The Nabunturan Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (NAFAMCO) in Davao de Oro province said it managed to hike milk production, thanks to the support of the Department of Agriculture - Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP). Over a year after the turnover of the "Cow's Milk Processing and Marketing Enterprise" subproject to NAFAMCO, the coop has expanded to milk bar production from the exclusive marketing of fresh milk under their brand name La Milk. 'Our role in DA-PRDP is to address the constraints our local dairy farmers are facing, in this case, we are not only providing machinery and equipment to help speed up milk processing and improve their quality but also connecting our beneficiaries through mutually beneficial partnerships," said Ronnie John Yulo, DA-PRDP Mindanao Project Support Office I-REAP (Investments in Rural Enterprise and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity), in an interview. Currently, he said the cooperative is working on perfecting its signature ice cream. 'NAFAMCO has come a long way from their former practice of "kuraw-kuraw" or the manual stirring of milk during the pasteurization process which is both laborious and time-consuming. Through DA-PRDP's provision and installation of more modern milk processing machinery, operations are now more efficient,' Yulo said. As a result of its improved products, NAFAMCO recently secured a supply contract with the National Dairy Authority to provide milk for the Department of Education's milk feeding program in the provinces of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental. Likewise, the higher demand for cow's milk has led the coop to partner with another DA-supported group, the UNIFIED Engineering Workers Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the Soccsksargen Region, which also into the dairy business. Eden Vallidor, NAFAMCO general manager, underscored the importance of DA-PRDP's assistance, saying it has 'a tremendous impact on our cooperative." Currently, she said the coop can process a minimum of 1,200 liters per day and sometimes reach up to 4,480 liters, which is equivalent to approximately 16 batches of 280 liters per tank
Source: Philippines News Agency