DAVAO DEL NORTE – Nutritious fresh milk would soon be served, instead of colas, on all official government events and social gatherings in Davao province.
Governor Rodolfo del Rosario told local officials to use fresh milk and enjoy their health benefits. He said he wanted communities to patronize the dairy products to ensure the sustainability of the P23-million dairy development project being implemented by the US-based nongovernmental organization Land O’lakes.
“Starting today, in every official event of the barangays (villages), such as anniversaries and fiestas, I want to see bottles of fresh milk rather than bottles of colas being served to guests,” he said at the inauguration of the dairy processing plant in New Corella town.
The P11-million processing plant can produce 1,500 liters of fresh milk into dairy products. The provincial government put up a counterpart of P3.6 million for the structure, while the municipal government of New Corella provided the lot.
The province also launched its milk-feeding program, as a component of the dairy project, in order to “rehabilitate all severely underweight pre-school children, as well as, severely wasted and stunted children.”
Some 2,251 severely malnourished pre-schoolers around the province were included in the first batch of the 120-day feeding program.
Del Rosario said he is pushing the project in his desire to make Davao del Norte the “Dairy Capital” of the Davao region, if not of the whole country. (Noel Baguio)
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