KALINGA, November 10, 2022 – With the presence of Rang-ay San Quintin Farmers Association’s (RSQFA) brown egg enterprise in Rizal, Kalinga, their community was able to acquire a stable supply of fresh eggs.

In July 2021, the RSQFA, comprising 70 members who are engaged in rice farming, received 15 free-range chicken stocks (13 pullets and 2 roosters) and poultry nets for the Poultry Subproject worth Php 1,120,000.00 from the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program. These interventions are under the FY 2021 Fruit Trees, Free-range, and Egg Production Project with a total amount of Php 1,526,500.00. as additional livelihood support. The poultry stocks were raised within the members’ respective backyards along with their cash crop interventions, which are crops that help them generate income, to provide start-up capital for integrated farming.

The identification of egg production sub-project by the Municipal Government of Rizal was in accordance with the Government Agricultural Policy aimed at increasing food production and diversification of the present farming system in the locality to sustain supply of agricultural products like poultry eggs. Egg production, in comparison to other agricultural livelihoods, can provide income in about 1-2 months after the delivery of ready-to-lay chicken stocks. Having eggs as a common food in the neighborhood, marketing the eggs will not be a constraint to the FA.

Their pullets started laying eggs in August 2021 in which the eggs produced were used for their households’ consumption, a reduction to the kitchen needs of farmers. With their increasing number of egg production, they opt to start selling the eggs within their community which stirred the group to devise an egg marketing scheme.

Egg marketing scheme

The organization’s egg marketing scheme involves buying each member’s produce at a wholesale price for the business managers to sell them at a higher price comparable to the local market price. The current market of the group is within the community, especially the sari-sari or retail stores. Further, members are required to share 5% of their sales with the FA to help increase their group’s funds.

As of September 2022, the group recorded a total of 17,770 pieces (pcs) of eggs or 592 trays of egg sold, amounting to Php 88,500.00 since October 2021. The total collected share amounts to Php 4,425, to date (Table 1).

Table 1. Egg sales and income share of RSQFA from their production

RSQFA’s egg sales were used to purchase for their household needs, for their children’s allowance, and purchase of layer feeds to maintain the good laying ability stocks.

“Nakatulong kanyami daytuy nga intervention ta idi nagrugi nga agitlog, adda ti pang food consumption mi paylang, han min kaylangan nga gumatang. Agited kami pay ti relative mi ta-ishare mi met ti blessing mi. Tapus di umadadun, agilaku kamin tapnu maka-income kami met,” said Ms. Kathy Bayed, RSQFA secretary.

(The interventions helped since the eggs were used for the family’s food consumption at first. We don’t have to buy eggs anymore. We also share this blessing with our relatives. And when the production increased, we then started selling for additional income.)

Towards project sustainability

With the assistance of SAAD staff Ms. Loida Madeo and Ms. Joan Dawigoy assigned in Rizal municipality, the FA was encouraged to also engage in free-range chicken production and not just in egg production. With the newly awarded two (2) units of incubator to the FA on September 2, enhanced production of new chicken stocks will now be possible. This will also be beneficial for the restocking of FA since the culling of their present stocks will be from 2023 to 2024.

The FA plans to invest in communal poultry production which is seen to help increase their group fund. Increasing their fund will soon benefit their members with their dividend benefits in the future. They have already identified a location for the poultry house and clearing and construction will be their next activities.

The SAAD Program, together with the Municipal Government of Rizal, continues to monitor and provide technical assistance to the FA, especially with the finalization of their sustainability plan for their project and organization. Since the FA will not be included in the Phase 2 implementation of the SAAD Program, the FA strives to maintain the projects the SAAD Program provided for their needs. ###

Writer: Sheena Phine P. Dayagon, DA-SAAD Kalinga Information Officer