Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Tuesday said that the government has started the purchase of 1,000 imported cattle for Bohol as part of the DA’s bid to make the province the “dairy capital” of the Philippines.
Piñol during the opening of the Sandugo Agri-Fair at the Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City said that the DA will be importing 1,600 heads of Girolando dairy cattle from Mexico, and 1,000 of these will be sent to Bohol.
“Of the 1,600 heads, 1,000 will be brought to Bohol. The 1,000 heads will be used as the multiplier herd. That will start the development of dairy in the province of Bohol,” said Piñol.
Piñol noted that the DA chose the Girolando breed for its quality and for being a high-yielding dairy cattle.
“It is now the record holder in the most volume of milk produced by a single cow. One hundred nine liters in one day. That is in the Guinness Book of Records,” he said.
Although the breed is originally from Brazil, Piñol said that they chose to import from Mexico due to the reported foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease cases among cattle in Brazil.
Industry stakeholders expressed concern over possible importation of cattle infected with FMD, which is highly contagious.
“So to allay the fears and concern of the livestock sector’s stakeholders, we decided to find other sources and we were able to find 1,600 heads of Girolando cattle in Mexico which are FMD-free,” Piñol added.
The Girolando is a cross-breed of the Brazilian Gyr and the Holstein of Holland.
“Ang tawag sa mga Spanish sa Holstein is Holando because it came from Holland. Ang Gyr is an Indian breed na gidala sa Brazil,” said Piñol. (AD)