More than 500 farmers and interested individuals from Bataan, Zambales, and Pampanga gathered on July 3, 2019 in Dinalupihan, Bataan to participate in the Department of Agriculture (DA) Mapagmalasakit advocacy seminar featuring livestock, swine, and poultry production.
Mapagmalasakit stands for Malawakang Pagbibigay-Kaalaman sa Agrikultura – Magsasakang may Alam, Laging Angat, Sagana sa Kita. The program is aimed at intensifying the promotion of agricultural production technologies based on the specific instructions of DA Secretary Manny F. Piñol to reach and engage more people in agriculture.
“This (activity) is in line with the secretary’s directive for us to go back to the basics by producing enough food for the Filipino people and providing them with livelihood,” Dr. Ruth Miclat-Sonaco, Center Director of the DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) International Training Center for Pig Husbandry, said.
She added that the program does not only focus on the basics of production technologies, and encouraged the farmers to think about science-based and pro-environment practices.
“Kailangan ’yong ituturo nating teknolohiya ay scientific at sustainable. Dapat hindi lang tayo basta mag-alaga ng hayop. Kailangan responsable rin tayo,” she said.
During the seminar, experts from the DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and Tarlac Agricultural University shared technologies and best practices for the efficient production of native swine, free-range chicken, goat, and duck egg that could improve the farmers’ income.
Representatives from the DA Agricultural Credit Policy Council and the Philippine Crop Insurance also discussed easy access credit and crop insurance services that the farmers and cooperatives could avail to boost their production.
Emily De Leon, member of the Samahan ng mga Magsasaka ng Tambao, Kataasan, Dinalupihan, said that she and her fellow farmers wanted to attend various seminars, especially those led by the DA. She explained that the local government unit’s continued support to the town’s agriculture sector encourages farmer groups to learn more about improving their sector.
As fresh graduates of the ATI School on the Air, De Leon mentioned that their group has started to practice and appreciate the benefits of organic farming.
For Hilario Mangulabnan, a walk-in participant to the DA Mapagmalasakit program in Bataan, seminars like this are helpful for small farmers like him. He said that he specifically liked the lecture on native pig production, and he wants to apply the lessons he learned about raising native pigs.
Dr. Romeo Manalili of the DA-BAI Veterinary Quarantine Station also delivered some clarifications and reminders about the threat of African swine fever that could bring disaster to the country’s swine industry. He said that everyone’s support is important in this fight.
Dinalupihan Mayor Maria Angela Garcia reminded everyone to participate in food production initiatives of the government.
“Makilahok tayo sa laban para wakasan ang kahirapan at para maitaguyod ang agriculture sector,” she said before declaring that the farmers are the heroes of the country.
The DA Mapagmalasakit program held in Bataan is the second leg of the recently launched nationwide program of the department. The program kicked-off on June 21, 2019 in Catbalogan, Samar. Announcements about the schedule of succeeding Mapagmalasakit seminars will be posted on the Facebook page of the DA National Livestock Program. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)
