ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, May 05, 2022 – The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program delivered 20 heifers to corn and rice farmers from the municipalities of Salug and Tampilisan in Zamboanga del Norte on March 22, 2022. The draft animals are aimed at complementing farmers’ farming activities.

Ten (10) out of 38 members were selected from the Binoni Madasigon Farmers’ Association (BMFA) in Salug and another 10 from the 28 members of the New Dapitan Farmers Association (NDFA) in Tampilisan received the inputs from the Cattle Dispersal Project worth Php 898,000 under the SAAD Program CY 2022.

The farmers are selected based on the initial validation of area coordinators, with the Local Government Unit (LGU), through the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) in terms of their area of pastures and their capability to raise livestock.

The NDFA and BMFA are newly-identified beneficiaries of the program for this year. They originally farm corn and rice and now, they also cultivate root crops such as potatoes and cassava.

According to SAAD Livestock Technician, Ms. Jailyn Gamutan, each association selected the members to raise the heifer until it produces a calf to be given to other members.

The recipients were selected based on the availability of their area and the assurance that the area has enough forages for the cattle. To sustain the flow of the project, there will be a rollover scheme to be implemented where every head of cattle is dispersed to the farmer-recipient, one head of offspring will be returned to the office of the MAO and will be dispersed to another farmer within the organization.

Before the farmers accepted the project, Ms. Gamutan provided a short briefing on ruminants’ care and management. “These heifers can either be artificially inseminated by the LGU – Veterinary Service or they can also undergo natural breeding,” Ms. Gamutan explained.

Likewise, NDFA President Rolan Montallano expressed his gratitude for the program. “We are very fortunate that we were selected as one of the beneficiaries of this project. We were given livestock without spending a peso, so we will make sure that each of the 28 members of the association will own their share,” said Mr. Montallano.

This Cattle Dispersal Project aims to address the poor economic condition of the farmers in the barangay of every municipality by providing livestock that is sustainable and suitable for their farm activities. It will also inspire and encourage every member to strengthen their commitment to the association and will challenge other farmers to give the same amount of perseverance in their respective associations.

Also present during the cattle distribution, were New Dapitan barangay LGU, SAAD Provincial Coordinator Roger Dave Gramatica, Inspectors Lyndud Puyod and Madomer Lester Jan Alboria; and SAAD Area Coordinators Nadzmar Abdulatip (Tampilisan) and Marisol Opinio (Salug). ###

Writer: Aimee Lou Madjus, Information Officer, DA-SAAD Region 9