The Iloilo Provincial Government through its Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) is now enhancing its livestock program to produce dairy products that can feed the province’s malnourished children.

PAO livestock division chief Noel Bautista said the milk will be produced by their two 4-year old milking cows classified as Holstein-Sariwal which were purchased in the United States.

These were cross-bred through artificial insemination (AI) at the compound of the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (IRC) in Brgy. Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo.

Two weeks ago, the cows gave birth to one calf each.

Bautista said a cow can produce one calf per year or an average of eight calves in their lifetime.

He added that after giving birth, these cows are now producing 30 liters of milk every day and will do so for 10 months.

The cows’ milk will be given to the malnourished children of Badiangan and Carles towns which have the highest number of malnutrition cases based on the latest record of the Provincial Health Office (PHO).

Each beneficiary will be fed with 100 ml of fresh milk for 120 days starting Dec. 13, 2012.

Malnutrition is a state of deficiency in protein, energy or micronutrients while malnourished children are those below the required nutrition level depending on their height, weight and age.*