The Department of Agriculture is exploring millet as an alternative to corn for animal feed as it seeks to lower livestock production costs and reduce exposure to weather-driven disruptions in feed supplies.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. examined millet and other feed ingredients during his recent trip to India. India’s experience with the drought-tolerant crop could provide lessons for Philippine livestock producers.
The Philippines also sources a significant volume of water buffalo meat from India, giving the visit a broader livestock and dairy dimension.
Millet is a group of small-seeded cereal grasses used for both food and animal feed. It can grow under relatively dry conditions and generally requires less water than corn, making it a potential alternative when drought affects conventional feed crops.
For livestock producers, the economic consideration is just as important. Corn is a major feed ingredient, so disruptions in production can 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.
The feed initiative dovetails with the DA’s efforts to expand the domestic carabao and dairy industries.
The Philippine Carabao Center has launched a P237.9-million facility housing what the agency describes as 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. Breeders can therefore 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 aims to produce about 170,000 sex-sorted semen straws annually, primarily to increase female offspring and expand the dairy herd.
The initiative comes against a significant domestic supply gap. Philippine milk production currently 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 lower procurement costs, reduce exposure to livestock disease risks associated with foreign sourcing and provide breeding material better adapted to Philippine conditions.
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.
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. ### (By DA – OSEC Comms)
