As an aid to farmers at the height of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Agriculture – Caraga distributed 880 heads of upgraded native chickens worth Php 440,000 to farmer-beneficiaries in Barangay Muritula, San Luis, Agusan del Sur on August 14, 2020.
Funded through the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program, 80 members of the Muritula USAD Farmers’ Association obtained 11 chickens each, complete with feeds and vitamins, as part of the project amounting to Php 3.42 M.
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 AlmonicarEscalisas, 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.
Muritula USAD Farmers’ Association, which has grown from 60 members in 2019 to 80 in 2020, is also a recipient of the SAAD-funded abaca production project in 2019, with inputs such as abaca plantlets, fertilizers, pesticides, carabaos, and machinery and equipment worth to Php 2.46 M.
DA – Caraga Regional Executive Director Abel James I. Monteagudo, in a statement, assured that the Department is one with its beneficiaries in alleviating poverty and in attaining food security in the region.
“DA-Caraga, through the SAAD Program, lives on with its mission to help address poverty in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur. We recognize 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 pandemic becoming more threatening, our farmers need our support more than ever,” Director Monteagudo added.
The native chicken production is a component of the Php9.4 M worth of interventions SAAD has allotted this year to continue establishing income-generating projects to 34 farmers’ associations in Agusan del Sur (10) and Surigao del Sur (24). This includes other agricultural inputs, animals, and relevant Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials to be distributed before the year ends. (MARK ANGELO C. PINEDA/DA13-SAAD)
