SORSOGON, May 12, 2022 – Through the assistance of the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development’s (DA-SAAD) Mallard Ducks Livelihood Production project, 20 members of the Sipaya Small Farmers Association (SSFA) received their poultry package amounting to Php 672,000.00.  The project aims to provide farmers with food processing or value-addition.

In June 2021, the group received their poultry package amounting to Php 672,000.00 which includes mallard ducks (400 heads), laminated sacks (40pcs), duck feed layer (180 bags), duck feed grower (120 bags), linear feeder (80pcs), duck waterer (80pcs), plastic screen/net (8 rolls).

The association’s poultry production is managed in a privately-owned 800 square meters (sqm) lot. Weeks after SSFA received their poultry package, duck cholera infected and caused mortality to 50 of the 400 heads given to the association. Fortunately, safety measures like immediate isolation of the infected ducks, provision of clean water, strict sanitation, and treatment of antibiotics were put in place to prevent the recurrence of the disease.

After two months, the ducks started to lay eggs and were eventually sold at prices ranging from Php 170 to Php 200 or 30 pcs per tray depending on their sizes. In eight months, they accumulated an income of Php 8,840.00 from mallard duck egg production (Table 1).

Table 1: SSFA’s mallard duck production income from August 2021-April 2022

The members also venture into rice and swine farming as their primary source of income. Pater Jeremias, SSFA President, works as a rice farmer and earns Php 10,000 – Php 20,000 per harvest in a year and is used to provide for his family’s daily needs.

According to Mr. Jeremias, a portion of the harvested eggs was allocated for their family’s table consumption. In addition to this, the members made a salted egg with different flavors to start up their enterprise this year.

“Nagpapasalamat kami nin damo sa SAAD para didi sa dagdag income saamon na mga parauma. Sa mga hinatag pa na feeds para sa mga itik, diri na kami mabakal. Aatamanon mi ining mayad para mas dako pa an mag-abot na grasya sa asosasyon namon.” Tatay Pater said.

(We are thankful to SAAD for providing us with added income; the mallard ducks, and not to mention, the feeds – we will no longer need to buy them in stores. We will make sure to take good care of them so that it brings us more blessings in the future.)

SSFA’s plans

According to Mr. Jeremias, their total earnings will be deposited to Gubat St. Anthony Corporation (GSAC) as their association’s savings account.

As of now, they are focused on mallard egg production. Soon, they plan to make this sustainable through enterprise building, offering products such as salted egg, pickled egg, leche flan, and puto-flan – that they learned to make through the Training on Livestock and Poultry Production and Enterprise conducted by the SAAD Program in November 2021. ###

Writer: Pauline Trixia D. Borja, SAAD Program Information Officer

Sources: Ma. Ligaya Renegado, Juban Area Coordinator

Photos: Pauline Trixia D. Borja, Juan Paulo Quizana