The National Dairy Authority (NDA) forged an agreement with a France-based consultancy firm to conduct a feasibility study for a project that aims to boost the country’s milk production.
The attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) partnered with Phylum SARL to assess whether the Philippine Dairy Project qualifies for a concessional loan from the French government.
Under the project, the NDA intends to establish a modern dairy farm in Ubay, Bohol, with the capacity to care for over 300 cows for milk production. This would also include a facility capable of processing up to 10 metric tons (MT) of raw milk daily.
The project also includes collaboration with local cooperatives for milk and fodder production, along with capacity-building efforts to enhance training and advisory services. It calls for the setup of milk collection centers and milk processing facilities in selected areas nationwide.
The agency said the feasibility study will be funded through a grant from the French government’s Fonds d’Etudes et d’Aide au Secteur Prive (FASEP).
The French Ambassador Marie Fontanel, the Undersecretary for Special Concerns, Mr. Jerome V. Oliveros, and NDA Administrator Marcus Antonius T. Andaya witnessed the signing ceremony.
Through the MOU, the agency aims to strengthen French-Philippine relations in the dairy sector and modernize the country’s dairy industry.
The NDA said it welcomes international collaborations and private-sector investments to bolster the country’s local dairy industry.
Currently, the country’s milk sufficiency stands at 1.66 percent, with NDA targeting to reach 5 percent or 80 million liters of milk by 2028.
The agency said the country’s average milk production per cow remains low at 8 liters
per day, hindered by poor feed and management practices, high production costs, and insufficient dairy infrastructure.
Earlier, the NDA said it is seeking more funds to increase the country’s milk output and enable local producers to meet at least 5 percent of the Philippines’s milk requirement.
The agency said improving the country’s milk self-sufficiency rate will entail significant investments.
“Sans an increase in the budget of the NDA, it will be highly impossible to achieve the 5 percent milk sufficiency by 2028.”
NDA stands to receive P537 million under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), slightly higher than its 2024 budget of P522 million.
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