September 14, 2022

Pig, cattle farmers in Laguna, Philippines, self-producing feed to save costs

Farmers in Barangay Santa Rosa, Laguna, the Philippines, are now producing their own animal feeds out of locally-available raw materials to save on production cost.

Emilio Miguel, chairperson of the Barangay Agricultural and Fishery Council in rural Santa Village, said in an interview that knowing the basic formula used in animal feed production is a big help to the farmers as animal raisers.

"With the increasing prices of agricultural inputs, we are thankful that we were given the opportunity to learn how to produce feeds for our livestock," he said. "We don’t have to buy commercial feeds anymore."

Backed by the Department of Agriculture and the city government, farmers were trained on how to produce their own feeds for pigs, cattle and goats, using corn as a major ingredient. Hog raisers can then earn double or triple of what they used to get now that they have their own local feed formula.

To boost the productivity of farmers, city agriculturist Sheila Marie Opelac said they are keen on providing the necessary training for the animal raisers.

Presently, the DA, in partnership with various government agencies, continues to provide agricultural machinery and equipment, as well as various skills training that they can use to level up their methods of farming.

"We are thankful for the government support. Whatever we learned from the training will be shared with fellow farmers who may be interested to make their own feeds," said Rolando Pascual, treasurer of the Santa Rosa Farmers Association.

Currently, farmers are waiting for the DA's final approval and clearance so they can fully resume raising hogs after being affected by the African swine fever.

- PNA