INFORMAL MEETING – after clearing the area where a goat house will be built, members of MOGSFRA gather around to share their ideas for the improvement of the association. They are graduates of the Season Long Farmers’ Livestock School on Meat and Dairy Goat Production.
EL SALVADOR CITY – “We will continue what we have started. From the training, we already started building a goat house. And from this goat house, we will build a vibrant cooperative that will heed to the needs of the members and the community.” This was the pronouncement of Mr. Napoleon M. Lancin, a facilitator of the season long Farmers’ Livestock School (SL-FLS) during their Monthly Meeting at Sinaloc, El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental.
Through the initiative of Mr. Lancin, the participants of the SL-FLS organized themselves to a farmers’ association named Misamis Oriental Goats, Sheeps and Fowl Raisers Association (MOGSFRA) which will produce dairy and meat products. They have already elected a new set of officers. They are Ret. Col. Florante Occeña (President), Annabelle Jugador (Vice President), Cherylyn Magnanao (Treasurer), Dolly Payla (Secretary) and Bienvenido Juliada (Auditor). Mr. Napoleon Lancin, Mr. Rosalio Lorono and Mr. Robert Enerio, who were resource persons and facilitators of the training, are designated as member – advisers to the association.
The SL – FLS, particularly on Meat and Dairy Goat Production, was conducted by Agricultural Training Institute – Regional Training Center X (ATI – RTC X) in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental from June 11, 2018 to October 11, 2018. The training aims to equip the participants and enhance their knowledge, skills and attitude towards goat farming. Topics included in the training were goat production system, feed resources, housing, breeds and breeding, heath management, waste management and recordkeeping, among others.
There were also practicum activities and exercises included in the training like hands-on on forage planting, and demonstration and actual observation on the anatomy and physiology of a goat. Highlighted in the training was the benchmarking tour of the participants to the farm of Engr. Isidro V. Albano, owner of Albano Farm, in Maragusan, Compostela Valley.
The association has put up a communal farm in the lot of Mr. Santos Oco, Jr. (a member of the association) in Sinaloc, El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental through a lease agreement.
What is peculiar about the association they created is that they accept cash and in-kind capital build-up. “We accept in-kind capital build-up because we are farmers. They (members) will bring anything that is useful for the association and we will give value to it based on its current market price. For instance, one of our member brought lumber and woods. It is very useful for our goat house. We will appraise the value of the item he brought and its monetary value will form part of his capital build-up. Other members also brought goats and chickens which is also very useful. This way, money will not be a problem for membership and any farmer can join us,” explained Mr. Lancin.
Currently, the association is doing paperwork to further register it to a Farmers’ Cooperative under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). (with reports from Aleli Jean A. Paulican, Livestock Alternate Focal Person)