PAVIA, Iloilo—The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), through its Career Development and Management Division (CDMD), successfully conducted a five-day training of trainers on Dairy Farm Operations for Cattle at the Orchard Valley Inc. last October 10-14, 2022.
Thirty-one staff from the various implementing agencies of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP-IA) graduated in the said training on coconut-dairy cattle integration.
During the activity, most participants identified the lack of technical knowledge and skills in dairy cattle production among agricultural extension workers as the reason for the limited pool of trainers in the locality. With this, after the training, the participants are expected to deliver topics effectively and efficiently as trainers of their respective regional training-of-trainers.
“We can transfer appropriate technologies and best practices to coconut farmers, and encourage them to engage in dairy farming. Although it is quite challenging because of the feeding requirements, we have to pursue to make the dairy industry sustainable consistently,” Ms. Jezell DT. Dela Cruz, a participant from ATI-RTC 4B expressed.
The Resource Persons (RPs) invited for the training were from the National Dairy Authority (NDA). The topics discussed include the appropriate cattle breeds, forages, feeding and water management, milk testing, and hygienic milk collection, among others. The Orchard Valley Inc. likewise served as a demonstration site of the RPs in milking machine operation, maintenance, and forage development.
