The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Region 12, through its Food Production and Livelihood (FPL) Unit, conducted a series of Lakbay-Aral sessions on Mallard Duck Production, providing farmer-beneficiaries with practical knowledge on duck management, egg production, balut and salted egg processing, market opportunities, and farm biosecurity.
On September 22 to 23, five (5) Farmers Associations (FAs) from Sultan Kudarat province participated in the training, namely NADALCO Farmers Association, Lumitan High Value Crop Women’s Association, Central Magungaya Bangsamoro Farmers Association, Kapaya United Farmers and Duck Raisers Association, and Pansud Women’s Association.
The participants visited Oliveros Farm, hosted by Toto Oliveros, where they learned from his experience in managing Mallard ducks. Oliveros shared that he initially started with 3,000 ducks but eventually had around 1,700 remaining because of the lack of experience at first.
With limited experience in duck production and challenges in farm access and expenses, he sought guidance from technicians and learned through experience which practices worked best for his flock.
Oliveros also shared their farm management practices, including feeding schedules, feed allocation per head, and the importance of having a technician who can provide technical guidance.
“Ang mga learnings namon halin sa mga technicians, damo gid ug nakatabang jud” [We learned a lot of things from our technicians and it helped a lot], shared Oliveros.
Oliveros said, reflecting on the lessons gained from managing the duck production enterprise.
Meanwhile, Pilmico Poultry Specialist and Technician Janus Ingles provided technical guidance on Mallard duck management. He discussed Oliveros’ experience in starting the farm and shared practical tips on managing the ducks, emphasizing the importance of identifying the market and properly planning the enterprise before starting production.
Ingles also addressed the participants’ questions regarding Mallard duck management and shared practices that they can apply in their own farms.
The Lakbay-Aral also featured a visit with Dante Gonzales, a balut and salted egg producer from Barangay Baluan, General Santos City, who purchases Oliveros Farm’s duck eggs for balut production, and who shared his nearly three decades of experience in the industry.
Gonzales started his operation in 1994 using a small improvised incubator with a capacity of about 1,000 eggs. After learning and adapting techniques from Pampanga, he gradually expanded his operation, adding another incubator with a 10,000-egg capacity and eventually increasing his total incubation capacity to about 60,000 eggs.
He shared practical techniques in producing balut and salted eggs, emphasizing the importance of maintaining strict egg quality throughout the process.
“Strikto gid dapat ta sa quality sang eggs para makahatag man sang dako na income sa aton” [We need to be strict in choosing the quality of the eggs so that it can help boost our income].
Gonzales emphasized, underscoring the importance of selecting quality eggs to ensure good production results.
The learning exchange also highlighted the importance of market linkages among farmers, processors, and buyers to help ensure that production is matched with viable market opportunities.
On September 24, the Lakbay-Aral continued with the participation of six (6) FAs from South Cotabato and Cotabato, namely Makalangot Farmers Association, Rural Improvement Club of Magpet, New Paradise Farmers Association, Idaoman Rural Improvement Club, Golden Hands Rural Improvement Club, and Dahlia Edwards Farmers Association.
Livestock Technician Maricar Mangunay of the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Alabel discussed animal health and biosecurity measures, including the importance of regular surveillance and testing for Avian Influenza.
Mangunay emphasized that surveillance and testing should be conducted every year as part of maintaining poultry health and preventing the spread of diseases. She also shared basic biosecurity measures that farmers can adopt to protect their flocks from potential disease threats.
Through the Lakbay-Aral, SAAD farmer-beneficiaries across SOCCSKSARGEN gained firsthand exposure to actual Mallard duck production and processing operations. The activity allowed them to learn not only from technical specialists but also from fellow producers who have gained knowledge through years of hands-on experience.
Furthermore, the activity forms part of DA-SAAD 12’s continuing efforts to provide farmer-beneficiaries with practical, experience-based learning that can help strengthen their production practices, improve enterprise management, establish market linkages, and develop sustainable agricultural livelihood opportunities.
