The National Federation of Dairy Farmers and Stakeholders’ Association (Dairy Nat Fed) has urged Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara to allow the National Dairy Authority (NDA) to handle the Department of Education’s (DepEd) milk feeding program to achieve greater efficiency in delivering the program.
Dairy NatFed formally requested Angara in a letter sent on Friday to revert management of the feeding program to the previous system where the NDA handles the program instead.
The group said delegating the program to the NDA would relieve DepEd staff and public school teachers of administrative duties and allow them to concentrate on their teaching mandate.
In September, the Dairy NatFed met with Angara to discuss its proposal of allowing the NDA and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) to undertake the milk feeding program.
Dairy Nat Fed said that at the meeting, Angara expressed no objection to the proposal as long as the arrangement complies with existing laws.
At the discussion, the group claimed that while there is no mandate for the NDA and the PCC to take over the milk feeding program, the law allows for its delegation.
Under the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act, national government agencies cooperate with the Department of Agriculture, the NDA, the PCC and the Cooperative Development Authority for the incorporation of fresh milk and fresh milk-based products in fortified meals and cycle menu pursuant to the Philippine Fortification Act of 2000.
The NDA is mandated “to encourage the integration of dairy production and local milk and the distribution of dairy products into various rural livelihood and nutrition programs,” said Danilo Fausto, Dairy Nat Fed president.
The PCC also does not have the mandate to implement milk feeding programs.
“It is very clear in the law that the NDA has the mandate to implement the milk feeding program of the government. The old modality of having the NDA and PCC implement the milk feeding program created an unwanted competition between cooperative farmers being managed by the NDA and PCC,” Fausto added.
The group emphasized the reversion is crucial in maximizing the DepEd’s P2 billion budget for the feeding component of the program.
