Marvin Jinayon indeed lives up to his surname which in Cebuano means ‘to slow down'. His father used to advise him not to be too hasty in putting money on his balut business. That is why Marvin joined the training and expository visits in order to gather more knowledge and skills in balut making.

“Naka-adto ko sa Victoria, Laguna pinaagi sa suporta ni former Trento Mayor Irenea Hitgano ug didto nako nakita giunsa pag-manage ang mga dagko na nga mga farms. Unya, nakahuna-huna ko ug dala sa Trento sa akong nakat-unan. Didto nagsugod ang pag-tukod sa Jinayon Duck Farm.”

“Nagsugod mi diri 13 lang ka itik ug capital nga 500 pesos. Ang itik diay hinay-hinayon ra gyud. Sama ra sa among apelyido nga Jinayon.”

Through the advice of his father, Marvin realized that when you start small, management is easier and less risky especially if failures may come your way.

Itik Pinas

Marvin learned about Balut making and duck raising through his father who was into this business when he was still a child. But his technical know-how was further enhanced during his trip to Victoria, Laguna plus the training he attended at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and other agencies.

Thanks to the Itik Pinas program, Marvin was able to learn the technique of inbreeding ducks where science plays an important role in producing superior quality stock. Through careful and controlled selection, he was able to produce healthy, robust, and efficient next-generation ducks on his farm.

He said that most farmers just kept on breeding ducks of inferior characteristics. The interbreeding resulted in the decline in both the duck and egg populations.

But with the Itik Pinas program, farmers are able to get a superior breed of native ducks that can produce more eggs with more consistent egg size and weight.

“Kini nga programa tabang sa production ug protection sa scam kay usa nalang ka kolor ang babae nga puros brown ug ang lalaki nga puros black. Ika-10 generation na ang Itik Pinas. It is possible nga matag generation nga madugang sa iya, mas nagkataasang iyang quality. Mao nan ga hopefully, aduna na pay daghang researches ang himuon labi na ang Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) aron mas mulambo pa ang duck production dinhi sa Pilipinas”

Now

With only 500 pesos as start-up capital six years ago, the Jinayon Duck Farm has now become the premier duck farm in Agusan del Sur and Caraga Region.

He sells 3,500 eggs per day and 2,000 for balut – this is the fertilized developing egg embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. In his balut business alone, Marvin can earn around P 3.00 per egg or around P 36,000 per month. This does not include other income from selling layer eggs, RTL ducks, training services, farm visits, piggery, free-range chicken, and fruit trees.

It now houses twelve huge commercial duck buildings plus an ongoing mini-feed mill through the support of the Department of Agriculture. Marvin says he is making more expansion to cater to the growing needs of his customers. He buys ducks from farmers or supplies Ready to Lay (RTL) ducks for those into duck egg production. As an LSA, he opens his farm for farmers to learn about farm programming and marketing, attend seminars, and duck-house designing. He also accepts students as on-the-job trainees (OJTs).

“Dinhi sa among farm, pwede mo musuroy, pwede mo mu-training, mag-benchmarking, mutan-aw sa among facilities kay basin applicable pud ni sa inyong lugar.”

Marvin says around 100 training have been conducted on his farm. He expressed his gratitude to ATI for the advisories, equipment, and other support extended to him as an LSA. People from all walks of life like students, entrepreneurs, and government workers from other regions and agencies now frequent his place to learn or do business. His visitors and customers further increased when he was recently featured in Jiggy Manicad’s “Agripreneur” program. No wonder this man truly deserves his distinction as the Gawad Saka national awardee under the Natatanging Small Animal Raiser in 2019.
His duck farm will surely go a long way with more improvements are being pipelined. His immediate goal is to further expand his duck farm as a breeder farm and a premiere hatchery to address the demand for F1 Itik Pinas stocks in the Caraga region.

His advice to farmers is to avoid being too lavish and impulsive when starting duck production and balut venture. Just take the Jinayon’s way which is slowly but surely.