August 31, 2020

Philippines agriculture department provides 880 chickens to local backyard farmers

The Caraga unit of the Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) has supplied 880 heads of upgraded native chickens in Barangay Muritula, San Luis, Agusan del Sur, said DA-13 regional information officer Emmylou T. Presilda in late August.

Funded through the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program, 80 members of the Muritula USAD Farmers' Association obtained 11 chicken each, complete with feeds and vitamins, Presilda said. The native chickens are intended to be raised at home, which proves to be advantageous given that chickens raised in backyards require less investment and low feeds, but with a rapid return on investment.

This is echoed by Santos Almonicar Escalisas, association president, who expressed gratitude for the provision that he deemed as a side project for his members.

"We are grateful to DA–SAAD Caraga for these native chickens. Aside from tending to our abaca plantation and our weekly banana exports, we now have an additional, manageable side project. We are more than excited because we get to raise the chickens on our own, in our very own backyards," Escalisas said.

"DA-Caraga, through the SAAD Program, lives on with its mission to help address poverty in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur," said DA-13 regional executive director Abel James I. Monteagudo. "We recognise the needs of our partners and in turn, commit to provide what they need to generate income and also produce food for the region. With the (COVID-19) pandemic becoming more threatening, our farmers need our support more than ever."

- Manila Bulletin