Jerome Madulin, a 30-year-old farmer from Sumasap, Panaon, Misamis Occidental, is among the 30 beneficiaries of Php 1.15 million worth of Swine Production Project of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of FY 2019.

Jerome received the module of gilt and feeds on January 16, 2020. After 7 months, the gilt got pregnant and gave birth to 19 piglets on November 2 but unfortunately, three died. By December, Jerome was able to sell 10 lechon-size pigs (with an average weight of 29 kilograms) in his neighborhood and brought him an income of Php 32,000.

[Nakatabang gyud ang aku halin sa amu inadlaw-adlaw nga panginahanglanon, sa gatas og diaper sa akong anak. Akong gi-roll aku halin para pangpalit og feeds sa aku anay og sa iyang mga baktin unya. Duha na mn ka buwan buros ang akong anay karon.]

“The income I earned from the sales of my pigs comes handy to provide for our daily needs, for my child’s milk and diapers. I invested the earnings to procure feeds for my sow and its upcoming piglets. My sow is two months pregnant now,” Jerome attested.

Considering himself lucky as beneficiary, Jerome urged his fellow farmers in town to value the project provided to them and make the most of it to earn extra income.

“Kining hayop basta ato lng atimanon og maayo mobalos gyud sila, basta magkugi lng gyud” [With proper care, rearing farm animals is potential livelihood, so long as we stay hardworking and diligent], he remarked.

Now he is planning to add another sow by choosing a breeder-material from the piglets he is anticipating next month.

Swine Production Project in Panaon

As of January 16, 2021, the Agriculture Office of Panaon reported 15 gestations out of 30 sows provided by SAAD to the municipality in January last year. Five sows are now reportedly gestating while the remaining 10 are yet to gestate. The Local Government Unit (LGU) reported five sows’ death, subject to a replacement from the turned over piglets of the beneficiaries.

There were 120 piglets produced and 22 of these were passed on to the next grantee. Each beneficiary is obliged to hand over two female piglets to the LGU.

Value Addition

As a project upscaling strategy, this year the SAAD Northern Mindanao will be training the farmers on processed food production like longganisa, ham, tocino, and chorizo.

“This year we wanted our farmers to start and invest in enterprising farm activities. We want them to step up their game in terms of consolidating and diversifying their products,” said Lana May Racines, the SAAD Northern Mindanao Head Secretariat.

“We will be providing our beneficiaries the series of training they needed for value-added farm production. This effort will go a long way not only in sustaining our projects but more on capacitating our farmers to be extra productive especially in the midst of this crisis,” Racines furthered. ###

Writer: Azbie Talib, SAAD Region 10, Information Officer
Source: Local Government Unit of Panaon, Misamis Occidental