In a bid to strengthen dairy cooperation between the Philippines and Israel, the Department of Agriculture-National Dairy Authority (DA-NDA) in partnership with the Israel Embassy in Manila and the Economic & Commercial Mission to the Philippines mounted a webinar on March 2, 2022 dubbed as “Philippine – Israel Dairy Business Forum: Ramping Up the Milk Production to Meet Local Demands.”
The virtual event, which tackled the best practices and leading technologies in Israel’s dairy industry, was also highlighted by the signing of the joint declaration between Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines and Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss on behalf of the State of Israel, for collaboration on improving the dairy sector of the Philippines.
A major highlight of the pact is the commitment of the two parties to strengthen the linkages between the private sectors of both countries including dairy producers and associations, agricultural technologies and agri-food companies, consultants, importers and distributors to urge them to find opportunities for partnerships, investments and commercial collaborations.
The countries also agreed to bolster cooperative efforts through capacity building and engagement of the Israeli private sector.
To set the stage for the webinar session, NDA Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Administrator Farrell Benjelix C. Magtoto presented an overview of the Philippine Dairy Industry situation.
According to him, national milk production reached 26.3 million liters in 2021. However, local production remains insufficient at present and does not meet the country’s dairy requirement.
He recommended implementing the “OneDA” framework to accelerate the development of the dairy industry through its four pillars: Professionalization, Modernization, Industrialization and Consolidation.
“The OneDA Reform Agenda of Secretary Dar is a convergence of efforts by National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and stakeholders including international partners like Israel to make every dairy project sustainable and profitable so that each dairy farm and cooperative will become an effective tool for rural economic development and health improvements,” he said.
Following this was a presentation on Israel’s Dairy Sector and a study case of Dairy Fresh Asia on their dairy project experience in Vietnam, by Israel Economic Mission Commercial Officer Ms. Ariane Blancia.
To establish cooperation between Philippine stakeholders and Israeli companies, the forum also included a pitching session featuring dairy technologies offered by Israeli companies such as Sion (Israeli Breeding Program and Artificial Insemination of Highly Productive Holstein Cow); Afimilk (Afimilk Herd Management System); ABL Technologies (High Technology Milk Processing Equipment); and HomeBioGas (HomeBiogas – Turning waste into free cooking gas & Bio Fertilizer).
The event was concluded by a closing remarks delivered by DA Undersecretary for Livestock William C. Medrano.

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