While the trend in the swine industry continues to lean towards large farms, there is still a chunk of opportunity for most of the farmers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) via backyard swine raising as a secondary source of income.

Back in 2016, one cooperative located at Barangay Bashoy, Kabayan, Benguet proposed swine raising as an intervention to their members that were greatly affected by Typhoon Lando.

For Susan Guinoran, Chairperson of the Bashoy Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BFMPC), recovery after suffering heavy losses was of their utmost priority.

“Being able to help our members to recover after experiencing losses due to the typhoon that hit us before, mattered more over gaining added profits for the cooperative,” expressed Guinoran.

The BFMPC’s trait of helping others date back 2003, when the association was led by an all-women membership of 30. It became a Rural Improvement Club (RIC) in 2005, until the decision to register as a cooperative in 2019, in order to engage in other ventures.

Eventually, it was formerly registered as Bashoy Farmers Consumers Cooperative, but management then decided to transition into a multi-purpose cooperative to provide more services for their members.

In 2016, they submitted their eligibility documents to be able to propose an enterprise subproject to help their members who suffered major losses due to Typhoon Lando. With the help of the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Kabayan and the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP), they were able to craft their own Business Plan, presented it, and formally implemented.

Guinoran recalled that writing the business proposal, which is a requirement of the DA-PRDP, and complying with other necessary documents was really challenging for them, but they learned the value of proper recording and documentation of the cooperative’s transactions and undertakings, should they propose more projects in the future.

“Narigatan kami idjay proseso ti PRDP karkaro idi damo ngem agpasalamat kami ta ada met dagiti tinmulong from the PRDP ken LGU,” said Guinoran.

(We struggled with the DA-PRDP process at first but we are grateful because there were people from the Project and from the LGU who helped us.)

The micro enterprise subproject – BFCC Swine Raising for Typhoon-Affected Members, was intended to provide livelihood activities through the provision of 100 piglets for fattening, including feeds, thereby increasing their income by at least 15% in the first cycle of the subproject.

BFMPC member and beneficiary Gilda Ramos shared that she started her backyard swine raising when she received the piglets from the cooperative and earned around PhP12,000.00 to PhP18,000.00 per pig in 2019. She continued to raise another set of piglets in 2021, in which she earned a net income amounting to PhP50, 000.00.

Prescilla Guinoran, another member of the BFMPC, also shared that the feeds were inexpensive before, so they had a better income from swine raising until the COVID-19 pandemic happened. This was followed by the African Swine Fever (ASF) and all the restrictions that limited their movement, so they decided to stop for a while.

“Nginmato ti feeds itatta ngem ikarkarigatan mi ladta nga agtaraken ti baboy ta ada met ti coop nga pangibagsakan mi nu awan unay ti gumatang,” Guinoran said.

(Feeds cost much today as compared before but we still continue with our swine raising because we know that the cooperative is there to help us sell our pigs.)

Like all other areas, some of the BFMPC members have stopped raising swine from 2020 to 2021 because of the pandemic and the ASF. However, there were some who continued and even went into swine production/breeding.

“Ada tattan ti tallo nga swine breeders mi nga isu ti as-asideg nga pangalaan ti stocks ket tapnu mas agtuloy-tuloy, i-encourage mi ladta dagiti daduma nga swine raiser members mi nga ag breed ti baboy,” Guinoran added.

(We now have three members who are producing/breeding swine, which serves as the source of piglets here, and as a sustainability initiative of the cooperative. We are continuously encouraging other swine raiser members to venture into swine production/breeding.)

Before the pandemic, the cooperative only collected service fees from the recipients. However, due to the ASF restrictions, it was hard for source-out piglet suppliers so they shifted to the provision of a swine production loan with a 1.5% interest income. With a maximum swine production loan of PhP30,000.00, a member can already afford to buy at least four (4) piglets, including feeds.

As the enterprise subproject was given to the cooperative as a grant, Guinoran said that they are more determined in helping their members gain more income, as to why they only collect a small interest income from the members who availed of the swine production loan.

As of February 2022, the cooperative has accumulated a net income of PhP40,660.00 from the operations of their swine raising enterprise.

The BFMPC currently offers the following services to their members: farm production loan, swine production loan, and regular/emergency loans. They have also established a satellite consumers store at sitio Babalak, in addition to the main store at sitio Lebeng, where they sell basic household goods including some agricultural inputs such as farm tools, fertilizers, and feeds, among others.

Guinoran also shared that they also accommodate the pork products of their members to be sold at the cooperative’s consumer stores.

“Agyaman kami ta dakel ti naitulong na jay swine raising project para iti members mi ta ada ti nangalaan da ti nagpuunan da ken naka ganansya da metlang. Nanayunan met ti services mi ditoy kooperatib ket mas nakatulong kami pay kadagiti myembro mi,” expressed Guinoran.

(We are very grateful because our swine raising enterprise provided our members with capital and a better income and we were able to offer more services at the cooperative to help the members in need.)

The BFMPC’s micro enterprise on swine raising did not only help their members recover from their losses, but has provided a step towards increasing productivity and income among backyard swine raisers in Kabayan.//

by Elvy T. Estacio (Writer, DA-PRDP RPCO CAR InfoACE Unit)