by Babes J. Rebultan

Cagayan de Oro City (9 March) -- FARMERS can now integrate goat and sheep raising in their farms to augment their inome.

Regional Technical Director Constancio Maghanoy Jr. of the Department of Agriculture (DA-10) said this during this week’s “Talakayan sa PIA” media forum in Cagayan de Oro City.

He explained that farmers can raise goats and sheep (tupa/karnero) in their own backyards and also in cocofarms, especially under the coconut trees.

Farmers don’t have to feed goats and sheep with commercial foods because they just eat grass in the surroundings, he added.

He said with the integration of sheep and goat in farmlands, farmers can save as much as 70% from the cost of labor and maintenance of plantation crops because the sheep and goats will thrive on grasses and plants in the area.

Maghanoy also reported that DA-10 is hosting the 3rd National Goat and Sheep Congress, in coordination with the Federation of Goat and Sheep Producers and Associations of the Philippines (FGASPAPI), on March 21-23, this year, at the Lim Ket Kai Center in Cagayan de Oro.

Themed “Asenso ka sa Kambing at Tupa,” goat and sheep raisers-farmers, and product and service providers will be updated of the various issues affecting the industry and will open up challenges towards development and economic equity.

Meanwhile, Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Alfonso Ramosa of Misamis Oriental said, “There is a need for more production of goat and sheep.”

Goats and sheep are not only in demand in the country for local consumption, but also being sought after in other countries, especially in the Middle East.

He said the demand of goat is 3.2% compared to our production of only 1.5 %.

Ramosa said the raisers of goats and sheep are classified into: backyard raisers or those that rely on grasses only for feeding, and commercial raisers or those that mix feeds in their feeding so as to cope up with the production needs.

He also reported that the provincial government of Misamis Oriental has allocated funds for the purchase of upgraded male goats to be used as breeders.

During the same forum, Dr. Elvito D. Tac-an, DA-10 livestock division chief, said the Middle East countries need 10,000 heads of goat per month, which the Philippines can not produce at the moment.

This is a challenge to commercial raisers so that they would raise more goats to answer the high demand of goat’s meat and goat’s milk in the country and in the international market, he said.

Tac-an clarified that the goat’s meat to be exported should be halal-produced, halal-processed and halal-packed, a pre-requisite before it could be accepted in the Middle East countries.

Halal means that the production, processing and packaging aspect is free from contamination of pig’s oil, hog waste, and other organic matter of pigs that will come in contact with goats, he explained.

He also said there is a ritual where only qualified abattoir or slaughterhouse personnel are allowed to slaughter goats whose meat are to be exported to the Middle East countries.

Importing countries are very strict, where they require halal certification that states that the goat’s meat are produced, processed and packed the halal way, he added.

Tac-an also reported that the goat population in the region is recorded at 169,569 heads in January 2006 as compared to only 166,091 heads in January 2005 or an increase of 3,478 heads.

The increase was due to the establishment of more commercial goat farms, he further said.

In Region 10 alone, a total of 135 liters of milk per day is produced from the five major dairy producing farms namely: Lagbas Farm, Naawan LGU Farm, Pastor Nietes Farm, Jocel’s Farm, and Central Mindanao University Dairy Goat Farm.

Engineer Oswaldo Saarenas, president of the Kagayhaan Goat and Sheep Producers Cooperative (KAGASPCO), said their group has introduced the “cut and carry” method of raising goats.

In “cut and carry,” one can raise 20 heads of goats in a two-hectare land, the boundary lines could be planted to madre de cacao, ipil-ipil, and other grasses, among others.

He said the grasses will readily be available to the goats rather than the goats looking for grasses for their food in other areas.

He also said the “cut and carry” method is doable because even in the backyards, household members could plant ipil-ipil trees and other grasses with their decorative plants where even young kids can already feed the goats with the grasses.