SENATOR Cynthia Villar on Wednesday said that a dairy school will open at the Villar Farm School in its Bacoor-Las Piñas site.

The new school aims to increase and develop the Philippines’ dairy industry and help build a healthy nation by making milk affordable and accessible to Filipinos.

Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, explained that the dairy school will offer free carabao and dairy training programs to all farmers and industry stakeholders.

“This would stimulate milk production and dairying in cooperation with the Philippine Carabao Center and the National Dairy Authority,” she said.

A staunch advocate of agriculture, Villar said the school will encourage farmers to embark on dairy production, which can be another source of income for them.

Once developed, she said the industry will provide livelihood opportunities to farming communities and give farmers access to better technologies and production strategies through community organization, marketing of carabao-based products and creating a demand for these milk commodities.

“We intend to equip farmers in dairy production with knowledge and information on modern technology so they can produce more and earn more,” stressed Villar.

As of January 2021, Villar said the total carabao inventory in the country was estimated at 2.84 million heads. She lamented that this is 0.9 percent lower than the 2.87 million head in the same period in 2020.

Due to this poor production, Villar said the Philippines has been importing 99 percent of its milk demand.

With only one percent production of the demand in the Philippines and 99% of milk imported from other countries, Villar said Filipino children are being deprived of the opportunity to drink milk, which is essential to Filipino diet.