Manila, Philippines – The country’s goat population can skyrocket by more than 80 percent if a new production system is implemented for the P13.2-billion industry.
Dr. Nicomedes Eleazar, director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), said the Rural Enterprise Development (RED) program that won the top prize in the Development Agriculture category during the recent National Research Symposium (NRS) fits snugly into the scheme to beef up the specialty chevon meat, with more Filipinos opting for the leaner but zinc-fortified goat meat.
Eleazar said the RED-Innovative Goat Production System (IGPS) succeeded in raising goat population in Phase 2 trial farms of nine farmers’ associations in Region 1 (Ilocos) that benefited 461 farm families. (Marvyn N. Benaning)