PCAF launches study on PH dairy feed practices
The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) is conducting its first agency-led evaluative study on dairy feed management to help boost the country’s dairy production.
The study will assess current feeding practices, feed resources, and feed-related challenges encountered by dairy farmers and stakeholders across selected dairy-producing areas in the country.
“It also aims to generate baseline information and policy recommendations that can support interventions to improve dairy productivity, animal nutrition, and farm sustainability,” the PCAF said in a statement.
PCAF said this approach was different from previous commissioned studies where it only assisted with data gathering.
This time, it includes data gathering and analysis, report writing and the completion of the study, with technical assistance from the National Dairy Authority.
John Errasmus Mari Montiano, technical staff of PCAF’s Project Development Section under the Planning, Monitoring, and Knowledge Management Division, said their team would use a longitudinal panel approach to observe farms in different seasons and capture changes in dairy feed management and animal performance.
PCAF conducted the initial phase of the field validation and data collection began in February, followed by the second phase of the field data gathering covering dairy farms and organizations in Batangas, Quezon, Bukidnon and Iloilo in May.
The study seeks to gather details about feed availability and accessibility, forage production systems, feed formulation practices, seasonal feed supply challenges, production costs, and the use of alternative or locally available feed materials.
