Philippine Carabao Center

Philippine Carabao Center
Sentro ng Pilipinas para sa Kalabaw
Logo

Philippine Carabao Center
Agency overview
FormedMarch 27, 1992
Preceding agency
  • Philippine Carabao Research and Development Center
HeadquartersMuñoz, Nueva Ecija
15°43′58″N 120°55′52″E / 15.7326606°N 120.9309769°E / 15.7326606; 120.9309769
Employees178 (2024)[1]
Annual budget₱595.7 million (2021)[2]
Agency executive
  • Claro Mingala, Executive Director (OIC)
Parent agencyDepartment of Agriculture
Websitewww.pcc.gov.ph

The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC; Filipino: Sentro ng Kalabaw sa Pilipinas[3] or Sentro ng Pilipinas para sa Kalabaw[4]) an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, was established at Muñoz in Nueva Ecija province in 1992 to breed and cross carabao based on high-yield Murrah buffalo (native breed of Haryana state of India) in the Philippines as a multi-purpose animal that can be raised for milk, meat, hide, and draft.[5][6][7][8]

History

It was set up in 1992 on a 40 hectares (99 acres) piece of land donated by Central Luzon State University on its main campus, initially with 6 network centers in 1992. 7 more network centers were added in 1994 bringing the total to 13. It was sponsored as a bill by the then senator Joseph Estrada and eventually enacted as a law through Republic Act 7307 i.e. the Philippine Carabao Act of 1992.[9]

Indian-origin Murrah buffalo dairy breed of Asian water buffalo, at PCC imported from Bulgaria.[10]

Research and development

Reproduction technology

The PCC had some success in reproductive biotechnology in 2004 when the first test-tube buffalo was born on April 5, also the birthday of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Incidentally, the test-tube buffalo is a female and was named as "Glory" after the President.

From 2007 to 2009, the PCC was known to be researching on the process of cloning carabaos.[11][12]

Milk yield improvement

Late in 2007, according to Filipino scientists, the Center located in Nueva Ecija initiated a study to breed the super water buffalo that could produce 4 to 18 liters of milk/day using gene-based technology.[9] The majority of the funding came from the Department of Science and Technology. When this marker-assisted selection process is perfected it will allow the poor farmers to conserve their resources by raising only the best producers that are genetically selected soon after birth.

Taxonomy

In 2024, the PCC along with the Institute of Biology of the College of Science of the University of the Philippines Diliman proposed to revive the 1860 species classification that recognizes the carabao or swamp buffalo as a distinct species from the riverine buffalo. Currently the carabao (Bubalus bubalis carabanensis) and the riverine buffalo (Bubalus bubalis bubalis) are considered as subspecies of the domesticated buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)[13]

Network

PCC Regional Network[14]
National Headquarters and Gene Pool Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
Mariano Marcos State University Batac, Ilocos Norte
Cagayan State University Tuguegarao, Cagayan
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University Rosario, La Union
Central Luzon State University Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
University of the Philippines Los Baños Los Baños, Laguna
Visayas State University Baybay, Leyte
West Visayas State University Calinog, Iloilo
La Carlota Stock Farm La Carlota, Negros Occidental
Ubay Stock Farm Ubay, Bohol
Mindanao Livestock Production Center Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte
Central Mindanao University Maramag, Bukidnon
University of Southern Mindanao Kabacan, Cotabato

International partners

Philippine Carabao Center runs an "International Buffalo Knowledge Resource Services" (IBKRS) in partnership with the following institutes:[15]

Panorama of the super carabaos from the view deck
  • PCC facade, National Headquarters and Gene Pool, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
    PCC facade, National Headquarters and Gene Pool, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
  • The super carabaos at the milking and breeding station
    The super carabaos at the milking and breeding station
  • The Murrah buffaloes in the Philippine Carabao Center's outlet in Central Mindanao University, Bukidnon
    The Murrah buffaloes in the Philippine Carabao Center's outlet in Central Mindanao University, Bukidnon
  • Milking from the view deck
    Milking from the view deck
  • Housing of the officers
    Housing of the officers
  • Staff housing
    Staff housing
  • Facade
    Facade
  • The main products of Dairy Plant, Milka Krem, Philippine Carabao Center
    The main products of Dairy Plant, Milka Krem, Philippine Carabao Center

See also

Further reading

  • DA-Philippine Carabso Center: 30 Years of Milestones (PDF).

References

  1. ^ Department of Budget and Management. "Staffing Summary Fiscal Year 2024" (PDF). Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  2. ^ "Current Operating Expenditures" (PDF). Philippine carabao center. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Impormasyon Tungkol sa Unibersidad" (PDF) (in Filipino). Central Luzon State University: 17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Mga Pangalan ng Tanggapan ng Pamahalaan sa Filipino (PDF) (2013 ed.). Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino. 2013. p. 9. ISBN 978-971-0197-22-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 29, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "Philippine Carabao Center History". Archived from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  6. ^ Hernandez, Ma. Eloisa E. "The Philippine Carabao Center ...has gone a long way". Bureau of Agricultural Research. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  7. ^ Robles, Chan. "REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7307". Robles Chan Virtual Law Library. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  8. ^ "The Philippines: Enterprise-Driven Dairy Development" (PDF). Philippine Carabao Center. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  9. ^ a b Uy, Jocelyn (December 31, 2007). "Super carabao making the scene in year of the rats". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  10. ^ "Homepage". Philippine Carabao Center.
  11. ^ Ong, Ghio; Flores, Helen. "Erap carabao center to produce clones". Philstar.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  12. ^ "Philippines Close to Creating World's First Water Buffalo Clone". Voice of America. October 28, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Recognize carabao as 'distinct' species from riverine buffalo – scientists". Rappler. September 18, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  14. ^ "DA-PCC NETWORK" (PDF). 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  15. ^ "Institutions". International Buffalo Knowledge Resource Services. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philippine Carabao Center.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.