NUEVA ECIJA: To further develop the Carabao industry, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) here has targeted at least four regions in Luzon for its Value Chain Analysis (VCA) study for Carabao and Carabao-based products.
Commissioned to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) based in Los Baños, Laguna, the project is now on its third month in Regions 1, 2, 3 and 4A in Luzon for Phase 1 of the study.
“It was decided that the study will concentrate in the four regions after recognizing the wide coverage of the project which includes two separate VCAs for carabao milk and milk products and meat [carabeef],” said Dr. Flordeliza Lantican, SEARCA research team leader.
Also a VCA Specialist, Lantican said the SEARCA team has made headway in accomplishing some of the requirements of the project that included the inception report prepared and presented to the PCC officials represented by Dr. Liza Battad and Eric Palacpac.
“The value chain analysis study will determine what type of interventions the PCC must make in boosting the Carabao industry in the four regions,” Lantican said.
She said the team prepared eight different sets of questionnaires covering farmers producing milk and those selling live animals for slaughtering into meat, processors of milk and milk products, livestock traders, wholesaler-retailers and retailers of milk, butchers in slaughterhouses, auction markets, meat dealers and wholesalers as well as retailers.
In March, a pre-testing of questionnaires for farmers and processors was conducted in General Trias, Cavite.
Also in March, Lantican delivered a lecture on VCA to more than 50 PCC personnel and key officials upon the request of the PCC management headed by its Executive Director Dr. Arnel del Barrio.
Earlier in April, the research team gathered primary and secondary data for carabao milk and milk products and carabeef in Region 1 before moving to Regions 2, 3, and 4A.