San Fernando, Pampanga—A total of 600 goat raisers and farmers in Central Luzon are expected to boost the country’s current stocks of 3,274,991 heads to meet the increasing demand after they graduated from a course teaching new technology in raising the animal in Tarlac over the weekend.
The Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) data show that Tarlac tops the other provinces in Central Luzon with a production of 4,362 goats last year.
Veronica Concepcion Esguera, regional director of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Center in Central Luzon, said the farmers graduated under the On-Air-Goat Production and Technology program entitled “Sa-Goat Kita! Swak na Pamamaraan sa Paghahayulan” sponsored by the government.
Under the program, Esguera said the farmers from Pampanga’s 17 municipalities and one city underwent the basic principles of goat raising, including breeding, animal husbandry, goat selection, record keeping, health management, disease, nutrition,and other relevant issues related in raising the animal.
Also in the module were meat hygiene practice, marketing and value-added traits of an agri-preneur, opportunities assessment and identification, she said.
The government is developing the domestic goat industry as the demand is higher than current supply, with only the need of new technology and little financial requirements to raise the animals.
As of January 2018, PSA data showed that the goats’ total populations in the country is 3 million heads.
Central Luzon ranked 4th in backyard goat farming with only 8.77% contribution in the total stocks in the same category covering the same period.
The top three regions in backyard goat farming are Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Ilocos Region, with a total share of 39.39 % of the country’s total inventory.
In Central Luzon, the top goats raisers are the provinces of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.
After six month, the institute will continue to monitor the farmers with the help of state universities in their provinces if they implemented the program properly specially in the new technology adaptation, improvement of income and increased production.
Esguera said: “With the new knowledge and new technologies, we hope the goat farmers can improve their production to meet the demand by applying what they learned In the program.”
During the graduation rites, goat farmer Jaime Damaso, 71, admitted that before they lacked knowledge in goat raising but now they have learned a lot specially in the sanitation and medication of the animals.
Damaso urged the government to continue the projects so that other goat raisers in the other parts of Central Luzon will also benefit from the program.
The ATI is an agency of the Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for the training of workers and their clientele including multi-level training programs to promote and accelerate growth and development in the rural areas.