The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to implement an expanded livestock and poultry production and livelihood project for more organized backyard livestock and poultry farms in the countryside.
“We aim to help farm families recover from the loss of jobs and unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those whose hogs and poultry stocks were depopulated due to the African Swine Fever or avian influenza (bird flu), respectively,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement on Wednesday.
Qualified beneficiaries will receive initial stocks of livestock and poultry animals for them to raise and propagate as source of food and income.
These include chicks for broiler production, or ready-to-lay pullets for table egg production, or free-range chicken, ducks, swine (for ASF free areas), goats, sheep, cattle, and carabao, it added.
The DA said it has an initial budget of P337 million and forms part of its national livestock program (NPL) for the project.
“To attain the project’s objectives, qualified beneficiaries are required to group themselves into clusters with at least 15 members, or be a member of a farmers’ cooperative, association or peoples’ organization,” the department said.
The DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has identified initial beneficiaries who will be clustered per area.
According to the DA, beneficiaries may start realizing gains as early as two months for those engaged in broiler production, and four to six months for those in chicken egg production, raising hogs, goats, and sheep.