Carabaos to the rescue

In this truly global age, the country’s revered carabao is no longer the specie that was endemic in our farmlands before the Spaniards came. Slaughtered for food by the Japanese army during World War II, these favored beasts of burden by our farmers were almost decimated when peace once again reigned.

Today, we have a huge population of carabaos, although strictly speaking, we should refer to them as domestic buffaloes descending from the Murrah breed. (Yes, Carabao is actually a breed that, similar to the Biao, is on the brink of extinction.)

Although the colonial government under the Americans had initiated programs to restock the dying carabao population as early as the 1900s, it was only in the late 70s when earnest government efforts to increase the number of buffaloes in the country started. Before the end of the last century, the sturdy Murrahs were being brought in by the thousands.

As milk source

Majority of the imported carabaos have been lent to farmers of small landholdings, but not solely for use in the fields. The Philippine Carabao Center is actively pursuing a carabao-based enterprise development program which goals even include battling malnutrition and even poverty.

To date, more than 80 farmer groups and cooperatives and educational institutions are using carabaos for milk production, producing some 1.3 million liters of carabao’s milk as of last year worth P42 million.

Aside from the increased income for farm families, the milk has helped feed over 17,000 undernourished children in Metro Manila and Nueva Ecija through nutrition programs co-sponsored by the National Dairy Authority, Department of Education, local government units, and their local health and social welfare offices.

(The carabao-based enterprise program is a component of the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program of the current administration designed to address hunger and uplift the nutritional status and food intake of food-poor Filipino families.)

As meat

More than providing milk, carabaos are a good source of meat, although this is not popular with many Filipinos. The fact is, however, most of our processed meats contain carabao meat imported from other countries that have a rich history of buffalo breeding and raising.

There is also a historical reason why carabao meat is not favored by our countrymen. After the war, to arrest the dwindling of our carabao population, a law was passed banning its slaughter unless this was unproductive due to old age. Therefore, any carabao carcass that made it to the table was not fit for gourmet eating.

In reality though, carabeef is as tender as cow’s beef given that they are of same age. The former even is regarded as healthier because of its lower cholesterol content. No wonder that some countries are raising buffaloes as a source of food and milk.

Farmer’s best friend

But the national carabao program goes beyond the cultivation of an alternative source of meat and milk. It recognizes that the carabao will continue to be the Filipino farmer’s best friend especially in the many agricultural lands that are not irrigated.

By continuing to be the preferred draft beast in small farms, carabaos are suitable for the hard work of tilling land that relies only on rainfall while providing additional income through milk production.

At the Philippine Carabao Center, the goal is to be able to harness the potential of the carabao as an important input of an integrated farming system. It is heartwarming to note that one of the objectives of the center is to become a leading resource of carabao herding and raising in the region.

Strengthening institutional capabilities towards the improvement of the animal resources as provider of milk and meat in order to enhance family nutrition and income among farming communities has been an overarching goal.

Given the strategies and foregoing activities of PCC, the future outlook of the buffalo sector leads to the transformation of the Carabao as an important producer of milk and meat resulting to the creation of more employment opportunities and increase in rural income through the proliferation of carabao-based dairy enterprise.

Continuing presidentiable debate

We will continue to feature comments on presidential candidates today as a means to helping our countrymen to choose wisely come May 10 election day.

RR ([email protected]) writes: “I really don’t care if the surveys show Gibo (Gilbert Teodoro) in fourth place. Elections shouldn’t be about choosing the “popular” bandwagon-driven candidates, the overly media-exposed ones or the ones who are good at sloganeering and spouting motherhood statements.

“If we don’t start choosing on the basis of competence, workable platform of government and integrity, we are condemned to staying stuck in business-as-usual politics. It is too much to expect that a single six-year term will produce substantive transformation in governance but we have to start somewhere.

“Gibo is not the perfect candidate but I believe, as many others do (but are not given the chance by a biased or inattentive media to say so), he is the most qualified among this roster of contenders. The others may have their virtues and capabilities but my vote goes to Gibo.

“It will not be a wasted vote even if he does not make it but it is my personal statement that I have gone through a well-thought out process of choosing.

“Unfortunately, the leading candidates are moving heaven and earth to make these surveys self-fulfilling by playing up the numbers far more than any effort to convince voters to choose on the basis of substance. When will Filipinos ever learn?”

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.