The National Dairy Authority (NDA) on Monday urged goat and cattle raisers in Western Visayas to upgrade to dairy breeds for higher income.

“Dairy should stand as a main source of livelihood and not just a source of extra income,” NDA OIC Assistant Manager for Western Visayas Vicente Bitolinamisa III said in an interview.

In Western Visayas, dairy goats came second to cattle in inventory, with more than 4,000, while cattle had 2,300.

Bitolinamisa said one of the strategies to encourage farmers to go into dairy is to present the income generation opportunity of the industry, especially since it is not the main industry of Western Visayas.

He said the milk they produce provides an opportunity for farmers to convert them to cash daily, aside from meat.

“For the past three years, the dairy industry in Western Visayas has shown remarkable growth. Actually, there was a 6 percent year-to-year growth in terms of milk production and herd inventory,” he said.

The upgrade to the dairy breed can be done through artificial insemination. Farmers can approach any NDA office to ask about it, he said.

NDA has satellite offices in Tigbauan town for Iloilo, Belison in Antique, and Bacolod for Negros Occidental. (PNA)