Five farmers’ associations in different towns of Surigao del Norte are set to receive PHP583,350 each, or a total of PHP2.9 million as project grants for layer or egg production.

The project will be released by the Department of Agriculture in the Caraga Region (DA-13) through the Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) program.

In a statement Monday, the DA-SAAD said around 80 members of the organizations have undergone a series of egg layer production and management training concluded on May 9 to 12.

“The participants are currently undergoing farm visits in different areas in the province to see the management and operations of egg layer production. The training forms part of the preparatory activities designed for the groups to manage their projects well,” the statement said.

The series of activities will enable the leaders and members of the associations to learn the considerations and strategies in layer production, particularly in housing setup, feeding, lighting, and treating common diseases.

“The status, opportunities, and challenges of the industry in the region and the country and production technologies for small-scale production also forms part of the inputs during the training,” DA-SAAD said.

Support package

The participants were also trained in record keeping with monitoring forms on the production of stocks and vaccination and medication.

After the preparations, the support package for each of the groups will follow within the quarter of this year, to include inputs such as 192 ready-to-lay pullets, feeds, egg trays and drugs and biologics.

The DA-SAAD said it hopes that the farmers’ associations will succeed in their ventures and contribute to the overall egg production in Surigao del Norte which suffered a major decline last year.

Based on the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Surigao del Norte’s growth rate in egg production in 2022 dropped to negative 85.3 percent with only 30 metric tons of production.

The PSA data added that the production last year is lower compared to the 202 metric ton production in 2021.

“We see the data as a challenge for the five farmers’ associations as we hope they could contribute to further boost the egg production in Surigao del Norte,” the DA-SAAD said. (PNA)