EXTRA INCOME. Members of the Active Farmers Association of Magsaysay in General Luna, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte show the layer egg products they produced through the help of the Department of Agriculture’s Special Area for Agricultural Development Program. The group earned PHP142,000 from the program this year. (Photo courtesy of DA-13)
BUTUAN CITY – At least 16 farmers’ groups composed of 418 members earned PHP1.6 million worth of income from their layer chicken projects implemented under the Department of Agriculture in the Caraga Region (DA-13) Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program.
In a report Friday, the DA-13 said the projects were among the interventions of the agency through the SAAD program this year to the farming groups from the provinces of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands.
“The income was derived from the 285,736 eggs produced from their projects and sold to markets from August to November this year,” the report said.
Interventions of the program to each of the organizations this year include the distribution of 192 ready-to-lay pullets, a one-year supply of feeds, egg trays, drugs and biologics, and other farm inputs, amounting to PHP583,350.
“The members of the 16 farmers’ groups also underwent layer production and management training for effective project implementation on different occasions this year,” the DA-13 said.
Among the successful groups that engaged in SAAD’s program was the Active Farmers Association of Magsaysay in General Luna, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte.
The group’s president, Manuel Antolin, noted that their chicken layer project is now considered a regular added income for their members who are primarily engaged in root crop production.
Due to the tourism boom, he said the demand for eggs is high in General Luna and the rest of Siargao Island through restaurants and resorts.
This year, Antolin’s group earned some PHP142,000 from selling eggs, of which, in a recent gathering they made for the Christmas season, each of the members got a PHP4,500 share from the sales they made. (PNA)
