Animal breeding center to rise in Balanga City

BALANGA CITY, Bataan – Governor Albert Raymond S. Garcia has urged the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) to adopt a resolution authorizing him to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Balanga for the establishment of a P 2.25 million animal breeding center or dairy goat project, in the farming village of Cupang, this City.

In his two-page urgent request to the provincial legislative body, Governor Garcia cited the status of Bataan remains to be an agricultural community. He reiterated the proposed dairy goat breeding center will catapult the province and the city as a center for the propagation of different agricultural animals, providing employment and alternative source of revenue to the people.

Expected benefits from the dairy goat project are poverty reduction in target areas through goat production business, initiate sustainable livelihood for the livestock’s farmers and promotion of dairy goat industry in the province that will ensure local economic growth.

Board Member Jose C. Villapando, Sr., Cooperative Committee chair, said the proposed animal breeding center may also serve as a learning and training environment for farmers in improving reproduction  and technical capabilities in breeding and management of livestock.

According to Villapando, the City of Balanga has set up linkages with various government agencies and non-government organizations for the provision of alternative livelihood to small farmers and has encouraged the community to use goat’s milk and milk products, healthy living and development of animal industry in the province to sustain its integrated development framework plan.

He explained the goat breeding center of Bataan is a tie-up project of the provincial and city governments with the initial breeding farm of 30 female and two male breeding goats all of which came from purebred dairy line of Saanen, Anglo-Nubian and Oberhasli goats.

This breeding farm is envisioned to produce a minimum of 30 heads of goat annually for the period of 7 years.

Fifty (50) percent of the offspring will be used for the livelihood project and poverty reduction campaign of the province while the other half (50) percent will be utilized by the City.

The breeding center will also serve as a venue for aspiring entrepreneurs and farmers to have hands-on training on goat farm operation.