SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte — Three farmers’ cooperatives in Surigao del Norte are getting a major boost to their poultry businesses as the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga turns over a combined ₱6.3-million egg production project designed to create sustainable livelihood opportunities while strengthening the province’s local food supply.
The project, implemented under the Livestock Economic Enterprise Development (LEED) program, provides each beneficiary cooperative with a package worth ₱2.1 million.
The package includes housing and chicken cages, 1,000 ready-to-lay (RTL) chickens, feeds, vitamins, drugs and biologics—giving each cooperative the basic production assets needed to operate an egg enterprise rather than simply receive one-time livelihood assistance.
The three beneficiaries are the Bacuag Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (BAFCO) in Bacuag, the San Isidro Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SIMPUCO) in Gigaquit, and the San Francisco Anao-Aon Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (SAFFAC) in San Francisco.
From livelihood assistance to an actual poultry business
What makes the project significant is its enterprise-oriented approach.
Rather than distributing assistance to individual farmers separately, the LEED program works through cooperatives, allowing members to share resources, organize production and collectively handle marketing and other parts of the supply chain.
The Department of Agriculture said the approach is intended to help transform small-scale livestock and poultry raising into more sustainable, enterprise-level operations.
The provincial government, through the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVET), together with municipal agriculture offices, is also providing technical assistance to the beneficiaries.
During the turnover, DA Caraga Regional Livestock Program Coordinator Ivy Kristine Wamar said the agency remains committed to supporting farmers’ livelihoods and the development of the agricultural sector.
Three cooperatives, 3,000 ready-to-lay chickens
Taken together, the three packages mean the cooperatives received 3,000 ready-to-lay chickens under the ₱6.3-million project.
For the beneficiaries, the assistance is expected to become more than an additional source of income.
BAFCO chairperson Judith Lincuna said the project would help improve the livelihoods of their families, while the cooperative committed to properly managing the assistance and growing the enterprise.
The provincial government has also identified the latest beneficiaries as part of a broader effort to establish a more decentralized network of egg producers across Surigao del Norte, following previous project turnovers in Placer and Mainit.
Surigao Norte is already seeing egg enterprises grow
The new project comes as other farmer groups in Surigao del Norte are already demonstrating how government-backed poultry projects can evolve into continuing enterprises.
In February 2026, PIA reported that several farmers’ associations in Siargao Island had begun reinvesting their own egg-production earnings to purchase new ready-to-lay chickens.
Three groups—Makugihong Mag-uuma sa Katipunan, Active Farmers Association in Mahayahay and United Del Pilar Farmers Association—collectively reinvested ₱292,500 to replace aging layers and sustain production. Two other associations also purchased additional layers.
That development is important because poultry projects face a predictable challenge: laying hens eventually reach the end of their most productive period.
According to DA-SAAD Caraga, some chickens distributed in 2023 had already passed their optimum laying period by early 2026, prompting beneficiary groups to replace them using income generated from their own operations.
In other words, the measure of success is no longer simply how many chickens are distributed.
It is whether the cooperatives can keep buying replacements, manage feed and operating costs, market their eggs and continue producing after government assistance ends.
Why the ₱6.3-million investment matters
Egg production provides an important link between agricultural livelihood and food security.
A functioning local poultry enterprise can potentially provide farmers with recurring income while supplying fresh eggs to nearby communities.
But the latest project should not automatically be interpreted as a guarantee of lower egg prices or increased provincial supply. The actual impact will depend on production performance, feed costs, animal health, management, market access and the cooperatives’ ability to sustain operations.
That distinction matters.
The government is providing the production foundation, but the long-term success of the project will ultimately depend on how effectively the three cooperatives turn that assistance into functioning businesses.
For Surigao del Norte, however, the direction is clear: the province is gradually building a network of community-based egg producers instead of relying solely on individual backyard operations.
And with 3,000 new ready-to-lay chickens now entering the system, the next question is no longer whether the project has been delivered.
The bigger question is whether these three cooperatives can turn ₱6.3 million in government assistance into a poultry enterprise that keeps producing—and earning—long after the cameras leave.
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