Darag native chicken to become the next big thing in the chicken industry
"Native chicken has the great potential of becoming a big industry," words of Dr. Ricardo A. Provido, a successful agricultural entrepreneur and the present chairman of the Regional Agricultural and Fisheries Council (RAFC) Region VI, as he shared his experiences and marketing ideas in a recent interview.
In Iloilo City alone, Dr. Provido cited, most of the local restaurants have been serving Darag native chicken, particularly litson manok, inasal and binakol. This signifies the establishment of the native chicken in the tastes of the Ilonggos and even tourists.
It's the distinct taste of the Darag that makes it inimitable from the commercial breeds. He added that the free-range management of native chicken made it possible for them to accumulate natural nutrients directly from the soil which cultured broilers and layers do not acquire.
On the other hand, he emphasized the market potentials of the Darag due to the identification of the capability of the people to adopt it: being market lead, technology and resource oriented.
The Darag native chicken has already launched its name in the local markets and started to play side by side with the commercial ones. Through the intervention of available technology, it has also evolved into a more complex production process and marketing system. Available resources for interested individuals are accessible, resulting to a greater market potential and competitiveness.
"It's about time that the Darag native chicken should be projected to the public as one of the region's flagship commodities," Provido said.
He encouraged local restaurants serving native chicken dishes to have their own initiatives of letting the public know about the Darag native chicken so they can somehow compare the distinctiveness of its quality and taste to other chicken breeds.
Provido added that people should somehow be aware of and patronize our very own Darag is the native chicken.
Further, he cited some ways to advance the marketing and packaging system of the Darag native chicken. Innovations like vacuum sealed packaging, heat-and-eat native chicken delicacies and transportable packs/boxes can be made for the promotion of the Darag native chicken.
The Darag native chicken advocacy is headed by the Western Visayas Agriculture Resources Research and Development Consortium (Wesvarrdec) under the S&T Anchor Program for Philippine Native Chicken lead by West Visayas State University (WVSU).
For more information on the Darag native chicken, visit us at the Wesvarrdec Office, UP in the Visayas. Gen. Luna St., Iloilo City or call us at 033-335-0630. You may also logon to www.darag.wesvarrdec.org and email us at darag.iec@gmail.com.