The Department of Agriculture (DA) is exploring millet as an alternative to corn for animal feed to help lower livestock production costs and reduce supply risks during drought and other weather disruptions.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. examined millet and other feed ingredients during a recent visit to India, where the drought-tolerant crop is widely used. The DA is looking at whether the experience could be adapted to Philippine livestock production.

Millet is a group of small-seeded cereal grasses used for food and animal feed. It generally requires less water than corn and can grow under relatively dry conditions, making it a potential feed source when weather conditions disrupt conventional feed crops.

Corn remains a major feed ingredient, meaning production shortfalls can raise costs for livestock farmers and feed manufacturers. The use of alternative feed sources could give the industry more flexibility, although commercial adoption would depend on factors such as yield, nutritional value, processing requirements and production costs.

“When communities can grow, process, and mill their own feed, we lower costs, raise productivity, and make our food system more resilient,” Tiu Laurel said.

The DA is also pursuing measures to expand the country’s carabao and dairy industries, including domestic production of sex-sorted buffalo semen.

The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) recently launched a P237.9-million facility that it described as the world’s first laboratory dedicated exclusively to sex-sorting buffalo semen.

Using flow cytometry, the facility separates sperm carrying X and Y chromosomes with about 90 percent accuracy. The technology allows breeders to target female calves for dairy production and males for meat and farm work.

The PCC aims to produce about 170,000 sex-sorted semen straws annually, primarily to increase the number of female offspring and expand the domestic dairy herd.