IMPASUG-ONG, Bukidnon (PIA)–Some 125 rice farmers in barangays Kalabugao and Hagpa are now more productive than in previous harvest season due to the Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) intervention in Northern Mindanao.
The Hagpa and Kalabugao SAAD farmers’ associations received a total of 2,350 Itik Pinas (Native Philippine Ducks) as part of SAAD’s P1.3 million livelihood project in said town in October 15, 2019.
Each farmer received a module of either 22 or 18 head ducks, promising extra farm income for the farmer-beneficiaries.
“Amo gikalingawan og atiman ang among mga bebe. Karon nagsugod na sila og pangitlog, og paunhanay kami kada buntag pangolekta sa mga itlog. Maka income gyud mi ani nga project. (We took care of the ducks as pastime routine. We started to appreciate it when the ducks started to lay eggs. Now every morning we race to the barn to collect our ducks’ eggs. Indeed, we can earn from this project,” said Eugene Ragmac, a 52 year-old SAAD farmer-beneficiary of barangay Hagpa.
In a span of three months, Mr. Ragmac and his family collected at least 2,458 pieces of duck eggs, which were sold at P7 each.
“Duck egg production has huge potential considering the untapped demand in the local and neighboring towns’ market. Significantly, the project is manageable by our farmers and highly suitable to our SAAD-adopted areas in Impasugong since it is predominantly rice areas with ready water source,” Impasugong Senior Agriculturist Engr. Ruel Gomez said.
Aside from the daily dose of protein for their family, other project recipients in the area also started to earn from their daily harvest of duck eggs at the barn.
To maximize the project’s potential, DA-SAAD farmer-beneficiaries are considering the idea of acquiring an incubator to allow them to engage in ‘Balut’ and ‘Days-old-ducklings’ production.
Noting challenges encountered by the farmers, the LGU is planning to train the farmers on alternative feeds formulation, which is seen to help them become cost-effective in managing the project.
DA-SAAD-10 in its part will augment its support to the farmers by subsidizing duck feeds, which is expected to be available by June this year. (DA10/PIA Bukidnon)
