BUKIDNON, June 14, 2021 – To continue the support to CoViD-19 response in Northern Mindanao, 2,878 free-range chickens (539 males and 2,339 female) worth Php 2.3 million were delivered to the regional research stations of the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the 2020 fund of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program on June 9.

The DA-10’s research stations are farms located in the Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock Research Complex (NMACLRC), Dalwangan, Malaybalay City and Research Center for Upland Development (RCUD), Barongcot, Dangcagan, Bukidnon.

Under the close supervision of NMACLRC chiefs Lito Lapoot and Willie Nacalaban, the station received 1,698 chickens (339 males and 1,359 female) on May 30 and 31.

On June 7, RCUD station received 1,180 chickens (200 males and 980 females) under the supervision of Catalino Soriano Jr. and Veterinary Doctor Kenneth Polina.

With the establishment of the free-range multiplier farms, the SAAD Northern Mindanao will no longer procure chicken for dispersal to the beneficiaries.

Moreover, the program can also produce quality breeding materials for the next grantees.

Aside from the chickens, each station also received Php 200,000 worth of construction materials for the brooding pen, 50 bags of cracked corn worth Php 50,000, and a customized incubator worth Php 142,000.

The chickens are about three months old and are expected to lay eggs in August.

The eggs will then be transferred to the incubator which has a capacity of 1,500. They are expected to hatch after 21 days.

The multiplier farms serve as ready stock for the future commitments of DA-10 to places like End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), Geographically Isolated Displaced Areas (GIDA), and others. ###

Writer: Ruth Esther Bermundo, SAAD Normin Information Officer