Four farmer’s associations (FA) in Valderrama, Antique are claiming high hopes of prosperity after their first bountiful egg harvest earning Php 48,117 from July 10 to August 13.

The livelihood project is under the FY 2021 Chicken Layer Egg Production Project of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program.

The groups are the Canipayan Irrigators’ Association (CIA), Manlacbo Aton Kauswagan Association (MAKA), Salaksakan Irrigators’ Association (Salaksakan IA), and Bunsod Farmers’ Association (BUFA), who received the poultry package on June 22. They are mostly making ends meet through their little income from their jobs as farm workers and on-call laborers.

Situated in neighboring upland villages with inconvenient farm-to-market road, most of the group members rely in rice production. Moreover, majority of the farmers do not sell their rice, but instead save this for home consumption.

In sadness, residents have to pay Php 100 for a “habal-habal” ride and another Php100 for their crops just to get to the barangay proper which is about five kilometers away.

In mid-2020, the four associations attended a consultation of the SAAD Program through the Municipal Agriculture Office. They became eligible as one of the SAAD’s partner-associations with a bid to help their immediate community by gaining access to additional sources of livelihood such as the poultry project.

Project Implementation

From the day they received the said intervention, each association selected five first-line beneficiaries and established a communal poultry farm.

The beneficiaries followed the technical procedures of properly feeding the laying hens, supplying the right amount of feeds and vitamins, providing antibiotics when there are signs and symptoms of bird flu, and keeping them away from noise and distraction.

SAAD Area Coordinator Elvin Acosta assigned at the municipality and agriculture technicians of the Municipal Agriculturist Office offered technical assistance and expertise to augment the needs of the associations.

Key Results

After almost two months of caring for the ready-to-lay-pullets, the farmers gathered 50 to 60 pieces of eggs a day which they sold to local buyers in their neighborhood, sari-sari stores and snack houses in the town proper.

Most of the harvested eggs were classified as small and medium sizes which are sold at Php 150 to 200 per tray.

They gathered a total of 12,114 pieces of eggs and earned a combined income of Php 48,117 from July to August (Table 1).Table 1. Egg production income of CIA, MAKA, Salaksan IA, and BUFA

Association	Date	Egg harvest (pc)	Gross Income
Canipayan Irrigators’ Association	July 14 to August 11	3,569	11,820
Manlacbo Aton Kauswagan Association	July 10 to August 13	3,908	16,072
Salaksakan Irrigators’ Association	July 22 to August 7	2,041	8,710
Bunsod Farmers’ Association	July 24 to August 3	2,596	11,515
Total		12,114	48,117

Canipayan Irrigators’ Association (CIA)

Situated in Barangay Canipayaan, the 37 members of CIA received the FY 2021 Chicken Layer Egg Production Project worth Php 253,946. The intervention includes 48 heads of laying hens, three sets of drugs and biologics, 13 bags of layer feeds, 25 pieces of egg trays, a weighing scale, a roll of water hose, four chicken crates, and a drum.

Ricardo Ungsod, the group’s president, said the poultry project provides a great support for their members’ daily consumption especially during this pandemic.

“Bahul gid nga bulig ang proyekto nga chicken layer kang SAAD hay naka tugro gid kang additional income sa amon nga mga mangunguma,” said Ricardo.

(The chicken layer [egg production] project from SAAD has greatly helped because it gave additional income to us farmers.)

To intensify the positive and consistent outcome of their livelihood project, the association plans to engage in value-adding activities.

They are also looking forward to expanding their production by purchasing more chickens to ensure that all of their members could partake in the SAAD project.

Manlakbo Aton Kauswagan Association (MAKA)

With 20 members, MAKA in Barangay Manlacbo received the FY 2021 SAAD’s poultry project consisting of 48 heads of layer chicken with fabricated cages, two sets of drugs and biologics, 12 bags of layer feeds, 25 egg trays, a roll of water hose, and four chicken crates worth Php 239,062.

According to MAKA president 48-year-old Ma. Fe Gono, five first-in-line beneficiaries take turns in maintaining their poultry farm, ensuring health and safety of the animals, as well as cage maintenance and repair. The scheduling strategy will ensure participation and familiarity with animal management among the members. The group agreed to select another set of five beneficiaries every six month.

Ms. Gono also cited challenges that the group met and overcame such as nurturing the laying hens at the beginning of the project.

“Medyo challenging ang pag umpisa namon kang project. May apat kami ka manok nga nagmasakit kag napatay tungod sa sip-on kag siguro sa stress sa travel. Gin-separate namon sila kag nangayo sang advice sa mga experts sa banwa. Na-stop namon ang mortality sang amon mga manok,” Ms. Gono said.

(Starting this project was a bit challenging. We have four mortalities among our laying hens due to respiratory illness and maybe due to stress on travel. We separated the chickens and sought advice from local experts. We were able to limit the mortality among our chickens.)

Salaksakan Irrigators’ Association

The Salaksakan IA in Barangay Ubos has 35 registered members. They received the Php 239,062 worth of SAAD’s poultry package which includes 48 heads of laying heads, drugs and biologics,12 bags of layer feeds, 25 egg trays, a roll of water hose, and four chicken crates.

For his part as the LISFA chairman, Mikel Rizardo recognized SAAD’s livelihood project as a huge help for both the members and their consumers.

“Bahul gid nga bulig ang Chicken Layer Egg Production Project kang SAAD sa amon rigya nga komunidad, ilabi na gid nga may pandemic pa. Indi lang ang mga miyembro kang amon grupo ang nabuligan kundi ang mga pumuluyo kang amon barangay paagi sa masustansya kag preska nga mga itlog,” said Mr. Rizardo.

(The Chicken Layer Egg Production Project of SAAD helped us a lot in our community, especially now that we are facing a pandemic. The project did not just help our members but also residents of our community through nutritious and fresh eggs.)

Mr. Rizardo said they envisioned their group as not just a farming-reliant group but also as the top producer of eggs not just in their barangay but in the municipality of Valderrama and even to the neighboring towns.

Bunsod Farmers’ Association (BUFA)

Led by Reynaldo Ado, the BUFA has 28 active members who cultivate the fertile grounds of Barangay Bunsod.

They were granted with Php 253,946 worth of FY 2021 Chicken Layer Egg Production Project that includes 48 heads of laying hens, three sets of drugs and biologics, 13 bags of layer feeds, 25 pieces of egg trays, a weighing scale, a roll of water hose, four chicken crates, and a drum.

The group agreed to put the chicken in a communal farm and take turns in taking care of them instead of rearing the poultry individually at home.

They are planning to utilize their profit in purchasing additional ready-to-lay pullets to increase the group’s egg production as well as replenish the stocks from SAAD.

“Kami nagapasalamat gid nga nakalab-ut ang SAAD sa amon barangay kay nagtugro gid ang ini nga programa kang additional income. Sa urihi kung ma maintain namon ang paghimakas, insakto nga record keeping kag financial management, puedi pagid namon ma expand ang amon poultry project,” said Mr. Ado.

(We are grateful that the SAAD has reached our barangay because it gave us additional income.  Someday, if we maintain our hard work, proper record keeping and financial management, we can still further expand our poultry farm.) ###

 

Writer: Christ John Gamarcha/DA-SAAD 6