MOUNTAIN PROVINCE, July 22, 2022 – Through the Enhancement of Brown Egg Production and Marketing project introduced by the Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Chawchawan Farmers Organization (CFO) in Can-eo, Bontoc, Mountain Province started venturing as egg suppliers in their village.
Barangay Can-eo is one of the smallest and farthest barangays in Bontoc where goods need to be transported from the municipality’s capital via passenger’s jeep for two hours. Prior to the intervention of DA-SAAD CAR, its households earn their living from planting rice, native pig, and chicken raising for household consumption, and men-afer (loom weaving) where they earn at least a maximum of Php 5,000.00 a month depending on the quantity of orders from the customers.
“No marpash tuned, achuwan ay buran nan mash-ed sha et maapit nan pakhey. Isunga, miid et geb-en mi no achi men-afer ya enpakpakan an ati-atik as taraken mi ay native ya baboy ya manok,” said Ms. Grace Anongos, Secretary of the CFO.
(If we’re done in rice planting, we have to wait for how many months before we can harvest our palay. That’s why we have no other work to do aside from loom weaving and feeding our small stocks of native pigs and chickens.)
This March, SAAD granted the Enhancement of Brown Egg Production and Marketing project for the CFO, worth Php 586,700.00 which provided 250 head of Dekalb Brown Chicken, feeds, biologics, vitamins, and other poultry farm tools. Meanwhile, the beneficiaries built the housing of the poultry using indigenous materials. This project has paved another farming venture and an additional source of income for the farmers.
“Men iyaman kami tay inyali cha an manok ta waday pakanen mi ya nalaka ay men alaan as itlog ta adi isukapay as lakuwan nu inpa-Bontok kami,” Ms. Anongos added.
(We are thankful that they have brought us the chicken to feed to easily access eggs. We do not need to buy it if we go to Bontoc.)
Since the flocks have started laying eggs on May 19, 2022, the CFO collected and filled more than 87 trays. From June 2022, there is an average of 4-5 trays of harvest a day. Because they were the first to have a poultry farm in their small village, the organization now supplies several store owners as well as households in the area. While waiting for the egg scale from the program, the CFO is temporarily selling their brown eggs in mixed sizes at PhP 200.00 pesos per tray.
“Edi damo, stay-nan give up kami tay marigatan kami en men-amag es kulungan da ya men isang-sang at es danum ay inumen das inakhew, ngem idi nen itlog dat, maragragsakan kami en man-pidpidot tay at least masuksukatan bannog mi,” (We have nearly given up at first because we feel difficulties in building their housing and in fetching up for their drinking water every day, but when they have started to lay eggs, we feel so much happiness because our hard works have started to pay off) Ms. Anongos explained.
Table 1. Monthly Record of Egg Production and Sales*As of July 7, 2022
CFO has a total sale of Php 17,400.00 (cash on hand and cash receivables) from more than a month of selling brown eggs. The receivables were the amount of eggs loaned since there were members who take eggs upon harvest then will send payment on a later date.
According to Ms. Anongos, members of the association have agreed to save sales for the improvement of the chicken housing since it is temporarily made of cogon grass, recycled logs and firewood timbers, and other locally available materials. This underscores the organization’s commitment to sustain brown egg production and its hope for more interventions from the DA-CAR SAAD.
“No mabalin ket mentuloy nan nay SAAD interventions ta waday iyali cha kasin as pankhawisan ay projects. Kasapulan mi metlang achuwan trainings on poultry farming ya financial management ta mentuloy ay mayat nan nay project mi, tay edwani lang na ay men egg production kami,” said Ms. Anongos.
(If possible, we hope that the SAAD intervention will continue so that they will bring more good projects. We also need more training on poultry farming and financial management so that we can sustain this project, because we just started engaging in egg production.)
In order to sustain egg production, the organization is building more partnerships with store owners within and outside the barangay in order to widen their market reach and obtain higher sales. This is to enable them to fund flocks and acquire feeds. Meanwhile, a training on bookkeeping is scheduled in August for the organization members this year to increase farmers’ knowledge and skills in enterprise management.
Writer: Florde Liza A. Afidchao, DA-SAAD Mountain Province Information Officer
Sources:
Chawchawan Farmers’ Organization
DA-SAAD Bontoc Community and Project Development Officers
DA-SAAD Mountain Province Procurement Officer
