Bontoc farmers engage in poultry biz to supply eggs in capital town

By Alpine L. Killa

BONTOC, Mountain Province – This town may soon have available supply of eggs as two remote barangays here are now engaging in poultry business in projects initiated by the Dept. of Agriculture and municipal government.
    An organization of farmers here in remote  Barangay Dalican received a total of 1,400 heads of ready-to-lay chicken pullets and an initial 24 bags of grower feeds through the special area for agricultural development program of the DA in partnership with the Bontoc local government  through the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist  on Nov. 5.
    For easier management of the project, the Channeg Farmers Association was organized into two groups comprising of 25 members each.
    Each group received 700 heads of RTL pullets and an initial 12 bags of grower feeds.
    According to assistant department head Catherine Agcon of OMAg, the remaining 186 bags of grower feeds will be equally divided between the two groups.
    Before the delivery of the RTL pullets, the DA –SAAD funded construction of housing and training of farmer-beneficiaries.
    The training included pest and disease management, RTL egg production, capacity-building, record-keeping, organization development and management.
    The project was under the SAAD fiscal year 2019 appropriation to help farmers in Dalican earn income from small- scale egg production business.
    Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey said he was grateful Bontoc had been receiving numerous assistance from the national government, particularly from the DA.
    “Farming is the main source of living of the people in Barangay Dalican and the other barangays of Bontoc. Livelihood projects by the DA-SAAD are very beneficial to our farmers in town,” the mayor said.
    Odsey urged farmer-beneficiaries to sustain the project for the organization to generate income and strengthen cooperation of each member as they actively do their assigned tasks in keeping their poultry ventures productive.
    The counterpart of the Bontoc LGU in the project was technical assistance to SAAD beneficiaries like preparation and submission of project proposals to DA, facilitation of meetings and orientation of the farmer association.
    To ensure sustainability of the project, the Bontoc government through the OMAg in collaboration with the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian and DA- SAAD shall monitor the project.
    Meanwhile, supply of brown eggs and consumers in Bontoc will not be a problem in the ensuing months as farmer- beneficiaries have started their brown egg production as a means of livelihood in Barangay Guinaang.
    Recently, the Bontoc government through the OMAg turned over free-range chickens to the 60 members of the Aratey Di Inkhawisan Organization.
    Each member received 30 heads of free-range chicken, one sack grower feeds, one sack layer feeds, and five pieces of egg trays.
    According to Agcon, the brown egg production project of Aratey Di Inkhawisan in  Guina-ang was funded through the SAAD of the DA.
    Bontoc Mayor Franklin C. Odsey thanked the national government through the DA- Cordillera Administrative Region under the leadership of Regional Executive Director Dr. Cameron P. Odsey for its program to improve the living conditions of the local farmers by providing them income-generating opportunities.
    The counterpart of the Bontoc LGU through the OMAg in Guinaang was also technical assistance.