Although still far from being realized at present, the National Dairy Authority said a substantial increase in local dairy production to meet the domestic market is needed to prepare the Philippine dairy industry for exports and international market opportunities.

“The focus of other countries for their industries, like Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, is the export market,” said Dr. Gabriel Lagamayo, NDA Administrator, in an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk digital show Wednesday.

He added: “Look what will happen if we increase production; we will go head-to-head with the multinationals. That means, number one, we need to be very efficient.”

He said that there's a need to enhance maximizing technology on domestic dairy farms, reiterating the agency’s vision of having cows that report themselves.

Lagamayo said that technology is crucial in boosting Philippine dairy farming and production, mentioning their proposed sensor that will detect the cow’s status, including if she's sick or in heat.

Moreover, the NDA official said that improved feed technology is required to make the country's dairy industry globally competitive.

“There is now a move to find other sources of protein for the cows because, actually, even with the present requirement, soybean meal is also imported. We need to find an indigenous source of protein that is abundant and sustainable to feed our cows,” Lagamayo said, adding that these goals are being worked on by the Department of Agriculture’s National Livestock Program.

Moreover, ensuring the quality of the milk is also necessary to increase its potential in the international market.

“The more efficient we are later, the more we can say that we can export milk. Because we can now compete with the world price,” Lagamayo said, noting that the government will prioritize first the expansion of local dairy production for a long-term duration.

The DA attached agency earlier expressed its target of increasing 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 cited that a dramatic increase in animals in the milking line, improved dairy productivity, expansion of distribution networks, construction of additional dairy-related infrastructure, and promotion of the consumption of local milk and dairy products are necessary to increase milk output 2.5 times in the next five years.

In the same interview, Lagamayo said that over 7,000 dairy animals were able to produce 17 million liters of milk last year, but stressed that more is needed to meet local demands.

To achieve this, an increase in the number of the right breed of dairy animals is needed.