Fortunato T. De La Peña, DOST Secretary along with the DOST VI Regional Director Engr. Rowen R. Gelonga, Dr. Synan T. Baguio, OIC of the Livestock Research Division at DOST- Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) visited the Darag farm of Ma. Solidad Gomilla at Brgy. Buyu-an, Tigbauan on May 4, 2018. Mrs. Gomilla is a member of the Panay Darag Breeders Association (PADABA).
Secretary De La Peña wanted to know straight from a native chicken raiser how profitable and sustainable is the Darag Native Chicken as a business enterprise.
Mrs. Gomilla’s Darag farm houses 52 Darag breeder stocks. She sells 100 heads of 3-month old Darag Native Chicken per week as well as day-old chicks. She says that there is a high market demand for Darag Native Chicken and testifies that, “Sa Darag, may buas damlag.” Truly, there is a bright future for those who raise Darag Native Chicken.
Research on Darag Native Chicken started at West Visayas State University (WVSU) way back in 1985 and continues to be the focus commodity up to the present time. Most of these researches were done with the funding and technical support of DOST- PCAARRD. Consequently, the knowledge and technologies generated from these studies were already translated to extension activities provided to different stakeholders. In fact, PADABA is a recipient of technical assistance coming from WVSU.
The members of PADABA aims to continually upscale their production of the Darag native chicken Thus, it is heartwarming to note that these farmer-entrepreneurs are highly instrumental in commercializing the commodity and are now considered prime movers of agricultural development.
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