Braveheart Farms Weblog

THE GOAT INDUSTRY IS A BILLION $ GOLDMINE!

September 09, 2007

One of the controversial policies that I adopted for the Province of North Cotabato when I was Governor (1998 to 2007) was the “No Mining” position that is now enshrined in the Provincial Environment Code.

I say controversial because many sectors, including the mining group of course, have questioned this policy saying we are missing the opportunity of bringing about progress in our province.

Even the national government is gung-ho on mining. In fact, the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources, which learned of the No Mining Policy of the Province, wrote us a letter protesting that the policy goes against the Philippine Mining Act.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Legislative Assembly) under my leadership recently thrashed DENR’s protest saying that the No Mining Policy is a position adopted by the people of the province and no national law can prevail over the will of our people.

I have made it clear that unless the mining operations could assure that every one of my people would become millionaires, there is simply no way anybody can convince me that mining is better than say rubber farming, banana growing, palm oil farming or even just goat raising.

How many would benefit from a mining operation? How many would be able to work? How much taxes would be paid to government? What are the environmental risks that a community will have to face during and after the mining operations? You provide the answer.

In as far as I am concerned, there is no point ripping our mountains apart and digging pits in search for a few kilos of gold or tons of copper when there are other more profitable endeavors that would bring more benefits for more people.

Come to think of this. The Province of North Cotabato has started a rubber tree development program that hopes to expand our existing 35,000 hectare to about 100,000 hectares. At an average income of P100,000 per hectare per year for the farmer and an average one worker per 2 hectares, just imagine how huge this industry is. Added to that is the fact that planting rubber in 100,000 hectares of land at an average of 400 trees per hectare means we have planted 4 million trees!

That same thing is true with oil palm which earns an average of P120,000 per hectare per year.

But the most exciting prospect for our people in North Cotabato is the Small Ruminants Development Program that aims to achieve a goat population in the province that will be greater than our population of over 1 million.

We have already started the program with the identification of the first 100 families who will receive 20 heads of female goats and 1 boer buck through a private initiative that involves the business sector and the Braveheart Boer Farms. (Please read Big Brother Concept in Poverty Alleviation through Goat Raising).

In 5 to 10 years, we should be able to realize the 1 million female goat population in the province.

At an average birthing of 1.5 kids per doe three times in two years, the goat raisers of North Cotabato should be able to produce 4.5 million goats for the meat market every two years.

Compute that by multiplying that number by P2,000 which would be the minimum price of an upgraded goat for the meat market and you have an average income of P9 billion for 2 years or P4.5 billion every year that will go to the pocket of the small goat raisers in the countryside.

Wild imagination? No! Realistic computation. A farmer in Palacat, Aleosan, Cenon Cornelio, who received several upgraded Anglo Nubian goats from the Provincial Government a few years ago, came to me last week.

Cornelio said he needed money for his daughter’s tuition fee in college and he wanted to sell me 10 upgraded does that he was able to raise from the goats that I gave him a few years ago.

I bought the does for P2,500 and when I saw the quality of the goats he produced, I thought it was not the right price because the goats were beautiful. I will pay him P3,000 instead. That’s P30,000 for Cenon Cornelio, more than enough to pay the school fees of his daughter.

Money is not the only benefit we will get from goat raising. When you raise goats, you need forage and so you need to plant legumes. That would of course mean we will be preserving the fertility of the soil.

Goat manure would be readily available for organic farming and most of all poor families in the countryside will be able to send their children to college just like Cenon Cornelio.

If at least 10 provinces in the country would get involved with goat raising, it would mean that the country would be generating P45 billion from goat raising alone.

Again, does that not include the additional benefits should the goats go the slaughterhouse where the meat could be packed for the local and the export market.

With that, who needs mining?

Are our development planners listening?

Filed under: Game Fowls, Boer Goats, Natural Rubber, Uncategorized on October 20th, 2007