The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Dairy Authority (NDA) on Friday bared plans to import dairy herds to boost milk production in the Philippines.

During the celebration of World Milk Day, DA Undersecretary for Livestock Deogracias Victor Savellano said the industry needs “good genetics” to achieve the 5-percent increase in milk sufficiency, equivalent to 40 million liters in 2025.

“We are importing 99 percent [of milk], pero ang gusto sana namin ay mag-import din kami ng mga baka, kalabaw, para maparami natin (but what we want is to import cows, carabaos, so we can boost our production),” he said in an ambush interview.

To date, the country only produces 30,000 metric tons (MT) of milk, far behind the country’s milk demand of 3.3 million MT.

NDA officer-in-charge Administrator Gavino Alfredo Benitez said to meet the 5 percent target production hike, around 5,000 to 8,000 dairy herds should be imported from 2025 to 2026.

“It should come from FMD (foot-and-mouth disease)-free [countries]. For that napakaliit lang ng list. Pwede tayo US, patay tayo sa shipping cost. Ang pinakamalapit sa atin ay (there’s only a short list. We can import from the United States, but it will cost us in shipping. The nearest would be) New Zealand and Australia,” he said.

The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) also agreed to the planned importation, alongside the conversion of native herds into dairy ones through genetic improvement.

“To expedite the herd buildup, obligado talaga na mag-import tayo (we are obliged to import). But we have to give more budget also to genetic improvement,” PCAFI president Danilo Fausto said in an interview.

Fausto, however, said these targets are only feasible with the approval of the NDA’s tier 2 budget.

“30,000 MT ang total production natin, gagawin mong 80 million (liters), paano mo gagawin iyon kung wala kang gagatasan (are our total production, you will make it 80 million liters, how can you do this if you don’t have dairy herd)?” he said.

Both the NDA and DA backed a higher budget allocation for the sector to realize not only importation but also other programs considering the negative impact of the El Niño phenomenon.

“We were granted by the DBM [Department of Budget and Management] now, I think PHP500 million. And we’re still backing for the so-called tier 2 budget which is about PHP2.5 billion. That would make it about PHP3 billion for next year,” Benitez said.

“Sa pondo, kulang na kulang. Kami naman gumagawa kami ng paraan (For the budget, we’re really lacking. But we are finding ways),” Savellano said.

Benitez, however, said they are still confident to meet their 80 million liters target production by 2028 regardless of the decision on budget allocations.

For now, the NDA looks into creating regional-level feed centers, provision of water pumps, storage, and tanks; as well as the planned implementation of a sex semen program, stock farm development, and enhancement of the environment for the part of DA. (PNA)