By the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center

The Philippine dairy industry – although considered a vital component of the country’s economic and nutritional development – has remained badly underdeveloped. Although the Philippine Dairy Corporation (PDC) is making some headway in developing our dairy industry, the government is still far behind its target of 20 percent national self-sufficiency in milk by 1990. The Philippines still depends on imports for at least 98 percent of its dairy food requirements (NEDA Yearbook, 1985).

With the sharp rise in population and the increasing desire of Filipinos for more varied dairy products, our dependence on import milk and milk products could increase further. Therefore, there is a great need to develop our dairy industry as rapidly as possible to drastically reduce imports, provide more nutritious dairy foods to the more vulnerable age group of the population, and generally alleviate malnutrition in the country.

There are about 14.3 million Filipinos under 10 years old (NEDA Yearbook 1980). A nutrition survey conducted among pre-school children in 1982 showed that 9.5 per cent were moderately to severely undernourished, apart from the 15.7 per cent who were slightly underweight.

Milk is our most ideal food, meeting our nutritional needs better than any other single food item. It is rich in most of the nutrients needed by the human body. That is why newly-born babies can subsist solely on milk in the first few months of their lives. An excellent source of protein, calcium, and vitamins A and B-complex, milk builds bones and teeth, muscles and brain tissues. Infants, children and adolescents need a body – building food like milk (Tacio, 1987a).

In the Philippines, the chief sources of milk are cows, carabaos and goats. Of these three animals, the GOAT is the least expensive to raise because it is not as big as the two other animals.

In addition, goat milk is less likely to cause allergy in humans, especially infants, than cow and carabao milk.