January 2010

During the years 2008 and 2009, as part of the USDA-funded Food for Progress FY 2006 (FFP FY06) project in Philippines, Land O’Lakes International Development successfully created a dairy zone in the province of Negros Oriental. Land O’Lakes supported this dairy zone for 18 months by distributing 214 dairy cows to small farmers, installing three milk collection centers and a milk processing plant, providing matching funds for a school milk feeding program, and providing various technical assistance and trainings in dairy- and livestock-related topics to the farmers through its extension staff and consultants.

From the beginning of this dairy zone project, Land O’Lakes mobilized the support of local private and government partners to create the long-term sustainability of this project beyond the life of the FFP FY06 program.

Farmers Cooperatives
The farmers’ co-ops that received dairy cows contributed cow sheds, pasture lands, feeds, and other inputs and farm labor to manage the dairy animals. The co-ops also provided land and buildings for the installation of three milk collection centers.

Provincial and Local Governments
The provincial government of Negros Oriental contributed by providing funding for quarantine and transportation of cows from quarantine sites to the farms; it provided government land and buildings free of cost for the installation of dairy processing plants; and its provincial veterinarian office provided technical assistance and support to the farmers in addition to Land O’Lakes staff. Provincial government and local government units also provided matching funds for a milk feeding program for school and preschool children.

National Dairy Authority
Land O’Lakes’ main counterpart agency in the national government and also its subrecipient partner in the FFP FY06 project, the National Dairy Authority (NDA), also contributed by assisting Land O’Lakes in targeting and selecting beneficiary farmers, arranging duty- and tax-free importation of cows and the processing plant equipment; distributing dairy semen imported from the U.S.; providing veterinary medicines and biologics to the farmers; and also providing without remuneration the services of one of its full-time employees as the dairy zone manager.

Sustainability
After successful implementation of these project activities, Land O’Lakes closed out its work in this dairy zone in 2009. However, the Negros Oriental dairy zone is still managing its activities very successfully and sustainably because of the funding and technical support provided by project partners—Dairy Farmers’ Association of Dumaguete City, provincial and local government units of Negros Oriental province, and NDA of Philippines. The provincial veterinarian office and NDA have both deployed a full-time technical staff person to support and train the farmers. The Dumaguete City local government is feeding 444 school and preschool children as part of its milk feeding program and in January 2010 also launched a milk collection and activity center in Barangay Cantil-e (subdivision of Dumaguete) with its own funding and with the contribution of land and a building from the Philippines Department of Education. Another local government unit at Negros Oriental province, the municipality of Mabinay, is implementing a milk feeding program for 653 beneficiary children. The municipalities of Bayawan City and Bais City of Negros Oriental province are also planning to start milk feeding programs of their own.

Testimonials
Following are comments from some of the local partners during the inauguration of the milk collection and activity center at Barangay Cantil-e in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental province in January 2010:

“The local government of Dumaguete City realizes the importance of this dairy and livestock project because of its benefits for local livelihoods and child nutrition. Another benefit is that manure from these dairy cows will be used for the production of natural fertilizer, thus making Dumaguete an environmentally sustainable community.”

- Dominador Dumalag Jr., City Administrator of Dumaguete local government unit  

“I was planning to retire from my job as provincial veterinarian of Negros Oriental in 2008, but when this project was started by Land O’Lakes, I realized the benefits it can bring to this province. I decided to stay on for another two years to ensure the successful implementation of this project, which has now become a locally sustainable, viable activity for the benefit of the local farmers of our community that is managed by the farmers’ co-ops and supported by the local and provincial government.”

- Dr. Antonio Mutia, Provincial Veterinarian, Negros Oriental province

“On behalf of the farmers of Negros Oriental province, I would like to thank Land O’Lakes for successfully starting this dairy project and the local and provincial governments of Negros Oriental and National Dairy Authority for successfully continuing and sustaining this project after Land O’Lakes completed its work here in 2009.”

- Antonio P. Nodado, Chairman, Dairy Farmers’ Association of Dumaguete City  

For more on this story, contact:

In the U.S.                                                         In the Philippines:

Zaheer Baber, Regional Director                Yawar Naeem, Country Manager
Phone: +1 651 494 5100                              Phone: +632 812 8810
E-mail:  ZUBaber@landolakes.com          E-mail: yawar@landolakes.com.ph