NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, May 31, 2022 – The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program in its aim to boost the backyard swine industry in Toboso, Negros Occidental granted livestock support projects worth over Php 2 million, benefiting four (4) farmers’ associations (FAs).
SAAD Area Coordinator for Toboso Amy Parillo said these associations will undergo training on swine raising this June. Topics include management of swine farms, stock selection, housing, feeds and feeding, disease prevention, and economics of swine production.
About the Hog Industry in Negros Occidental
In Negros Occidental, hog raising is a common and profitable business for locals through decades, especially the families living in the rural areas.
Philippine Statistics Authority’s livestock inventory showed the province as the leading producer of swine raised in backyard farms in 2021 with 410,090 hogs and accounting for 38.24% of the total production in Western Visayas.
Negros has a total local daily requirement of up to 1,000 to 1,500 head while monthly ship-out is 350 head for Iloilo and 150 head for Cebu, according to the Provincial Veterinary Office.
DA RFO – 6 tagged Negros Occidental as a “green zone” or an African Swine Fever (ASF)-free province, making it one of the most trusted and major suppliers of pigs for slaughter in Luzon and other parts of the country.
Since ASF was first detected in the country in 2019, the provincial government of Negros Occidental has been implementing strict biosecurity measures to keep diseases and pathogens that carry them — viruses, bacteria, funguses, parasites, and other micro-organisms — away from livestock, property, and people.
As part of its response, the ASF task force installed an animal quarantine checkpoint in southern Negros, particularly in Barangay Hilamonan, Kabankalan City.
Together with the City of Kabankalan, it has operated the checkpoint to strengthen the veterinary inspection of all meat and meat-related products entering the province.
The task force station was also established at the New Bacolod-Silay Airport with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
With the increasing demand for pork not just in Toboso but in the entire Negros, SAAD farmers, thus, pursued the livestock venture.
The Toboso Paravet Hog Raisers and Farmers’ Association
On May 26, the Toboso Paravet Hog Raisers and Farmers’ Association with 36 members initially received 30 piglets as part of SAAD’s FY 2022 Swine Production Project worth Php 791,200.
The remaining project inputs such as 10 upgraded gilts, a boar, 60 bags of hog feeds, four water drums, two water hoses, five sets of drugs and biologics, one weighing scale, one chest freezer, meat shop materials and equipment by June or July this year.
Mr. Joemarie Bersales, the vice-chairperson of the association, said that most of their members are reliant on small-scale backyard hog raising, corn production, and backyard vegetable gardening. Thus, SAAD’s swine production project will provide them with an alternative source of livelihood by raising these animals which are known to contain high-quality protein. Hogs are also easy to raise and have the ability to grow and reproduce 8 to 12 piglets per farrowing even under adverse conditions. As a counterpart, the group is providing the animal enclosures already built by their members.
According to Mr. Bersales, they agreed to rear the pigs in three vacant pigpens owned by members in three sitios to give the animals sufficient space, shelter, and access to food and water. Although the beneficiaries will be sharing pigpens, they would still raise the animal individually.
Mr. Bersales shared their initial plans about their policies and profit-sharing scheme which may require their 30 first-in-line beneficiaries to give back (roll-over) three piglets to the association should the mother stock be able to reproduce.
Through hard work and labor, his group is optimistic that they can increase the population of their stocks and will eventually utilize the meat shop materials and equipment for their planned enterprise.
Bersales also thanked the SAAD Program seeing that the project provides his FA members an additional income. “Madamo guid nga salamat sa SAAD nga ginhatagan kami sang proyekto sa pagsagud sang baboy. Kamo makasalig nga amon gid ini tinguha-an nga mapalambo para makabulig sa sa amon pangabuhi diri sa Toboso pina-agi sa pagtukod sang isa ka negosyo sa karne nga makahatag sa amon sang income.”
(I am very thankful to SAAD because we were granted a project on swine production. You can trust that we will strive to make this project thrive to help improve our lives here in Toboso by establishing a meat business that could give us income).
The Odiong Ilaya Farmers´Association
Meanwhile, the Odiong Ilaya Farmers’ Association with 40 members, Seraje Pinag-upacan Integrated Farmers’ Association with 30 members, and Sinugmawan Integrated Farmers’ Association with 44 members will receive 10 piglets each per FA as supplementary support to their corn production worth Php 1,270,000. In addition, the groups are in line to receive two units of corn sheller and corn mill.
To note, said associations received the Corn Production Project in March 2021. Eighty (80) farmers from the said groups were able to plant corn seeds on their respective fields with a consolidated land area of 60 hectares, wherein 75% of them were able to utilize their harvest either for home consumption or market trade.
Ms. Wilmera Sajot, the chairperson of Sinugmawan Integrated Farmers’ Association, vowed to work hard to make sure that the piglets given to them will double or triple their population so they could earn income.
Ms. Sajot shared that they will be having first-in-line beneficiaries for their hog fattening venture. Based on their initial policies, each participating member is required to give back to the association the capital of the piglet, this time in monetary form of Php 3,500. By doing so, they would be able to buy another stock for the next project grantees.
“Nagapasalamat gid ako sang dako sa SAAD nga kami inyo na lab-ot kag nahatagan pareho sang proyekto sa baboy nga sigurado makabulig sa amon pangabuhi diri,” said Ms. Sajot.
(I am very grateful that SAAD was able to reach us and gave us a project just like the swine production that will surely help us in uplifting our lives here). ###
Writer: Christ John Gamarcha, DA-SAAD 6 Information Officer
