WESTERN SAMAR, April 18, 2021 – Poultry and livestock livelihood interventions from the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) continue to uplift the lives of 40 members of a farmers’ association in Hinabangan, Samar.

Hinabangan is a 4th class municipality, comprising 21 barangays, with a total population of 13,673 based on the 2015 Philippine Statistics Authority data.

Out of 2,819 households, 1,030 appear on the active list of Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) 4Ps, an indication of high poverty incidence within the area.

Two barangays of Hinabangan received livelihood projects such as the Egg Production Project as proposed by the Municipal Agricultural Office (MAO).

In November 2018, SAAD provided 240 mallard ducks as a start-up project to 40 individual beneficiaries in Barangays San Jose and Rawis. Under the said project, each beneficiary received 6 ready–to–lay mallard ducks with three bags of layer feeds – all amounting to Php 154,000.

As part of its capacity building, SAAD field personnel helped organize them into a group called Hinabangan Integrated Duck Raisers Association (HIDRA) and registered in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in March 2019.

In 2020, the group established a communal area, where each member contributed more or less five mallard duck offspring from the initial project provision.

In addition, the group was provided with five piglets for swine production. The swine is locally outsourced and came from the offspring of a SAAD’s swine project in Brgy. Bagacay.  The officers and members then contributed cash to buy feeds for their animal-raising community projects.

To complement the existing feeds and free the beneficiaries from the burden of contributing cash regularly to buy feeds for their animals, SAAD Samar allotted funds generated from FY 2020 savings granting additional 10 bags of grower feeds for hogs and 50 bags of layer feeds for ducks.

In order to generate start–up capital and support the day–to–day project operations, such as expenses for feeds, the group agreed to set a monthly contribution of Php 100 from each member.

Egg production and value-adding activities 

The eggs produced were processed into salted eggs and sold within the barangay and the municipal offices in Hinabangan. Proceeds from sales were used in purchasing feeds for their poultry and  livestock, and some were saved for the group’s future expenses.

The group also established a KADIWA Center in their community with an initial capital of Php 10,000 initiated by a member of the association. As of date, the group already earned Php 30,000.

The group members uphold bayanihan in association-related needs such as the construction of pigpen, fencing of mallard duck area, maintaining the cleanliness of the communal area, and recently, construction of egg layer house to minimize labor expenses. This way, a sense of ownership was also fostered in each group member.

Because of a good track record in leadership and project management, the group was granted an additional livelihood poultry project.

A total of 480 ready–to–lay layer chickens and multivitamins, 125 bags of layer feeds, 800 pieces of egg trays, and an egg weighing scale were provided on December 9, 2020. Cages provided by the program were also installed.

HIDRA is very much thankful to SAAD for providing the livelihood projects. Association president Melanie P. Mahinay said, “Dako an amon kalipay nga guintagan kami hin sugad hine nga livelihood project.  Dire ine namon pagkakawangon nga higayon ngan amon igpapatapod ha SAAD nga mas pa namon nga uupayon an pagdumara hini nga proyekto kay dako gud ini nga bulig ngan kadugangan ini nga income ha amon tagsa nga mga pamilya.  Unta damo pa nga grupo o individual an mabuligan ngan magpadayon ini nga programa han Department of Agriculture.  Sugad man, an iba guihapon nga beneficiaries han SAAD, dire unta pagkawangon an bulig hini nga programa.”

(We are overflowing with joy for being chosen recipients of this livelihood project.  We won’t waste this opportunity, and we assure SAAD Program that we will even exert more effort to improve in managing this project, because this is a tremendous help in increasing our family income.  We hope more groups/individuals would be assisted, and the program will be sustained by the DA. In like manner, other beneficiaries should nurture the assistance provided to them by the program.)

With the help of SAAD, the group looks forward to engaging in more training and enterprise opportunities provided by the program and other units. Currently, they look forward to establishing Broiler Raising Production and Marketing. ###

Writer: Jocelyn G. Torres, Area Coordinator II, PPMSO–Samar