Hitting two birds with one stone. This was how Sen. Cynthia Villar described the joint program launched by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

She was referring to the contributions of the program in addressing malnutrition among children and in providing a means for steady source of income generation among smallhold dairy farmers.  It has proved effective, she said.

Statistics indicated that a working intervention indeed is needed to address the big problems confronting certain prevailing conditions particularly in the countryside. For one, the problems of hunger and malnutrition in the country are considered serious. The prevalence of underweight and stuntedness among children aged 0-5 years is at 20% and 30%, respectively (FNRI, 2013).

When it comes to the issue of poverty, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that poverty in 2015 was around 34.3 percent among farmers.

The PCC-DSWD joint program was implemented from November 2016 to May 2017. It was both a nutrition and a livelihood intervention that targets the vulnerable sectors of the country – the farmers and children of low-income families. It was meant to help meet the protein requirement of children through the provision of 200ml of milk daily in addition to the regular hot meal for each child.

The program’s pilot areas included Aliaga, Nueva Ecija;  Talibon, Bohol:  and the towns of Maramag, San Fernando and Damulog in Bukidnon.

In the program’s rationale, it was mentioned that protein consumption is necessary for normal childhood growth and development.  It said that the estimated average protein requirements of children aged 3-5 years old is 18 grams for boys and 17g for girls (FNRI, 2015). And, according to Ms. Mina  Abella, PCC Supervising Science Research Specialist, a 200ml of cow’s milk or toned buffalo milk can provide 7-8g protein.

Results

Out of 10,094 children registered in the pilot Child Development Centers (CDCs), 9,860 completed the 120-day milk supplementation.

Results showed that after the program’s completion, the reductions in the prevalence of severely underweight was 75%  (from 186 to 46) and underweight 60% (from 897 to 354). There was also a 20% reduction in the prevalence of overweight (from 50 to 40).

In the implementation of the program, a total of 130 smallhold dairy farmers was engaged to supply the required milk. Forty-five of them were Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries. On the average, each of these farmers earned Php4,553 per month for six months from the milk that they supplied. This was equivalent to a 50% share to the total monthly income requirement of a family of five to be able to avail of the basic food and non-food needs.

Of equal importance, aside from its nutritional and livelihood impact, the program also promoted partnerships among dairy cooperatives or associations, municipal local government units (LGUs), CDC workers, PCC and DSWD. The fund utilized for the purchase of milk was provided by DSWD. The PCC, on the other hand, ensured that the milk supply was delivered to CDCs on time and was consistently manufactured and packed according to a quality standard.

The municipal local government units, on the other hand, helped in the logistics and in data gathering while the dairy cooperatives or associations ensured the availability of the required volume of milk.

Indeed, the output of the program would not have been achieved without the active participation and willingness of various institutions and actors to share their time, ideas, and resources. 

A program evaluation was made and put forward this message:

“The PCC-DSWD joint program proved to be a good model of development endeavor worthy to be replicated in other areas with high incidence of poverty and malnutrition”.