DAVAO ORIENTAL, January 29, 2024 – Mantunao Farmers Association, a locally-organized farmers group of Mandaya Indigenous Peoples, formally inaugurated their layer chicken project three months after distribution, reporting Php 140,997 gross income from selling eggs.

The inauguration and turnover, attended by SAAD Davao Region led by Regional Technical Director (RTD) and Assistant Focal Person Marila Corpuz, Davao Oriental’s Provincial Agriculture Office (PAGRI) and Provincial Veterinarian’s Office (PVET) led by Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Anasol Reintar and Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Eric Dagmang, and Cateel’s municipal local government unit (MLGU) led by Mayor Emilou Nuñez, signified the FA’s fervor to create a sustainable community-based enterprise (CBE) out of the project. 

“Uban sa tanang miembro sa Mantunao FA, among ipaabot ang kinasing-kasing gayud nga pasalamat ug kamayo ngadto sa matag usa…sugod pa tung 2015 wala jud mi kadawat ug project, pero karon gidawat jud namo,” Chairperson Erelyn Sacaon said.

“Grabe ka bukid diri sa among area, mao nang sa way paglipod lipod, mga tao diri tung una, masa, NPA. Challenge ni sa amoa…among i-saad nga amo kining paga-ampingan nga mahimo ni nga generating income para makatabang sa among kalisod,” she added.

(Together with our members, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude towards all of you…since 2015 we couldn’t receive government interventions, but this 2023, we were ready to receive. Our area is mountainous, that’s why in all transparency, the people here at a time, were insurgents. This project is a challenge to us…we promise that we will take good care of it so that it becomes an instrument for us to generate income to help with poverty.)

As of writing, Mantunao FA listed a gross income of a little more than Php 140,000, with a projection to double that amount in the next month or so. The FA collects 255-258 eggs per day, a production rate of 90-93% based on existing poultry of 276 chickens. As a standard, 80-90% egg production is considered excellent in the industry.

“Dili unta mapakyas atoang SAAD diri sa Mantunao, nahitabo man jud ning atoang saad diri, unta kitang mga miembro, dili nato pakyason kaning proyekto,” RTD Marila Corpuz emphasized to the members.

(We hope that our SAAD project here in Mantunao won’t be a failure. We promise that we’ll make this happen, so it’s your responsibility now to turn the project into a success).

SAAD Davao Region’s Layer Chicken Project

SAAD Davao Region’s layer chicken project included 300 layer chickens with a cage module system, 90 sacks of feeds, and various veterinary drugs. For Mantunao FA, the animal-based project of layer chicken was paired with a crop-based one, in the form of corn, fertilizers, and pesticides with a project cost of Php 1 million.

Cateel’s MLGU under Mayor Nuñez provided for the shed of the association through the initiative of the FA and local MAGRO, with a building cost of Php 180,000. Mantunao FA was previously selected to receive SAAD interventions with the recommendation of MLGU and the Philippine Army through the 66IB in Davao Oriental.

“I’m very grateful to have been here today, because I’ve only seen this project through the papers I needed to sign, but being here is a different kind of satisfaction. Let’s be grateful for the people that pushed for this project,” Mayor Nuñez encouraged.

For 2024, the FA will receive the same projects from the SAAD program, corn and layer chicken, to further boost production and imbibe expertise among members.

“Out of 16 barangays diri sa Cateel, kamo nakareceive. Ang SAAD para sa mga kabus, ug espesyal kini kay package atoang ginahatag, kompletos rekados, pati na mga trainings ug capacitation sa mga members,” Alternate Assistant Naomi C. Lamata said. 

(Out of 16 barangays here in Cateel, you were chosen. SAAD is for the poorest of the poor, and it’s a special project because the project packages given are complete, together with training and capacitation). ###

Writer/Photographer: James Brian R. Flaga, DA-SAAD Davao Region Information Officer
Source: SAAD Davao Region