Philippine Natives: Wealth & Treasures Transforming Lives

MANILA: This is the story of a book on Philippine native animals that recently rolled off the press, and the Team Behind The Book produced it from, you might say, chicken scratch.

This is how it happened. A friend, UP Los Baños Emeritus Professor Angel Lambio asked me sometime in late 2014 or early 2015 to look at a report on Philippine native chickens, ducks and pigs and how it could be edited to interest more readers. It was in fact a project report and, as expected, technical in language. Angel knew that if you wanted the technical to be popular, you can ask Frank A Hilario. At once I fell in love with the materials and said it was the beginning of a popular book, not simply the final editing of a technical report.

To cut the story short, in March of this year, the book came out: Philippine Native Animals with the subtitle Source Of Pride & Wealth Worth Conserving & Utilizing. The title was a consensus of the book authors Rene C Santiago, Angel L Lambio and Karen C Dimaranan; Rene is Director of the National Swine & Poultry Research & Development Center (NSPRDC), publisher of the book, and Karen is a researcher at the Center. (The publisher acknowledges the support of the Bureau of Animal Industry, its mother agency, and thanks Bureau of Agricultural Research for financial assistance in the printing of the book. In "About The Cover," the book says "The BAI... is working towards a thriving native animals industry that will benefit the whole country.")

The back blurb should grab your attention, as it says:

To encourage backyard raising and commercial undertakings in the country, this book, Philippine Native Animals: Source Of Pride & Wealth Worth Conserving & Utilizing, was conceived to present the business & livelihood realities and potentials of 7 native species, which are: carabao, cattle, chickens, ducks, goats, horses, and pigs – the plurals indicate 2 or more species or strains. Local residents and now tourists from other lands know that the slow growth of native animals gives us meats & eggs of poultry and meats & milks of livestock that are far more flavorful and mouth-watering, as well as more healthful than those of imported breeds that are given growth hormones to hasten their growth. And more and more local animal raisers now realize that the native species are easier to raise and far more economical than their exotic counterparts.

Here is the unique Dedication:

This book is dedicated to the modern perspective that development of Philippine native farm animals must be subjected to these three processes made to occur simultaneously: conserving, improving and commercializing these species.

How did we generate the materials for the book?

In 2015, we went on a number of photo-gathering trips to towns in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Tayabas. After that, I went on data-and-information gathering trips to the Internet, browsing on hundreds of local and foreign webpages, typing endless notes as I read.

And so we have a heavy book, literally: thick book paper and first-rate printing, with good to excellent images; and figuratively: the book is full of all these:

Part 1: Characterization Of Native Animals Of The Philippines (pages 39-58);
Part 2: Layman's Background On Native Animals (pages 59-72);
Part 3: Studies On Native Species (pages 73-82);
Part 4: Business Experiences & Potentials (pages 83-106);
Part 5: National Needs For Research & Development (pages 107-139)
Part 6: Readings (pages 140-161);
Part 7: Philippine Cuisine: For Food Lovers & Food Entrepreneurs (pages 162-172).

The Appendices are also worth reading: App 1 is "NSPRDC Guides To Raising Of Native Animals" and App 2 "For Animal Raisers, The PNAD Website." PNAD is the acronym of the Philippine Native Animal Development Program.

And so, if as Editor of the book, if I may say so myself: This is the native species book that has it all. The book has:

(1) Technical descriptions of accessible native animal species of the Philippines studied by the Center: chickens, ducks and pigs. If you want to raise them, you have to know much about them first.

(2) A layman's background on 7 native animals: carabao, cattle, chickens, ducks, goats, horses, and swine.

(3) Some researchers' reports on the native species, including selection, production, feeds, and standardization of recipes.

(4) Business experiences and potentials – Part 4 is the 2nd longest of the book, 26 pages. The data & pieces of information come from the Bondoc Peninsula, Butuan City, Cabagan (Isabela), Calumpit (Bulacan), Cebu, Cordillera Autonomous Region, Dadiangas (South Cotabato), Davao, Maguindanao, Montalban (Rizal), Nasugbu (Batangas), PCAARRD, San Carlos City, SEARCA, Tiaong (Quezon), UP Los Baños, and Valenzuela City.

