APAYAO – Twenty (20) farmers from Sitio Asao, Barangay Butao in Calanasan, Apayao were recognized in a graduation ceremony held on the 22^nd of November 2017 for their commendable participation during the 16-week Farmer Livestock School Training (FLST) under the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program.

The training aims to prepare and equip farmers with the fundamental know-how of handling the pigs before their delivery.

The activity was done in partnership with the Calanasan Office for Agricultural Services, with resource speakers Municipal Agriculturist Luisa U. Magna, Veterinarian I Reah Vivian M. Piagan, and Agricultural Technologist Dan M. Sagli.

The same training was also recently conducted in Conner and Kabugao, each with 20 participating farmer-beneficiaries. A graduation ceremony is also set to be conducted in both municipalities.

All beneficiaries will receive a total of 60 gilts and boars, 20 for each municipality. The first-in-line beneficiaries of gilt will be given breeders, feeds for at least one production cycle, and a simple piggery house. All of these are already under procurement in the provincial local government unit of Apayao.

Apayao, one of SAAD’s 2017 priority provinces, has a 54.7% poverty incidence rate per family based on the 2012 data of the Philippine Statistics Authority. ###

Writer: Jhomai Canlas, SAAD Communications Officer