Philippine Carabao Center

The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, was created in 1992 to study and promote the carabao in the Philippines as a multi-purpose animal that can be raised for milk, meat, hide, and draft.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] It was sponsored as a bill by the then senator Joseph Estrada and eventually enacted as a law through Republic Act 7307 or the Philippine Carabao Act of 1992.^[5]

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.

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.^[5] 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.

PCC facade, National Headquarters and Gene Pool, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
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Panorama
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Bulgarian Murrah (Dairy) Asian water buffalo breeds, PCC^[6] List of Domestic Asian Water buffalo breeds (Super carabao Water buffalo)
The super carabaos at the milking and breeding station
Panorama of the super carabaos from the view deck
Milking from the view deck
Panorama of the breeding and milking station
Housing of the officers
Staff housing
Dairy Plant, Milka Krem Panorama
Facade
The main products of Dairy Plant, Milka Krem, Philippine Carabao Center