Milk produced by local dairy farmers here will be provided to learners of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Antique.
In an interview Monday, National Dairy Authority (NDA) project development officer 3 Arden Caletina said they will commence this month with the 50-day milk feeding program targeting 11,067 pupils in the province.
Caletina said the program intends to provide 200 milliliters or a sachet of fresh dairy milk twice a week to address their nutritional needs.
DepEd Division of Antique School Governance and Operations Division chief Evelyn Remo said the Belison Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BMPC) was tapped by the NDA as the local dairy supplier started the delivery to district offices on May 3.
“The BMPC delivers the dairy milk to the DepEd district offices twice a week that are being picked up by the school heads to be transported to their schools,” she said in a separate interview.
The teachers deliver the milk to their pupils or the parents would pick up the supply from the school.
“The program is intended for the wasted and severely wasted school children,” she added.
It is a continuation of the program last year that targeted Kindergarten to Grade 6 pupils.
However, education officials were not yet able to consolidate the information about the nutritional status of the beneficiaries due to the pandemic.
Dr. Marco Rafael Ardamil of the Antique Provincial Veterinary (ProVet) Office said fresh milk is rich in calcium, vitamins, and minerals.
“Our government is endorsing fresh milk because it has not yet been processed thus, it still contains a lot of calcium needed by the school children,” he said.
Ardamil said the ProVet is also providing technical assistance for dairy production.
Meanwhile, Caletina said it was Rep. Loren Legarda, through the NDA, who encouraged farmers to engage in dairy production.
“The Office of Congresswoman Legarda provided funding that was coursed through the NDA for the dairy production,” he said.
As of April 22, Caletina said there are 99 female cattle, of which 30 of them are already producing milk.
“A cattle is able to produce 10 to 12 liters of milk daily,” he said. (PNA)
