In a bid to promote native chicken production as an alternative source of livelihood in the Zamboanga Peninsula, a government research and development consortium, led the conduct of a two- day technology transfer activity to promote mass production of native chicken in the province.
Based in Zamboanga City, the Western Mindanao Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development Consortium gathered farmers engaged in native chicken production as well as potential raisers to inform and later educate them on Zampen Native Chicken production.
Native chicken production is considered to be the most competitive and sustainable subsector of the local poultry industry owing to its numerous advantages such as low capital investment, simple management system, and the emergence of new markets, among other advantages.
Dubbed as Zampen Native Chicken FIESTA, the recently held event was initiated by the Los Baños, Laguna-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.
It adopted the theme “Manok Zampen: Livelihood Option for Every Juan in the Region as it highlighted WESMAARRDEC’s 29th anniversary.
Coined as FIESTA for brevity, the term is the acronym for the phrase: Farms and Industry Encounters through the Science and Technology Agenda.
FIESTA aims to facilitate the flow of technology not only to the farmers but also to the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises for them to benefit from the government’s R&D undertakings, thereby enabling them to contribute more to economic development.
The gains of Zampen Native Chicken were boosted by the testimonies of stakeholders most notable of which was that of Bureau of Corrections’ administrative staff Wilfredo B. Castillo.
Castillo narrated how Zampen Native Chicken production at the San Ramon Penal Farm in Zamboanga City has provided the inmates with a productive activity and a livelihood opportunity once they have served their sentence.
Dr. Synan Baguio, officer-in-charge of the Livestock Research Division of PCAARRD, discussed the selection, breeding, and production management of Zampen Native Chicken, while Alfred Parungao of the same division, discussed concerns on range management protocols and feeding strategies for sustainable chicken production.
Meanwhile, Dr. Paterna Saavedra, and Dr. Teresita A. Narvaez, researchers from the Western Mindanao State University, WESMAARRDEC’s base agency, tackled issues on breeder native chicken and hatchery management including pricing and marketing strategies for Zampen Chicken, respectively.
Providing additional income for farmers and known as a source of high-quality meat, native chicken is an important component of the country’s rural farming system.