Seven municipalities of Lanao del Sur have been chosen as Pilot Areas for the livelihood projects to be introduced by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) in the province, including Cattle Fattening, Dairy Goat Multiplier Farm, Duck Raising and Tilapia Fish Cage Farming.
The basis for their selection was very simple: the Mayors of the towns showed deep interest in the program by attending the Livelihood Orientation by staying from the opening time in the morning until the end of the program.
Led by Taraka, the other towns included Pualas, Balindong, Mulondo, Butig, Saguiaran and Lumbaga Unayan.
These towns will host the pilot livelihood projects introduced by MinDA.
All seven towns will have a Pilot Project for Chicken Egg Production consisting of 200 layers housed in pens to be crafted by Maranao carpenters patterned after the steel egg laying cages which cost about P200,000.
MinDA and its private sector partner, PILMICO of the Aboitiz group will provide the Ready-To-Lay Pullets with PILMICO supplying the feeds and providing the technical training for woman groups.
The eggs could be sold locally but any excess production will be absorbed by UltraMart, a Cebu-based supermarket chain.
Two towns, Balindong and Mulondo, will host the Tilapia Fish Cage Pilot Projects, while the towns located beside the 39,000-hectare Lake Lanao will have pilot farms for the duck raising under the Itik Pinas program of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Two towns will host a Dairy Goat Multiplier Farm Project with 20 does and two bucks while all of the towns will have pilot farms for Sorghum farming which is being introduced to support the backyard chicken and duck raising projects and also for goat and cattle raising.
Cattle fattening projects will also be established in all of the seven pilot towns.
All of the towns will also be provided with a start-up nursery for Abaca with the support of the Philippine Fiber Development Authority (PhilFiDA), an agency of the DA.
Moringa (Malunggay) seeds were also given to each of the towns who attended asking the mayors to propagate these and share the planting materials to people in the remote villages.
All of these projects are expected to serve as the show window for the other towns to follow.
By introducing these projects only in the towns whose Mayors attended the Livelihood Orientation, I am sending a message to the local government leaders that we could only help them improve the lives of their people and the economy of their towns if they show interest in the projects.
(Photos by the media group of the Mindanao Development Authority. Map of Lanao del Sur downloaded from public website.)
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