LEYTE, May 27, 2022 – A farmers association (FA) in Baybay, Leyte now supplies a leading pastries bakeshop in the locality, thanks to the Egg Layer Production Project of the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) in Matam-is, Baybay, Leyte.

Matam-is Farmers Association (MFA) with 16 active members is a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) registered farmers association (FA) in Baybay, Leyte. Members of the FA are low-income coconut farmers who also engaged in swine fattening and backyard vegetable gardening.

SAAD Region 8 conducted an assessment on the FA’s policies and organizational management, area of operation, financial capability, social and environmental standards, and sustainability mechanism where MFA qualified to be a recipient of the Egg Layer Production Project of SAAD under the 2021 savings allocation. Prior to providing the interventions, SAAD Region 8 staff also conducted a Social Preparation activity including community organizing, and technical assistance on production and monitoring to equip the association in handling the project.

In December 2021, SAAD delivered 480 ready to lay chickens, and 155 bags of layer feeds and biologics worth Php 719,500.

The MFA has started supplying egg as production input to a leading cake and pastries producer in the locality, Panny’s Homebake Products Inc., since April 2022. The association supplies 30 trays of eggs per week which equates to an average of Php 21,000 gross sales per month. The income is directly deposited to the bank account of the association.

This successful linkage was initiated by the FA’s business manager, Mr. Gregorio Villaber and supported by production manager, Pedro Morquianos.  For the past five months of operation, the association has a total net income of Php 138,840, of which Php 124,000 was deposited in the bank, while Php 14,840 cash is on hand.

Production  

Currently, the flocks are 5 months old with an average of 397 eggs laid per day or 82.7% laying percentage which means that the flocks are about to reach its peak of production in July 2022 and expected to reach production of 85% – 90% laying percentage. This means 460 pieces of eggs can be hatched daily. In terms of yield in production from January to May 2022, the flocks reached up to 51,159 eggs translated to a gross sales of Php 176,106 with farmgate price of Small-Php 160; Medium-Php 170; Large-Php 190; XL-Php 210 and J-Php 230.

Table 1. MFA’s Egg Production table

Marketing

A successful egg production is feasible and provides an active income to any association; thus, it is paramount to be mindful in managing finances and marketing and trade policies. MFA marketing journey started on February 16, 2022 during the KADIWA activity initiated by Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) and DA Region 8 that was conducted in Baybay City local market.

MFA participated in the said activity once a week for 3 consecutive weeks when they rocketed their sales to a total of Php 25, 898 with 147 trays sold, at Php 175 per tray average price. By then, luck has hit MFA as they regularly deliver 30 trays of eggs per week to Panny’s and maintain its marketing agreement through public relations, quality and commitment.

Plans and Targets

MFA has a sharing scheme of 60% to members as dividends, 30% to association as operation fund and 10% as honorarium to officers. This scheme is part of the sustainability mechanism, derived from the net income of the association after satisfying expenses including the depreciation cost, that was preserved to be used for expansion and replacement of livestock and equipment.

By September 2022, MFA plans to purchase additional RTL as preparation for the replacement of the old stocks before culling. Lastly, if the policies being implemented are effective, then the organization will pursue to become a cooperative before 2025. ###

Writer: Mildred Compendio-Bregildo, SAAD Area Coordinator II