To gain practical knowledge and hands-on experience in free-range chicken production, the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program Region 12 conducted an educational field tour and farm visit on free-range chicken on September 25, 2026, at Barangay Apopong, General Santos City.
The Program tapped the expertise from Lorañas Happy Chicken, a successful native chicken enterprise managed by Oliver Mari Loraña, to host the said activity.
Two (2) Farmers Associations (FAs) from Sarangani Province, namely the Kiamba Tri-People Halal Livestock Growers Association and Community Associate Team Rescue Oneness Public Assistance (CATROPA), visited the farm to learn firsthand about practical chicken husbandry, feed management, flock management, and the economics of running a free-range chicken enterprise.
Loraña shared that the business started in 2016 with only around 30 to 50 chickens. Driven by an interest in starting a business and seeing an opportunity in native chicken production, he gradually built the enterprise despite initially having little knowledge of the industry.
Today, Lorañas Happy Chicken has grown to around 3,000 heads.
Moreover, Loraña shared that passion and focus were among the lessons that helped him sustain and grow the enterprise.
“Kailangan may passion and laser focus sa inyo ginabuhat kung gusto ninyo mag-success” [You need to have passion and laser focus on what you’re doing if you want to succeed].
Beyond sharing his story, Loraña demonstrated the day-to-day practices involved in managing a free-range chicken enterprise. Participants learned about practical husbandry, including routine farm activities, maintaining flock uniformity, managing genetics, and proper feeding.
Participating FAs were also introduced to different types of feed and their appropriate use in flock management. Loraña emphasized that proper feed management is an important part of maintaining healthy and productive chickens while keeping production costs manageable.
Furthermore, he discussed market and economics, practical approaches to computing production costs, and assessing the potential returns of the enterprise. The discussion allowed the participants to look beyond chicken production and understand the importance of knowing the numbers behind the business.
Loraña’s enterprise is also TESDA-accredited and CDA-accredited, reflecting its continued development as a structured agricultural enterprise.
Through the Lakbay-Aral, the participating farmer-beneficiaries gained an opportunity to see actual free-range chicken operations and learn directly from an entrepreneur who developed his enterprise from a small flock into a 3,000-head operation.
The activity underscored the importance of combining technical knowledge, proper farm management, market awareness, and sound financial planning in building a sustainable livestock enterprise.
