CALABARZON, September 20, 2023 – Following the result of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) conducted by the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Phase 2 in CALABARZON, a total of 175 goat raisers in Tingloy, Batangas are set to receive goat production project in the following year of 2024.

The PRA is an approach related to community assessment and analysis. It is an important part of the program’s social preparation component, which aims to make the planning process more efficient, inclusive, and responsive to the requirements of the beneficiaries. Primarily, it encourages key participants in a community-specific environment to share their livelihood experiences and life conditions. In this aspect, elements influencing the realities on the ground are extracted and then used to build development programs that are responsive to beneficiaries’ needs.   

The PRA was led by the Operations, Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, and Evaluation (OPBME) unit head, Mr. Girsky V. Anda. By engaging in open discussions, SAAD implementers were able to identify livestock production as one of their primary livelihoods in Tingloy. 

Rearing native goats is predominantly being used in goat backyard farming. Boer and anglo-nubian breeds are also raised by some of the farmers in the community. Expressed by the farmers, native goats are being sold for Php 200 to 230 per kilo with average live weight of 25 to 30 kilogram (kg), while upgraded breeds are sold at a higher price amounting to Php 270  to 500 per kilogram (kg). 

According to local farmers, cultivating ipil-ipil helps farmers harvest hay, which is used as goat feed. Following a discussion with farmers, they express the need for technical knowledge and livelihood support in order to sustain and start-up their goat production towards community-based enterprise (CBE). 

SAAD CALABARZON will cover 10 FCAs from 10 communities of Tingloy, thereby providing them with capacity training under the social preparation component. Through this, SAAD CALABARZON will enter into food production and livelihood components in 2024 with the technical assistance of the municipal agriculturist office (MAO) of Tingloy. ###

Writers: Pamela Faith M. Garcia, DA-SAAD CALABARZON Information Officer, Jayvee Amir P. Ergino DA-SAAD CALABARZON Information Officer