By Manny Piñol
The simple breeding experiment which I made in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato about six years ago which was aimed at improving the genetics of the native chicken to make it grow faster and lay more eggs, has already penetrated the organic market.
On Friday night, I was pleasantly surprised when Nico and Paula Aberasturi who were among the participants in the Philippine organic products fair in Rustan’s in Taguig City, approached me and said they were selling organic eggs produced by chicken which came from my farm.
Nico and Paula looked so proud of what they were doing – breeding and selling organic chicken and eggs.
I felt so proud that the eggs of the chicken I bred in my farm a few years ago are now being sold in the organic market.
Manok Pinoy and the Black Star are among my genetic experiments in the farm which I started in 2010.
Basically, I intended to address the problems confronting the free-range native chicken growers which were the very slow growth of the native chicken, the poor egg-laying capacity and the inconsistent genotype and phenotype.
So what I did, I started cross-breeding the iconic Asils with selected breeds which were good in egg-laying and I came up with two new strains of chicken – Manok Pinoy for meat and Black Star for eggs.
Since my appointment as Agriculture Secretary, my visits to the farm have not been very frequent but I have left the management of the Braveheart Farms to my daughter, Ma. Krista, who squeezes in the farm management in between hew duty in the different hospitals as a doctor.
Dr. Krista has decided to breed more of the Manok Pinoy and the Black Star so that we will have more breeders by next year and hopefully, the farm would be able to supply the huge requirement of the growing organic market.
The target of the farm is to have 5,000 breeders by next year and knowing the dedication of my daughter to her new-found passion, I am sure that someday soon Manok Pinoy and the Black Star will not only be found in Rustan’s.
Maybe, just maybe, it could be found in the many organic markets in the country and around the world.
Wild dream? Maybe, but it could come true.
(Photos show the couple selling organic brown eggs from chicken bought from Braveheart Farms and photos of the farm and the chicken.)
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