The Department of Agriculture (DA) is exploring millet as an alternative feedstuff for corn in its bid to slash production costs and minimize exposure of feed supplies to weather-driven disruptions.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he examined millet and other feed ingredients during his recent trip to India whose experience with the drought-tolerant crop could provide lessons for Philippine livestock producers.
The DA explained that millet is a group of small-seeded cereal grasses used for food and animal feed.
It can grow under relatively dry conditions, requiring less water than corn, thus making it a potential alternative when drought affects conventional feed crops.
For livestock producers, the DA said the economic consideration is just as important.
Since corn is a major feed ingredient, any disruptin in production will translate into higher input costs.
‘Developing other feed sources could give farmers and feed manufacturers more flexibility, although commercial adoption would still depend on yield, nutritional value, processing requirements and cost.’
Meanwhile, the DA noted that feed initiative forms part of the agency’s efforts to broaden the domestic carabao and dairy industries.
Tiu Laurel said building domestic capacity for feed production and processing is key to strengthening the livestock industry.
‘When communities can grow, process, and mill their own feed, we lower costs, raise productivity, and make our food system more resilient,’ he said.
The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) recently launched a P237.9-million facility housing, dubbed the world’s first laboratory dedicated exclusively to sex-sorting buffalo semen.
Using flow cytometry, the laboratory separates sperm carrying X and Y chromosomes with about 90 percent accuracy.
With this, breeders can target female offspring for dairy production or males for meat and draught work.’The sorted semen is cryogenically preserved for artificial insemination programs nationwide.’
The PCC said it aims to produce about 170,000 sex-sorted semen straws annually, particularly to increase female offspring and expand the local dairy herd.
The agency said this initiative comes against a significant deficit in domestic output.
At present, Philippine milk production only meets less than 5 percent of national demand, leaving the country reliant on imported dairy products and breeding stock.
Local production of sex-sorted semen could then lower procurement costs, reduce exposure to livestock disease risks associated with foreign sourcing, and provide breeding material better adapted to Philippine conditions.
‘Taken together, the millet and buffalo breeding initiatives point to a broader DA strategy of addressing livestock costs from both ends, by improving what animals eat and expanding the domestic herd that produces milk and meat.’