The National Dairy Authority may have produced 17 million liters of milk from more than 7,000 dairy animals in 2023, but more is needed to meet local demands.

Thus said Dr. Gabriel Lagamayo, NDA Administrator, in an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk digital show Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, it’s about 32,000. It’s mixed, there are small ones, there are big ones, there are females, there are males. But of that number in cattle, more than 7,000 were milked in 2023, and that 7,000 gave us 17 million liters of milk,” Lagamayo said.

He added: “If we add more animals, then the production will be even bigger.”

Lagamayo said there is a need to increase the number of the right breed of dairy animals to increase dairy production, noting that the country’s ordinary cows are primarily for meat.

“So we infuse the breed through the procurement and distribution of animals, or we do artificial insemination. So the AI isn’t only artificial intelligence, but it’s also artificial insemination.”

Challenges

Lagamayo said the number of dairy animals in the country has climbed over the past five years.

NDA data showed that from 2018 to 2023, there was a 45 percent increase in the dairy animal population.

“It’s increasing. Unfortunately, we can’t keep up with the increase in human population. People multiply faster than cattle,” Lagamayo said.

He said improved corn silage production for dairy animals’ food would help boost milk production.

“In terms of our source of the right feed, we still need to increase it, but corn silage production is very promising for us, so we have seen that if we improve corn silage production, milk production will increase, and the better we can manage the animals,” he said. 

“That’s what we do traditionally. The cow will be tied, where it will be tied, what it will reach when it is tied, and how long the rope is — that’s all you can expect the cow to eat.”

He used the analogy of a lactating mother to describe the development of animals. 

When a mother is about to give birth, she is fed nutritious food, such as broth and vegetables, to provide nutrition to her baby.

“In terms of nutrition, we need to provide the nutrition so that she can also give a lot of milk to a lactating cow.”

According to Lagamayo, the biggest challenge faced by the dairy industry today is the issue of the number of animals on the ground. 

The NDA, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, will maximize government funds by establishing more stock farms that will produce animals to be distributed to farmers.

“Another thing, in terms of the productivity of animals, that’s where we’re going to focus now. As I said, it’s not impossible to see cows producing more than 15 liters a day,” he said. “As we said, our ambition now is that we should be at 5,000 liters, produced by one cow every season.”

The NDA earlier bared its target of raising the country’s milk output to 80 million liters by 2028, which is “a small portion of the projected demand of 2.143-million metric tons by that time.”

Lagamayo said a dramatic increase in animals in the milking line, improved dairy productivity, the expansion of distribution networks, construction of additional dairy-related infrastructure, and the promotion of the consumption of local milk and dairy products are necessary to raise milk output 2.5 times in the next five years.

Cattle production last year reached 17,850 metric tons, which is about 0.8 percent of the total milk consumption of 1.937 million metric tons — 1,372 metric tons higher compared to 2022.

The NDA projected that the rise in milk demand for consumption this year may reach 1.978 million metric tons.

Established under Republic Act 7884, the NDA aims to foster a robust and sustainable dairy industry. It provides various services, including animal health care, market support, animal breeding, and multiplier farm operations. It also offers programs for milk feeding, dairy business improvement, herd development and animal financing.