SIQUIJOR—A hundred (100) cattle and sixty (60) goat farmer-partners from the six (6) municipalities of Siquijor will receive 7.2 million worth of interventions from the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA). The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) will spearhead the project implementation in strong collaboration with the SAAD Provincial Program Management Support Office (PPMSO) and municipal Local Government Units (LGUs).
On 25-27 July 2018, sixty (60) goat farmer-partners attended the Specialized Training on Goat Raising at the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) Conference Hall in Helen, Larena, Siquijor. Ten (10) farmer-partners from each of the six (6) municipalities attended the said training.
Based from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) data, goat is one of the major animals shipped out of the Siquijor. As backyard goat raising is common in the province, this makes goat as one of the commodities identified by the SAAD Program as a means of helping the marginalized farmers in increasing their income.
Goat farmer-partners will receive one (1) packet of goat (1 male and 4 female goats). In addition, they will also receive three (3) bags of starter feeds while they still grow their forage grasses and legumes. To protect the goat against climatological influences and stray animals, the farmer-partners will receive 20,000 worth of materials for the goat shed. Construction of the goat shed will be the farmer’s equity.
On 22-24 August 2018, a simultaneous Cattle Production Technology Training was conducted in two (2) batches of cattle farmer-partners with fifty (50) farmers per batch as attendees.
Batch 1—which is composed of the farmers from the municipalities of San Juan, Siquijor and Larena—were trained at the OPA Conference Hall in Helen, Larena, Siquijor. Batch 2—which is composed of the farmers from the municipalities of Enrique Villanueva, Maria and Lazi—were trained at the Maria Farmers Livelihood Center. Cattle is one of the province’s priority commodity. Like goat, there is a known market for cattle and its shipment is rampant.
Upgraded cattle breeder stock will be provided to the one hundred (100) cattle farmer-partners. They will also receive four (4) bags of starter feeds while they still grow their forage grasses and legumes. They are also provided with veterinary drugs and biologics. ###
Writer: Agnes Guanella M. Café – Siquijor Interim Provincial Coordinator/Area Coordinator II
Copy Editor: Ela Arciaga, SAAD NPMO PR & Communications Officer
