ILOILO City – A trading hub for the darag native chicken has opened at the West Visayas State University (WVSU) Coop Complex – the first in Western Visayas.
Darag is Philippine native chicken that predominates primarily in Western Visayas, most especially in the island of Panay.
These chickens descended from the indigenous Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus bankiva). They have the same color and they forage in the wild. They can reproduce and survive with minimal care and management.
The darag hub at WVSU is being managed by the Panay Darag Breeders Association (PADABA).
“We are very happy that the value chain for native chicken has been completed with the establishment of this trading hub,” said Regional Director Remelyn Recoter of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Western Visayas is No. 1 in the inventory of native chicken in the country, she said.
Recoter cited the researches of WVSU’s darag guru Dr. Bernabe Cocjin and other researcher-scientists with regards to the native chickeny, and the partnerships between State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and the DA.
“When super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ struck back in 2013, the DA had a rehabilitation program but we find it hard to find suppliers of native chicken,” said Recoter.
DA Region 6 decided to tap SUCs.
“We downloaded funds to Aklan State University, University of Antique, Capiz State University, and West Visayas State University to help the affected native chicken farmers,” said Recoter.
After several years, DA partnered with PADABA. It served as its supplier of darag native chicken being distributed in municipalities across the province of Iloilo.
Dr. Joselito Villaruz, president of WVSU, thanked the DA and other partners for sustaining researches on the darag native chicken.
“This new trading hub is a manifestation of how our efforts help communities to become self-reliant,” he said. (DA-6/PN)
