THE National Dairy Authority (NDA) is seeking a P1.5 billion budget for 2027 to build stock farms and bolster the country’s local milk production.
NDA Administrator Marcus Antonius Andaya said the agency is lobbying for a P1.5 billion funding next year to expand the country’s dairy herd and eventually boost milk output.
Of this, Andaya said the Tier 1 budget will cover baseline costs for existing programs worth P500 million and the remaining P1 billion will be included in the Tier 2 budget to bankroll the establishment of additional stocks farms and feed centers.
‘We’ll use the Tier 2 funding to create three more stock farms and feed centers,’ he told reporters on the sidelines of an event organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
He said the NDA is targeting to build the additional stock farms in Sorsogon, Baguio, and Negros.
There are currently four operational stock farms in the country, which are established in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija; Ubay, Bohol; Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur; and Carmen, Cotabato. Another in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, is set to be completed and operational this year.
Andaya said each 50-hectare farm with a capacity of 150 heads costs P50 million.
A stock farm serves as a breeding, development, and acclimatization center for imported dairy animals which will be distributed to Dairy Multiplier Farms (DMFs) and eventually to local farmers.
Budget documents showed that the government allocated P2.38 billion to the NDA under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Andaya, however, explained that P1.85 billion of the agency’s budget came from the Department of Education’s (DepEd) funding to be exclusively used for the milk feeding component of its school-based feeding program.
Excluding its 2027 budget, he said the agency can be rest assured of the P1.53 billion funding it will receive from the Animal Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (AnCEF) next year.
Broken down, P700 million will bankroll herd build-up, P500 million for food safety, animal extension support and training services, and P333 million for feeds and forage development. AnCEF is a 10-year fund created under Republic Act 12308 or the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act that allocates P20 billion annually to strengthen the livestock sector. It consist of tariffs collected from imported livestock, poultry and dairy products.