ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Western Mindanao Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESMAARRDEC) held a two-day Farms and Industry Encounters through the Science and Technology Agenda (FIESTA) on July 10-11, 2018 to promote ZamPen Native Chicken and other technologies. The FIESTA is held at the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU).
Following the first ZamPen Native Chicken FIESTA conducted by the said consortium in November 2016, this year’s FIESTA promoted ZamPen Native Chicken for the second time. The FIESTA underscored the potential of the said chicken breed as a livelihood resource among the locals.
The ZamPen native chicken is a product of purification process of ‘Joloano’ chicken primarily farmed in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Its project, which seeks its development, is part of the Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) on Native Chicken, which is initiated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
The Native Chicken ISP describes its industry targets and pinpoints the aspects where S&T can make a difference.
The ISP on Native Chicken aims to develop four native chicken strains – Camarines, Darag, Boholano, and ZamPen – to improve their profitability for rural farmers in Regions 5, 6, 7, and 9, respectively.
As products of careful research, these four strains of native chicken are characterized with a more uniform physical appearance, predictable performance, and consistent product quality.
The purification resulted in higher production performance in terms of age and weight, age at point of lay, eggs produced per hen, average egg weight, hatchability, plumage uniformity, and survival rate of breeder chickens based on recent studies.
Having an improved average egg production performance from 100 to 120 eggs per hen per year, these breeds as a result, have also increased the number of slaughter native chicken from 20 to 55 head per hen per year.
Together with ZamPen Native chicken, other commodities and technologies were promoted through a business forum during the event. These are on Itik Pinas production, rubber root trainer technology, and mushroom production.
The fora were supplemented with a technology matching/consultation. It aimed to better equip interested takers of the technology with knowledge on the commercial potential of the technology at hand, its profitability, including management and production options.
WESMAARRDEC also held ancillary activities to promote the agricultural commodities being showcased in the event, such as a media conference, poster making contest, photography contest, and an exhibit called “Tiangge na WMSU.” Each of the consortium member-agencies participated in the tiangge.
To further promote the use of ZamPen Native Chicken, a cooking contest dubbed as “Cucina a la ZamPen Native Chicken,” which was participated by reputable restaurants and hotels in Zamboanga City, was also included in these activities.