SERIOUSLY intent in helping Bohol’s dairy industry, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, said he would come up with an executive order mandating the use of Gatas Bol-anon as the official welcome drink in Bohol tourist destinations as well as in the Capitol offices.
Gatas Bol-anon, which is a locally processed cow or carabao milk in pure or chocolate and other fruity flavors, is processed by the National Dairy Authority (NDA) or the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) after proving its economic viability as providing alternative income to farmers.
The move of promoting and patronizing local products become part of the governor’s mandate to promote and patronize local farm products like the processed milk, which he is set to sign anytime soon.
The young Aumentado, who admitted he stands in the shadow of Bohol’s most illustrious son and Bohol’s mega-infrastructure builder and father governor Erico Aumentado, picks a local version of Garcia’s Filipino-First-Policy.
Speaking during the 6th Bohol Milk Festival in Bood, Ubay where a new transport and food terminal is set to be inaugurated anytime, Aumentado cited the critical role the dairy industry can give to health and the economy.
Bohol Milk Festival, this time celebrates the resilience of the industry, which has suffered the blunt edge of the typhoon and the series of calamities that affected the milk yields of the stressed animals, according to Festival convenor and Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz.
Spreading the celebration now to eastern Bohol with the milk festival, Aumentado has asked the organizers to fix the second day of the annual Sandugo Agricultural Fair, being the livestock day, as highlighting the milk festival.
The annual Sandugo Festival events happen mostly in Tagbilaran, and just this year, an event gets to Ubay, spreading the celebration to the far end of the Sandugo festivities in Tagbilaran.
Aumentado who saw the viability of dairy industry especially when it largely contributes to the effort to give kids proper nutrition, also cites the dairy enterprise capability or giving a livestock farmer an additional income in the milk he can sell to the government.
A dairy farmer from San Vicente, Ubay, Fernando Dupalco, in an interview said he has six female carabaos he uses to milk.
His carabaos, most of them cross breeds can give between 6-15 liters of milk a day, which sells for P50 a liter.
Dupalco, who sits as a member of the Bohol Dairy Cooperative board, said most of their members are now seeking ways to obtain more female carabaos, seeing that if two of his milking carabaos can give a combined milk yield of 16 liters a day, we could have P800 in a day.
A collector from the nearby Philippine Carabao Center collects his harvested milk, processes it and sells it to the government’s supplemental feeding program.
Compared to cow’s milk, a carabaos milk contains between 7-8% fat which provides more nutritional energy in increase muscle mass, has 10% less lactose, has a low cholesterol content, has over 10% proteins, is superior in calcium, iron and phosphorus, and is much better dietary food.
The governor also hailed the cooperative system of farming adopted by BODACO, one which contributes largely to Aumentado’s development agenda for Bohol in balanced agriculture and tourism.
Aumentado, in his stint as House Representative for Bohol’s Second District has pushed for House Bill 02105 which declares the municipality of Ubay in Bohol as the Farm Tourism Capital in Bohol.
The bill however, he wants refilled by his wife and now Bohol Second District Representative Vanessa C Aumentado and to be amended to include not just Ubay but the whole of the second district.
The move would also benefit the Ubay Stock Farm; the agri park in Lomangog, and the agri tourism destinations in the neighboring towns. (rahc/PIA_7/Bohol)
