its activities in Camarines Sur, one of the poorest districts in Philippines. In fact, the Bicol region on the island of Luzon ranks as the fourth-poorest in the country, with an annual per capita income of $285. Poverty is one of the primary reasons for the high prevalence of malnutrition among children in the province of Camarines Sur. Frequent typhoons and armed conflict brought about by insurgency also contribute to the causes of poverty.

A family of five in the Bicol region, such as the Banadera family, needs at least $4.40 per day to meet its food requirements and other basic necessities. Most farmers in the area plant sugar cane, abaca (a banana leafstalk used for handicrafts) and rice, which take months to grow and sell. Life is quite lean each July to September and again January to February. People’s intake of food is inadequate, so their health and household productivity suffer. Banadera’s situation exemplified this situation.

Banadera worked on his father’s farm planting abaca. He would take out loans to pay for his food and other necessities. His father shared with him $106 for one planting cycle, which is only enough to pay for his loan while waiting for the harvest. He also planted rice on a neighbor’s farm and got paid in rice. It was not enough. They still went hungry. Then Banadera learned about the Land O’Lakes program.

Land O’Lakes distributed 200 pregnant heifers in 2007 to four newly established dairy cooperatives in Camarines Sur. The 200 cows complete a 300-cow dairy zone in Camarines Sur. The initial 100 animals came from two previous USDA-funded 416(b) School Nutrition Programs, which established a state-of-the-art dairy processing plant in the province. Each cooperative received 50 dairy cows to grant to farmer beneficiaries in three-cow modules. Within five years, for each cow received, the recipients must donate to their cooperative a pregnant heifer or two bull calves. The cooperatives will then distribute these animals to other waiting members.

When Banadera heard the details about the program, he hesitated to take the opportunity because the three-cow animal loan scheme required capitalization on his part for a cowshed and pasture. Nevertheless, he proceeded. He participated in the required series of training and seminars on animal husbandry, pasture development, milk quality handling and processing. In August 2007, Banadera was awarded three pregnant cows that then bore two male calves and a female calf. He started selling milk to the cooperative, at first 15 liters per day, but eventually 34 liters per day, giving him a weekly milk payroll of $53.

Thanks to the program, Banadera can now provide for his family’s needs with his earnings of $7.60 per day. But success did not come easily. In the early months of delivering milk, the central collecting station rejected his milk due to strict quality standards. To remedy this, he continued to attend training on milking practices, hygiene, and sanitation and faithfully followed the technical advice from the consultants and trainers provided by Land O’Lakes and Philippines National Dairy Authority. Today, Banadera is one of the top milk producers in his cooperative. Banadera is pleased that two of his three cows are pregnant for their second calving.

In the eight months after the distribution of cows, the four cooperatives in Camarines Sur generated $49,360 from commercial sales and community nutrition programs funded and institutionalized by the provincial and local government units. The farmers are happy that milk is considered as good as cash to support their families. After all, during stormy weather, even if the crops are down, the cows still give milk!

Below, Edgar Banadera and one of his sons.