(5) National needs for research & development – Part 5 is the longest of the book, 33 pages. It informs the reader of the following: breeder farms, natural farming, family & village enterprises, farmer breeding, farming as a business, backyard raising, feeds & feeding, energy sources, business planning, natural vs free range farming, organic fertilizer from wastes, and the White Paraoakan chicken whose Father is Ernesto Abalos Sr.

(6) Readings – Part 6 contains the following articles: "Native Swine Raise Farmers' Income;" "HANEP Islands: A Blog;" "Impressions On Field Visits To Raisers Of Native Animals;" "Ample Foods & Feeds;" "Trichantera As Animal "Food For The Future;" "Marketing As Opportunity;" "Max's, The House That Chicken Built;" "and "Goat's Horn Of Plenty."

(7) Filipino Cuisine: For Food Lovers & Food Entrepreneurs – Part 7 includes articles on the need to promote Filipino cuisine, and cuisines on poultry & livestock, beef, chicken, duck, goat and swine.

(8) Appendix 1 comprises of the NSPRDC guides to raising of native chicken, ducks and pigs. Appendix 2 points to the PNAD Website. The website serves the needs of both animal raisers who would like to buy or sell, as well as students who would like to study the species. It also has a Forum feature. The PNAD has an information office and showroom at the NSPRDC in Lagalag, Tiaong, Quezon.

This is from the Message of Director Nicomedes P Eleazar of the Bureau of Agricultural Research:

Given people's desire for wellness coming from human nutrition, international demand for organic food has prompted the national emphasis on the raising of native animals... BAR has supported projects that are focused on creating livelihood opportunities based on native animals for farmers.

In her message, Director Rubina O Cresencio of the Bureau of Animal Industry said:

Filipinos consume, in their daily diet, high amounts of protein derived from food animals; with this, livestock and poultry sources are essential contributors to the country's food security and overall agricultural development. Thus, to ensure food security, one of the biological components that we must look into are animal genetic resources, with focus on those of native species.

In the Prologue, Center Chief IV of the NSPRDC Rene C Santiago said:

Realistically speaking, it is not simply the growth of the population of the world that has prompted the demand for producing more crops and livestock; rather, it is the growth of the demand for quality, healthful foods all over the world. These 2 demands are what the development of Philippine native animals would be wise to meet. The increasing desire for nutritious foods by the population should be taken advantage of, as a study has found, for instance, that consumers "are willing to pay a premium price for native chicken meat that is recognized for its unique taste and flavor."

In the Preface, Researcher of the NSPRDC Karen Dimaranan said:

Our Center, the NSPRDC, encourages and welcomes allies and associations that promote the raising of our native animals. Their enthusiasm means that they have recognized two things: one, the inherent qualities of the meat and/or eggs of our native species and, two, the financial potentials of these animals compared to the factory-type commercial establishments such as of imported breeds of chickens and swine.

In the Foreword, Professor Emeritus of UP Los Baños Angel L Lambio said:

This publication is a public and private partnership effort to document for the public what we now know about these Philippine native animals: carabao, cattle, chickens, ducks, goats, horses, and swine. It was designed to be a sourcebook. It is also in support of the overall national campaign of the Bureau of Animal Industry to propagate our native species and multiply their values in the socio-economic realm to contribute to the development of the people in the countryside. Conservation is a necessary first step, so that the native species can contribute their desirable qualities, which is then followed by improvement, then utilization, and on to commercialization.

In the Editor's Introduction, I said:

Pigs and poultry are usually in high demand during fiestas and special occasions because of their distinctive taste, flavor and texture. Thus, when roasted into lechon, a national favorite, native pigs have crispier skins and tastier meats that suit the Filipino palate, and those of foreigners as well, as they have discovered. With a leaner and tastier meat, the associated health benefits can easily draw demand and command higher prices in the local and export markets than exotic breeds. You cannot go wrong with the natives.

The book's Introduction is titled "Mulanay Women & Animal Farms: Transforming Lives." The lady members of the Rural Improvement Club of Mulanay in the Bondoc Peninsula, Quezon Province inspired us much to continue with this book project. What we saw, in our visit, as Angel Lambio put it, was that the native pigs were "Transforming lives." As indeed one of the Mulanay ladies had said of the coming of native pigs into their village, through a UP Los Baños dispersal project headed by Mary Jean Bulatao, "Gumanda ang buhay." Literally, that means, Life became beautiful. We saw that it was true.

03 October 2016. Essay word count, excluding this line: 1632