The Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) MIMAROPA Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) I-PLAN Component conducted a focus group discussion (FGD) among native pig industry players in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, on August 23-24, 2022.

This FGD was attended by eleven native pig growers in the municipality of Puerto Galera and was facilitated by MIMAROPA RPCO’s Planning Specialist Timoteo Borromeo, Jr., together with Planning Officers Faith Janica Manalo and Gerely Llanos.

Through the FGD, the participants were able to discuss and identify the constraints and opportunities in the native pig industry in the province. They were also able to describe what a competitive industry would look like in five to ten years’ time.

According to Mylene Barcenilla, a native pig farmer in Puerto Galera, they are looking forward to creating a federation with the four farmers’ organizations in the municipality to be able to facilitate faster receiving of assistance from both government and non-government organizations. These four organizations include: the Baclayan Food Security Association (BAFSA), the Agpaysarigan Mangyan Anunyo Tadwayan Inc (AMATI), the Aguada Farmers Association, and the Balok-balok Farmers Association.

“In five years, sa tulong ng apat na organisasyon, kami ay uunlad. Kami ay magkakaron ng meat shop, at masaya na kami dahil ang aming target na PhP5,000, PhP10,000 [na presyo] ay mahihigitan pa,” Barcenilla further stated.

Aside from the FGD, the MIMAROPA RPCO I-PLAN team also conducted a household survey and ocular visitation in Barangay Balatero, Puerto Galera. This method was conducted to gather baseline data for the situation of the native pig growers in the area.

Previously, the I-PLAN team also conducted an FGD for native pig growers in the province of Marinduque last April 19-21, 2022. This was done among 20 native growers and traders from Boac and Mogpog, and another 20 farmers from Gasan and Buenavista, respectively.

As the native pig is considered an emerging commodity in the region, the data gathered from this series of activities will be used to form the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) of the said commodity. The VCA is an assessment tool which analyzes the performance of the value chain in terms of the interrelationships and main activities of the actors involved. The VCA serves as the basis for the prioritization of commodities in the municipality/province, making way for the creation of the Commodity Investment Plan. (Danica A. Brutas, DA-PRDP MIMAROPA RPCO InfoACE Unit with reports from the I-PLAN Component)

Native pig farmers from Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro illustrate their vision for a competitive native pig market in the next five to ten years. (Photo by Gerely Llanos, DA-PRDP MIMAROPA RPCO I-PLAN Component)