To address the Philippine dairy industry challenges, efforts on the drivers of dairy development such as breed, feed, management, and market should be given priority and importance. In line with this, a project on assisted reproduction to support dairy cattle breed development was recently approved for funding by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
The project, “Improving the Efficiency of Assisted Reproduction Techniques in Support of Dairy Cattle Breed Development,” will be led by Dr. Imelda U. Hebron of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP)-Claveria campus in Misamis Oriental.
According to Dr. Hebron, the project aims to enhance the reproductive efficiency and overall productivity of local dairy farms by characterizing the reproductive performances of best-performing cows from local dairy farms; training farm personnel or owners on assisted reproduction techniques; and monitoring of productivity traits in the offspring of experimental cows.
To formally start the project implementation, an inception meeting was conducted and held at the USTP Claveria campus. The meeting was attended by the DOST-PCAARRD’s Livestock Research Division (LRD) led by its director, Dr. Synan S. Baguio and the USTP-Claveria campus officials headed by Chancellor Renato O. Arazo, together with the project team and USTP staff members.
USTP Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Dr. Eric Randy R. Politud, welcomed the participants and expressed the university’s commitment in advancing the dairy sector through science and technology-based interventions and collaborative research efforts.
Chancellor Arazo, expressed his gratitude for the continuous collaboration between the University and the Council for the improvement of the dairy industry. He also expressed his full support to the Council’s program for dairy improvement.
During the meeting, Dr. Baguio emphasized that the inception meeting is the first Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) function of the DOST-PCAARRD. He also stated that the recently approved project is aligned with the council’s goal to contribute to the development of the Philippine Dairy sector of the country and that USTP-Claveria was chosen to lead the initiative because of the suitable climate and land availability, which are needed in the establishment of dairy cattle production.
The inception meeting highlighted the continued commitment of both DOST-PCAARRD and USTP-Claveria in strengthening the country’s dairy sector through science-driven solutions. This project is expected to contribute significantly to enhancing dairy productivity and farmers’ livelihoods in Northern Mindanao and potentially the whole country.