June 22, 2015

 Joel Aragon was barely 14 years old when he started working as a goat shipper, together with his father. Realizing its potential as a good business, he decided to pursue goat shipping as a career. Now at 37, Aragon has mastered the in and out of the goat shipping business by transporting goats from Masbate to C5 and Litex Fairview, Quezon City weekly.

“Mataas ang demand at wala tayong problema sa buyers kasi madami ang willing at handang bumili ng goats from Masbate,” he said. However, recently, he noticed the hampered progress of the goat industry in the province due to lack of good stock, high cost of goats, and limited stock procurement.

To gather more data for the value chain analysis (VCA) for goat, the Province of Masbate’s first priority commodity, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) V conducted a Stakeholders’ Workshop on June 19, 2015 at Tio Jose Restobar in Masbate City.

The activity was attended by goat raisers, shipper, representatives of concerned government agencies, farmers’ associations in Masbate and other key players in the VCA for goat.

“In every stage of the chain, all of it has a chain player. We want to show you na lahat yan importante, na may relasyon ang bawat isa para mapalago ang industriya ng goat sa inyong probinsya,” Ma. Jayd-da N. Mayoralgo, PRDP South Luzon Project Support Office (PSO) Consultant, said.

She also facilitated the visioning workshop, the stakeholders’ validation and ranking of constraints in the goat value chain analysis as well as the validation of the VCA map and the assessment of the relationships and inter-firm cooperation.

Among the constraints noted by the stakeholders are poor pasture and health management, inferior breed of goats due to limited hybrid stock and government intervention, and lack of capital. They suggested conducting skills training on production of improved forage, farm bio-security, and disease prevention. In addition, they cited the need for hybrid stocks for upgrading from the government. They also called for financial assistance or any goat financing intervention.

Wilfredo DJ. Nelmida, Agricultural Program Coordinating Officers (APCO) of the Masbate Research Outreach Station (ROS) Administration and Training Center, reaffirmed the potential of goat raising as an industry in Masbate.

“Kailangan lang matutukan ang programa,” he said. He added that there are 81 goats at the Masbate Center for Livestock Development in Brgy. Asid, Masbate City, 75 heads of which are pure-bred while the rest are upgraded as part of the Zonal Goat Research Upgrading Project that aims to upgrade the breeding stock of beneficiaries provincewide.

“Pataas ang presyo ng kambing ranging from P120-150/liveweight kilo during regular months up to P200-300 in November to December. In-demand din ang kambing sa mga health-conscious kasi less cholesterol,” he remarked.

Buying price of liveweight goats in the province is at P120 per kilo at the Livestock “Oksyon” Market (LOM) in Brgy. Del Carmen, Uson, Masbate. Goats being sold at the auction market come from various suppliers particularly individual farmers from Samar, Leyte, Cawayan, and Uson, Masbate. An owner-trader-consolidator-assembler from Cebu also delivers 45 heads of goat for sale at the auction market. A minimum of 400 goats are being auctioned at the auction market every Thursday for shipping to Litex Fairview and Nepa Q-mart, Quezon City.

Masbate has 70 commercial raisers, 35 of which are members of the Masbate Small Ruminant Raisers Association Inc. and San Fernando Goat Raisers Association, with over 50 heads of upgraded does and pure-bred buck.

VCA is a science-based tool being used by PRDP, a six-year project of the national government aimed at a modern, inclusive, value-chain oriented and climate-smart agri-fishery sector, to create value along the chain and promote the rational distribution of benefits among the value chain actors. (Annielyn L. Baleza, I-SUPPORT InfoACE Unit, DA-RAFIS 5)

PRDP South Luzon Project Support Office (PSO) Consultant Ma. Jayd-da N. Mayoralgo and Planning Specialist Felipe D. Vargas gather data from Livestock Inspector Melchor Dipad at the Livestock “Oksyon” Market in Brgy. Del Carmen, Uson, Masbate on June 18, 2015.