THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is embarking on a project to improve the quality of milk produced by dairy farmers in Albay province.
DAR Senior Agrarian Reform Program Officer Celso L. Olitin said the Up-Valuing of agrarian-reform beneficiaries Product Project of the DAR will benefit the Albay Dairy Cooperative (ADC).
The project is in coordination with the National Dairy Authority (NDA) of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry and the provincial government of Albay.
The three agencies will provide the necessary trainings and knowledge transfer to address the ADC’s needs on the production, processing and marketing of their fresh-milk products, Olitin said.
The project would undergo product development through product label design and branding.
Olitin said most members of the ADC are engaged in dairy farming. She said that with the increasing demand of milk products in Albay alone, the project will help farmers improve their products and increase their income.
The DAR recently held an orientation, where Emmeline de la Cruz of the NDA stressed that the keys to the success of value-adding are careful business planning, adherence to legal and technical regulations to be able to market high-quality, reasonably priced products.
“Availability of the product in convenient locations that are accessible to consumers and delivery of products to consumers to meet the demand will help the ADC sustain its business enterprise,” de la Cruz said.
Salvador C. Garchitorena, the NDA regional coordinator for Bicol, stressed the importance of good hygienic practices in the production of clean and quality fresh milk.
“Clean milk should be low in bacterial count, has a pleasant creamy smell and color, has no obnoxious odor, no dirt extraneous matter, and no residues of antibiotics and pesticides,” Garchitorena explained to the cooperative members during the project orientation.