THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) has approved the procurement phase of a P148.2-million integrated livestock enterprise in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur to replace an aging municipal abattoir and add a goat milk processing facility.
The DA Central Office issued the No Objection Letter 1 (NOL1) for the P148,195,721.47 Magsaysay Integrated Livestock Enterprise subproject under the World Bank-assisted Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).
The NOL1 allows the Magsaysay local government unit and its partner, the San Isidro Magsaysay Agriculture Cooperative (SMAC), to proceed with civil works and equipment procurement.
The project addresses bottlenecks in the local livestock value chain, which pushed raisers toward informal slaughtering, shortened product shelf life and restricted access to markets.
“The subproject will break this cycle through a dual-facility design built on sustainable growth principles,” DA PRDP said in a press release.
The municipal abattoir, built in 2003, processes only about five hogs a day. Meanwhile, the manual milk facility cannot keep up with growing demand for raw goat milk.
The DA said the project will have two components: a National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)-accredited “Double A” abattoir and a sterilized goat’s milk processing plant.
The NMIS-accredited “Double A” abattoir will include bio-secured holding pens, chilling systems and refrigerated transport.
On the other hand, the sterilized goat’s milk processing plant is branded as Mindanao’s first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and compliant with Good Manufacturing Practice.
The DA said it will build on SMAC’s existing organic processing plant, which uses rotary composters from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management to turn farm waste and food scraps into soil amendments.
It added that livestock by-products from the new facilities will be processed the same way rather than discharged into local waterways.
The project is expected to benefit 1,330 people: 1,281 livestock raisers, 23 meat shop owners and 26 dairy cooperative members. Of these, 230 belong to the Indigenous B’laan and Bagobo groups.
The DA projected that annual net incomes will rise by 79.98% for goat raisers who sell live animals and by 37.96% for dairy goat farmers.
It added that the longer shelf life of sterilized milk will open institutional markets such as school feeding programs.
Construction will generate 215 jobs, followed by 37 permanent positions at the abattoir and processing plant.
“By combining public infrastructure ownership with cooperative-led management, the Magsaysay Integrated Livestock Enterprise sets a repeatable blueprint for sustainable rural development across Mindanao proving that food security, environmental integrity, and economic dignity can flourish together in the countryside,” the agency stressed.
