Last week, I interviewed Dr. Rene Santiago, Agricultural Center Chief of the Department of Science and Technology’s National Swine and Poultry Research and Development Center (NSPRDC), on the hidden economic opportunities in raising native poultry and livestock. We were introduced by Dr. Julian Gonsalves, Senior Asia Program Advisor at the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), who was also present at the interview. Today’s column is a continuation of our discussion.

Santiago debunks the prevailing belief that native animals tend to be stunted, explaining that this has more to do with culture than breed characteristics.

“Our farmers tend to slaughter the best for celebrations or for selling to the market. What’s left are the runts, and those become the breeders,” he said. “Who is bred to these [runts]? Either their father, or their siblings, who are also small.”

NSPRDC makes sure that breeds are developed and bred based on animals who have the best genetics. These are distributed to farmers as chicks, eggs to hatch, piglets, kids, and so on. After the animals are sold, the farmers can buy good stock again.

“We started with native pigs and chicken because there's already a market for that. With ducks, there's commercial production because of balut and salted egg, so we were able to develop those three commodities,” he said. “We’ve started on native cattle and goats, and [have plans to develop] the native pony, because of Philippine terrain for coconut, which is inaccessible to vehicles.”

He admits that the process won’t be fast or easy, but it can be done. “Japan did it with Wagyu 100 years ago,” he said. “Filipinos are only now looking at native cattle.”

Caring for native animals generally follows the same guidelines as their commercial hybrid counterparts. Santiago cites four main ones:

Know your breed. Make sure that the animals are of good quality based on their breed standards. Farmers should also understand and be ready to provide the requirements specific to their breed of choice.

Provide adequate nutrition. The animals should be given the kind of food and environment their breed requires. In the case of native animals, commercial feeds are discouraged. “Some universities are now studying local feed sources, and they found that commercially available feeds are too expensive and too nutritious for our native animals,” Santiago said. “Why give them soybean? It’s so expensive. But you have root crops, you have beans, you have corn, you have rice bran.”

Provide optimum environment. Native animals are sturdier than commercial hybrids, and their environment should reflect this. “You don’t need an air-conditioned house for native chickens because they know to seek shelter in the rain,” Santiago said. “For housing, we introduced shed only, but with a range [to move around in].”

Monitor animal health. This includes regular veterinary monitoring and preventive biosecurity measures.

“These should be practiced equally to ensure good production of eggs, milk, and meat,” Santiago said. “If a farmer isn’t successful in raising native animals, they should examine which of these practices they need to improve on.”

Gonsalves emphasized the opportunity native animals present for small farms and households, supporting the timeless Filipino tradition of keeping farm animals around the family home.

“I think the question is the carrying capacity of the land,” he said, citing IIRR’s native duck program in Guinayangan, Quezon, as an example. “10 years ago, we gave 200 ducks to one family. After that, they asked, IIRR, can you give us feed? I cannot buy feed,” he said. “[Now] we have 100, mostly women, in Guinayangan coastal areas, each with 25 ducks… Most of those 100 are still continuing, because it’s sustainable.”

This is especially true of small integrated farms. “A farm can manage only so much,” he added. “For us, the magic number is something like 20 to 30 ducks, maybe 50-100 native chickens, and two or three pigs…. Here’s where the concept of circular economy relates very much to the native lifestyle. You take your byproducts from the farm, and you use it and you recycle it.”

Santiago hopes that the Philippine government will continue to fund native animal breed development research. “We need to have a Philippine Native Animal Center. Let’s not wait for farmers to ask for our help. These past 15 years have proven that this research is important. Climate resilience is very important, and it’s a timely opportunity for us to set up a center with this focus.”

He echoed Gonsalvez’ observation of traditional Filipino integrated farming practices. “You have one native pig and two chickens [in a household]; it’s a common practice. It's traditional and... it's good for Filipino farmers who don't have enough land,” he said. “I'm asking some universities why they don't have integrated farming courses. That’s our tradition. That’s how we survived.”