ROXAS CITY, Capiz — Members of the AGRACA Agrarian Reform Cooperative in Dumalag town praised President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for giving dairy buffalos for the Carabao-based Improvement Network (CBIN) Project of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center.
The cooperative has received 50 dairy buffalos and is currently constructing a dairy box outlet—market development support and infrastructure for the processing and marketing of carabao’s milk products—as part of the P10 million worth of the CBIN Project.
This aims to propel an inclusive, sustainable, and highly competitive local dairy industry in the region.
In 2022, the project officially started with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine Carabao Center, the Local Government Unit of Dumalag, and AGRACA ARC.
AGRACA is an acronym for the component barangays of Agustin, San Rafael, and Sta. Carmen in Dumalag, from where the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs).
“Dako gid ang amon pasalamat kay (we are deeply grateful) to President Bongbong Marcos kag (and) DA-PCC nga kami nabuligan gid sa ila proyekto nga ginhatag sa amon nga mga mangunguma (for helping us farmers through this project), said AGRACA ARC chairperson Maria M. Fajartin.
She also lauded the Office of Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chair Cynthia Villar, Capiz Gov. Fredenil Castro, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Cecilio Fecundo, and Dumalag Mayor Concepcion Castro, who have been instrumental in the realization of the project.
During his recent official visit to Antique, President Marcos was briefed on the CBIN project being implemented through the regional center of the DA-PCC.
The President led the cash aid distribution under the Presidential Assistance to Farmers, Fisherfolk, and Families (PAFFF) program and other farm inputs and machinery to identified farmers and farmers’ organizations.
AGRACA ARC was represented by its general manager, Melody F. Pablico, and bookkeeper, Mary B. Facinaba, during the activity.
Aside from the construction of a dairy box outlet, the CBIN project also includes complete milk-line equipment, veterinary drugs for the carabaos, and supplies for milk processing, among others.
It is the first of its kind in the province and the fifth in the region, succeeding those established in Hamtic and Pandan towns in Antique, the municipality of Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo, and Jordan town in Guimaras. (AGP/AAL/PIA Capiz)
