Phl opens world’s first buffalo semen lab
The Philippines has opened a P237.9-million laboratory in Nueva Ecija that can produce s*x-sorted buffalo semen locally, giving the country a new tool to expand its dairy herd and reduce dependence on imported breeding materials.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) inaugurated the facility on Friday in the Science City of Muñoz, describing it as the world’s first laboratory dedicated exclusively to sex-sorting buffalo semen.
Using flow cytometry, the facility separates sperm cells carrying X and Y chromosomes with about 90 percent accuracy. The resulting semen is cryogenically preserved for artificial insemination programs across the country.
“This facility will give farmers the choice of whether they want a female calf that will eventually produce milk, or bulls for meat and farm work,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
“Producing breeding materials locally saves foreign exchange, creates additional income opportunities for farmers, and strengthens food security,” he added.
The PCC plans to produce about 170,000 sex-sorted semen straws annually, with female offspring expected to account for much of the output as the government works to increase domestic milk production.
Local milk production currently supplies less than 5 percent of national demand, leaving the country reliant on imported dairy products and breeding stock.
The DA said local production of s*x-sorted semen could also reduce procurement costs, limit risks associated with foreign livestock disease and provide breeding materials better suited to Philippine conditions.
The laboratory will initially work with elite water buffalo bulls, although the technology can also be applied to other ruminants.
Funded under US Public Law 480, the facility was completed in three months through the Intensified Community-based Enterprise Development program.
Distribution for field artificial insemination is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter, with the first genetically targeted calves expected by late 2027.
