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The World Bank and Our Native Chickens[/font][/size]By Nestor M. Pestelos | Columnist, The Bohol Tribune[/size]In a week of depressing news about bombing by so-called terrorists both in the country, in the US and in a concert in Manchester, England; burning of houses, schools and hospitals and hostage-taking and escalation of hostilities between government troops and the Maute group which led to the eventual declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao; and the daily media fare of killings related to the country’s current drug war, we still managed to survive without going to a psychiatrist by focusing our lens on some bright stuff we chanced upon in media and in meetings with some friends in development work.During the week, I came across some bright notes which showed efforts consistent with our advocacy that we must continue to localize development, to bring so-called sustainable development goals not only as agenda in national and international fora, but as specific projects and interventions at the community and household levels to address global poverty and its attendant social ills.Let me share these bright notes with you:First, I received via email an interesting post from my friend and journalism mentor of long ago, Zac Sarian, entitled “A Model Native Chicken Farm – A Package of Technology Being Developed.” The timing was perfect: I have grown sick and tired of just reading about orientation sessions, planning and training workshops promoting this or that and virtually nothing about projects or services actually delivered to specific poor households in specific disadvantaged locations.This has been the focus of our efforts in development work during half of a lifetime, something which is being diverted by this war on drugs and terrorism. Not that I consider these two social evils as unimportant. I am just pointing out that among the casualties in these two wars are the millions of poor families who will be less assisted, or not at all, because vital resources are being diverted away from day-to-day concerns of the poor.It’s generally a bleak mood that I have been having for the past year in this quest for interventions that will both ease the burden brought about by poverty as well as strengthen social cohesiveness against these modern-day evils of drug addiction and terrorism.I was immensely happy to find this post from my old friend and mentor Zac Sarian that says there is two-year project that started in April 2016, funded by the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), that aims ... “ to develop a Science and Technology Model Farm (STMF) to showcase the package of technology (POT) for free-range chicken production.”This will include “development of a native chicken breeding and hatchery management system.” Such system “will ensure stable supply of both breeder and slaughter native chickens with predictable performance and consistent quality in commercial quantities.” The technology being developed will also include natural feeds, botanical dewormers, vaccine for New Castle Disease (NCD) and range area enhancement protocol for native chicken production. The science and technology interventions will also give special emphasis on artificial incubation and brooding.These were all music to my ears. This 75-year old heart leaped in excitement upon reading this as I recalled previous efforts of our NGO to promote the growing of native chickens aware of their health benefits and tremendous demand in the market which will ensure a stable source of income for the family. A perfect intervention indeed for the target poverty groups!I recall we included the distribution and production of native chickens, which we called Manok Pinoy in those days, starting with the massive backyard food production campaign and child nutrition programs under the Green Revolution and Project Compassion during the Seventies; and as part of the UNICEF-assisted “Ilaw ng Buhay” Light of Life Program in the 1980s to early 1990s.I recall our Ilaw volunteer, Biboy Penaflor from Taloto, Tagbilaran, who shifted from coordinating our “Baboy ni Biboy” project to distribute instead hundreds of UNICEF-funded Manok Pinoy packages consisting of one roaster and five hens to every family who suffered from the devastating Typhoon Yoling in those days.Like the pigs before them, these native chickens must have suffered the same fate – of being slaughtered and eaten by the hungry families reeling from the impact of a devastating natural calamity.Poor Biboy, he passed away “without seeing the dawn,” as we used to say for each failed project not revived in time for our coordinator to see how it has brightened up the life of our target families.[/size]In recent years, we have had some brushes with this difficult native chicken project seeking to help mass produce them as a poverty alleviation measure, but we were not good at it due partly to lack of funding resources to track how beneficiaries would take care of the chickens and to produce the quantity to match the demand of a rapidly-expanding market.The market is expanding for native chicken eggs and meat has continued to expand despite being priced higher that counterpart commercial products. Due to the massive nutrition campaign, more and more people have realized eating native chicken eggs and meat is a much healthier habit than consuming easily-available commercially produced counterpart products. The belief is also widespread that commercial chickens are given chemical feeds that will result in health problems.To find out more about native chickens, I called up former colleague at the Bohol Poverty Reduction Management Office (BPRMO), now a newly-minted Doctor of Philosophy in Community Development, Dr. Larry Pamugas, to get him to address some queries, particularly on the World Bank-assisted native chicken growing project. Dr. Pamugas referred me instead to the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV).And so it came to pass that we met with Dr. Stella “Bing” Lapiz, who heads OPV. I knew her from way back when she was known to successfully control the disappearance of livestock distributed to families especially during May, the month of fiestas. She did it by creating the Bohol Association of Livestock Aides (BALA) which monitors and oversees how animals under the distribution program are cared for by beneficiaries. She sees to it that BALA members are properly motivated and recognized for their outstanding work.Dr. Bing confirmed that the lowly native chickens now figure prominently in the World Bank-assistedPhilippines Rural Development Project (PRDP) implemented in the province. The project which aims systematically to support mass production of native chickens so that greater volume of eggs and meat will be available to much the demand is now operational.[/size]A system is being applied to the traditionally free-range raising of native chickens: a) anybody with at least 10 to 15 chickens can join the Municipal Native Chicken Growers Association; b) the Association will be assisted to build and operate a Municipal Native Chicken Production Center supplied with an initial stock of 20 hens and 5 roasters and provided with incubator, materials for the cages and fence, feeds for the first four months, and equally important, free vaccination for the stock; and c) coordination in the dispersal of stocks and monitoring of actual support given to Association members.Through the Association and the Municipal-level production center, it is expected that a more systematic shift from home-based to municipal-wide production and distribution can be achieved through provision of technical assistance, vaccination and marketing support.On being asked about existing breeds of native chickens in addition to Darag in the Visayas, Banaba in Batangas, Camarines in the Bicol Region, Paraokan in Palawan, Dr. Bing let out what seemed to be a secret: Bohol has actually developed a breed of its own known as Boholano in the Ubay Stock Farm with assistance from the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD). In the future, we will know how it compares with known qualities of the other breeds.Dr. Bing hopes that production can significantly match the huge demand estimated at 3,000 heads a week. In zeroing in on improving production capability through provision of technical and other assistance, and by organizing viable native chicken producers organizations at local levels, we can make native chickens a profitable mass product that can augment family income. She says the administration of Gov. Ed Chatto fully supports the World Bank-assisted project.Many people are aware that the World Bank is often criticized as interested only in macro-economics and in improving the production and marketing of traditional products. The fact that this global bank is is now into helping implement the value chain of a micro product, such as our native chickens, is enough to lift my spirit up from a shameful low level due to this news about bomb attacks, terrorism and some counter-productive remarks from both sides of the martial law divide.Indeed raising native chickens on account of its importance to the local economy may also serve as therapy and source of income for recovering drug dependents. For many of us, helping achieve critical mass in the production and distribution of native chickens may also enable us take the steady course towards addressing depression and hitting the high road once again in the race towards recreating our beloved Bohol as a province without poverty and its attendant social ills, drug addiction and terrorism.

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