We tend not to think too much about our native breeds, often them to backyard livestock, not a viable long-term source of income.

Dr. Rene Santiago, Agricultural Center Chief of the Department of Science and Technology’s. National Swine and Poultry Research and Development Center, wants to dissuade us of this mindset.

Established in 1995, the NSPRDC initially involved “all commodities with regards to swine and poultry.” The Center shifted its focus to native animals in 2010 with the establishment of the Philippine Native Animal Development Program.

“It's a Department of Agriculture program looking for the potential [in native animals],” Santiago said.

Before this, a “native chicken” was just a native chicken. There were no distinct breeds or strains.

“Now we have the Darag, Banaba, the Parawakan,” Santiago said. “There are different characteristics and they are now propagated through the type, and they now have standards comparable to the commercial hybrid developed in the West.”

It’s the same for native pigs. “We have the Kalinga, Quezon black, Marinduque, Isabela, Samar, and I think Benguet is introducing their own breeds now.”

The Center also developed and introduced the popular Itik Pinas via the Development of Sustainable Breeder Mallard Duck Production System, a DOST PCARRD funded the project, helmed by Santiago that aimed to develop a signature Philippine duck breed.

“It was the start of the avian influenza spread in Asia, and we didn’t have enough ducks, so we looked to conserve, to improve, and propagate quality itik or duck for the purpose of balut and salted egg, our local delicacies,” he said.

Through the Center’s interventions, the itik went from laying an average of 200-210 eggs to 253 eggs annually. The breed is now used in government breder farms and is part of a national distribution collaboration with the private sector.

This was the question asked when the program started. After all, weren’t these farm animals already ubiquitous? And weren’t they smaller than Western hybrids? Santiago lists three main reasons.

Resiliency. Native animals can thrive on food sources commonly found around small farms, and even households. “We have breeds now, and they may not be fast growers, but they have [specific] qualities that we found while characterizing those native species,” Santiago said. “

Even native cattle have an advantage. Santiago cited the native cattle from Panay, who, because of their small stature, can be raised healthy in a small tract of land.

“Our ducks don't [need] vaccination. We only vaccinate our native chickens one to two times. [Hybrid] layers need 18 vaccinations before they can lay eggs,” Santiago said. “If you’re adapted to local conditions, you tend to have higher immunity.”

Product demand. Native breeds may be smaller than foreign hybrids, but they do taste better in Filipino dishes.

“One is balut,” Santiago said. “Our ducks have bigger eggs, more than 65 grams to 70 grams compared to other ducks in Taiwan and China because we prefer big balut. The eggs also have thick shells and the ducks can also be raised in rice fields.”

Most people prefer native chicken for tinola and other traditional chicken soups. “Darag is very popular in the Visayas. it's small, but good for binakol,” Santiago said.

Native pigs are preferred for lechon. “One basic characteristic is the crispiness. It lasts longer. I think it's correlated to the longer period of maturation,” Santiago said. “Commercial pigs grow faster, so they are younger, so their skin is not good for lechon.”

Opportunity for export. If a product is developed well, there’s always the possibility of finding markets overseas. Santiago uses the Itik Pinas as an example.

“There’s an export opportunity for salted eggs because we have an overproduction of ducks,” he said. “In order to promote native animals, we should take the opportunity to export their products.”

Though much progress has been made, there is still a long way to go.

“We need to develop and utilize our local feed resources… Those sophisticated feeding ingredients are not suited for native animals. They have their own requirements,” Santiago said, adding that commercial feeds are also too expensive for many small farmers.

“In UP Los Baños, they said our native pigs have a good utilization for fibrous feed ingredients [like] grasses, legumes, and root crops… which is why they have difficulty digesting commercial feed, [whose ingredients, like soy and coconut], are selected for easy pelleting.”

Interested parties can contact the Center through social media. They are targetting the release of 28,000 ducks this year through DA Regional Field Offices, almost three times the previous requirement. The Center also offers books on native livestock, including one that documents the experiences and best practices of native livestock raisers around the country.

Santiago said the Center’s goal is simple: “Produce food in general for small farmers.”

And if we reframe the way we look at native livestock and poultry, we’ll see that they can offer a good way for this goal to be achieved.