CATANDUANES, January 25, 2022 – Three farmer-groups in Catanduanes, who adopted the communal approach in duck and chicken raising to maximize their resources and eventually start egg enterprise, accumulated a consolidated gross income of Php 27,385 from selling eggs in pieces and trays.

The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program provided the groups with Php 2 million worth of Duck and Chicken Production and Enterprise Development Package in 2021 (Table 1).

Table 1. Interventions received by the FAs from SAAD

Association	Intervention/s received	Date of Delivery (2021)	Project Cost (Php)
San Miguel SAAD Duck Raisers Association	40 heads of ducks	August 17	766,500.00
	40 pcs of laminated sacks
	180 bags of duck feeds (layer)
	120 bags of duck feeds (grower)
	80 of pcs linear feeder (1ft)
	80 pcs of duck drinker/waterer (1gal)
	8 rolls of plastic screen/net (small holes)
	1 set of supplies for processing and selling of duck products
	1 unit of freezer
	8 pcs of plastic drum
	5 pcs of crates
	2 units of weighing scale (10kg)
	3 pcs of large containers
	50 dozens of egg tray
	8 pcs of tray
	5 pcs of cauldron/pot
San Miguel Poultry Association (SMPA)	400 native chickens	August 10	562,000.00
	40 pcs of laminated sacks 40 pcs
	120 bags of chicken feeds (layer)
	80 bags of chicken feeds (grower)
	80 pcs of chicken feeder (1ft)
	80 pcs of chicken drinker/waterer (1gal)
	8 rolls of plastic screen/net (small holes)
San Roque Duck Raisers Association	400 heads of ducks	August 17	672,000.00
	40 pcs of laminated sacks
	180 bags of duck feeds (layer)
	120 bags of duck feeds (grower)
	80 pcs of linear feeder (1ft)
	80 pcs of duck drinker/waterer (1gal)
	8 rolls of plastic screen/net (small holes)
Total			2,000,500.00

Most members of the groups were individual beneficiaries of the program in 2020 and formed themselves as associations in 2021. They all have prior knowledge in poultry management.

Each group has a communal area (200-400 square meters [sqm]) and also have a scheduled rotation for feeding and harvesting of eggs.

Their current markets are stores within their communities. They use their social media accounts to sell their products. 

San Miguel SAAD Duck Raisers Association

With 17 active members, the San Miguel Duck Raisers Association was organized in March 2021. It was officially registered in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in November of the same year.

In August 2021, they started raising the mallard ducks received from the program to their 200sqm communal area located in barangay San Miguel, Baras.

As of December, the group recorded a gross income of Php 4,225 after selling 782 pieces of eggs out of 1,185 collected (Table 2).  The remaining 403 eggs were allocated for table consumption.

Due to their good reputation, the barangay council has allocated Php 20,000 annual supplementary support for three years to the group’s future endeavors.

Vilma Tayoto, the association’s Vice President, shared that they attribute the recognition to the SAAD Program.

“Because of SAAD, we had free access to eggs in our community,” she added.

San Roque Duck Raisers Association (SRDA)

The SRDA with 20 members built their 300sqm communal area in San Roque, Bato and began raising 400 ducks received from the program in September 2021.

From the latter part of September to December, the group accumulated a total revenue of Php 15,710. They sold the eggs harvested in trays at Php 150 for members and Php 180 for non-members. A total of 87 trays of egg were already sold (Table 2).

SRDA Treasurer Leonila Timbal shared, “Kami po na myembro po ng San Roque Duck Raisers Association nagpapasalamat po kami sa SAAD, ta dakula pong tuwang sa samuya pong mga myembro ining tinao ng SAAD. Sana po dae po magtunong ang SAAD na magtuwang po sa arog samong mga kasaradayan.”

(We, the members of San Roque Duck Raisers Association are thankful for SAAD, because what SAAD provided us was really a big help to each member. We hope that SAAD continues to help small farmers like us.)

San Miguel Poultry Association

The women-led group with 27 members has a 400sqm communal area for poultry raising which they put up in barangay San Miguel, Panganiban.

After receiving the chicken interventions from SAAD, the group reported to have started gathering eggs in November and generated a gross income of Php 7,450 as of December 2021 (Table 2).

They also sold their chicken eggs in trays priced at Php 130 for small, Php 140 for medium, and Php 150 for large, marketed within their barangay.

Nelly Tanote, the treasurer of the association, shared, “Ang napag usapan po namin yung magpahimsa ng sugok para mapadakor namo yung manok. Pagnakapahimsa kami ng halimbawa isiw…. tapos yung plano namo mapabakar hanggang sa magdakor siya.”

(We plan to incubate eggs to increase our number of chickens. After they hatch, we plan to sell them as chicks as well as use them to increase our production.)

Table 2. Income generated by the FAs as of December 2021

Association	Harvest Date (2021)	Quantity	Unit of Measure	Price/unit (Php)	Gross Income (Php)
San Miguel SAAD Duck Raisers Association	September to December	782	piece	5.00-6.00	4,225.00
San Roque Duck Raisers Association (SRDA)		87	tray	150.00-180.00	15,710.00
San Miguel Poultry Association		53	tray	130.00-150.00	7,450.00
Total					27,385.00

Other interventions provided by SAAD

Aside from the poultry packages provided by the program to the three groups, drugs and biologics were also administered to the duck and chicken stocks.

They are all thankful for the opportunity SAAD provided to them. They also expressed how the program helped small farmers like them to produce enough food for the table, as well as how it encouraged them to earn more and sustain their projects through enterprise development.

All of them plan to venture into value-adding products such as salted eggs, leche flan, puto de leche, for the coming year. ###

 

Writer: Maribeth Mangalino, SAAD Planning Officer
Sources:
Angelica Blanco, SAAD Information Officer
Melrose Buetre, SAAD PPMSO Catanduanes Provincial Coordinator
Efren Tablizo, SAAD PPMSO Catanduanes Area Coordinator
Rea Tomagan, SAAD PPMSO Catanduanes Area Coordinator

Photos by: SAAD PPMSO Catanduanes