Organizers of the 2024 National Dairy Summit (NDS) are exploring the potentials of the industry, identifying the gaps in the value chain for stakeholders to come in, and promoting it not only in Western Visayas but nationwide. The summit set to take place at the Iloilo Convention Center on Oct. 28-30 is eyeing over 300 stakeholders where they will learn of the innovations, products and services, as well as for the players to connect, collaborate, and explore business opportunities. 'We wanted to lay bare the gaps in the value chain. With the strategic objective of producing 4.4 million liters of milk in 2028, there are still a lot of gaps in production, especially in inputs, sources of feeding stocks, and technology. With this activity, we might be able to lay bare the gaps and to present opportunities to those interested in the industry to fill in the gap,' National Dairy Authority (NDA) Western Visayas OIC manager Vicente Bitolinamisa III said at a press conference on Thursday. The NDA partners with the Western Visayas Dairy Farmers and Stakeholders Agriventures, Inc. for the event. Architect Johnny Que, president of the Western Visayas Dairy Farmers and Stakeholders Agriventures, Inc., said the dairy industry offers plenty of opportunities. 'We would like to encourage other investors because the dairy industry is a sunrise industry. If you imagine we're not even five percent of the Philippines' need. We could not produce even five percent. So the market opportunity is still very huge,' he said. NDA information officer IV Ian Caro Agbayani said Western Visayas region produces 2.2 million liters of milk annually, the third highest in the country, and is home to around 10,600 animals. 'In terms of performance, Western Visayas is very promising,' he said Source: Philippines News Agency