Feature: Engineer promotes organic hog raising
By Venus L. Garcia
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 16 (PIA) - Heddy Padayhag
Sumalpong, a civil engineer by profession and vice-president of Butuan Pork
Producers Association, is positive in encouraging the community to venture in
raising hogs the organic way.
Sumalpong has been engaged in organic hog
production since 2003. “When I initially acquired my Large White breed of pig,
I opted to apply organic method of raising,” she said.
Organic farming is a natural way on how to raise
pigs. The idea is to rear healthy and leaner livestock. Consumers are assured
that no synthetic feeds and antibiotics are induced, which can cause malady
both to the pigs and the consumers.
Sumalpong’s interest in organic farming brought
her course to search for more techniques that turned everything to her advantage.
She said that organic farming does not require intensive effort where one
should spend laborious hours operating and maintaining the sanitation of pigpen
and its surroundings.
At this time, she is raising five productive
pigs which are housed in a well ventilated pigpen, with a full sawdust beddings
sprayed with Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO). “We prepare our own simple
concoction of IMO. It’s easy and very beneficial in keeping the area
odor-and-housefly free,” she said.
IMOs prevent the build-up of bad bacteria and
hasten composting. Thus, eliminating the inconvenience of frequent
wash-and-bath of pigs.
“I
basically feed the pigs the natural way, rame-rame and birds of paradise leaves
became an every treat for my pigs,” Sumalpong said. She emphasized that feeds
that contain chemical elements are not good to human body.
She cited that naturally raised hogs are hardly
ever prone to animal sickness. They are regarded as a healthy and tolerant hogs
that can withstand variations in climate and other environmental factors.
In a decade of organic hog raising practice, she
is able to sustain in the business with a stable financial profit. Her plant-eating pigs, also named “vegan
pigs” can produce a litter of piglets twice each year. “Organic farming not
only triple your return of investment, it likewise assures a healthy option of
buying and consuming toxic-free products,” she added.
She is anticipating for her pregnant sow to
farrow this week.
When asked about the taste and quality of meat
from the organic hogs she produces, “a pleasant taste, fine texture and fresh
smell plus low fat constitute its distinctive quality,” said Sumalpong.
(FEA/VLG/PIA-Caraga)
DOH-Caraga promotes ComPack Program
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 16 (PIA) – The Department of
Health (DOH) Caraga has continued to promote its Complete Treatment Pack
(ComPack) Program for Caraganons.
“The Complete Treatment pack (ComPack) Program
is a free medicine access program designed to reach the poorest of the poor
with the complete treatment regimens for the top most common diseases in the
country like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, hypercholesterolemia and other
common infections which contribute to increasing morbidity and mortality and
high out-of-pocket spending for medicines and health services to majority of
Filipinos,” said Haydee Senaca, registered nurse and ComPack Coordinator of
DOH-Caraga.
Senaca also said the medicines shall be provided
to patients who are in the National Household Targeting System for Poverty
Reduction (NHTS-PR) list of the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) including Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) beneficiaries as well as to
patients not in the NHTS-PR list but are Sponsored Program members of the
PhilHealth.
“The medicines shall be provided only upon
consultation, diagnosis and prescription by the Rural Health Unit doctor,”
clarified Senaca.
It was also learned that the DOH ComPack Program
shall be implemented in all RHUs serving families who are in the NHTS-PR list
of the DSWD including CCT beneficiaries and Sponsored Program members of
PhilHealth.
The said members can avail of the medicines
under the following conditions: 1) must have a DSWD or PHIC Identification
number; 2) must be registered in the in an RHU included in the CCT program; 3)
must be seen and diagnosed by an RHU physician; and 4) must adhere to the
treatment regimen and comply with the follow-up schedules as advised by the
physician.
For more information, the DOH-Caraga can be
reached at this number: (085) 342-5724; 341-1595. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)
Implementing agencies report price, supply
situation in Agsur
By PD Lolita I. Dorado, Cerila P. Inson, Marson Jan S. Dolendo
PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur, Oct. 16 (PIA) –
Implementing agencies reported recently on price and supply situation of basic
necessities to the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC), here.
The LPCC chaired by Mayor Albin D. Magdamit
recently met to discuss the issue of increasing price of rice as well as the
price and supply situation of the products that each agency is tasked to
monitor per RA 7581 or the Price Act of the Philippines.
Mayor Magdamit said that the locality is facing
low supply of rice in the local market while waiting for the harvest in the
coming months and that this might further push prices upward.
The National Food Authority (NFA) reported that
there is sufficient supply of NFA rice available in the province which can be
bought at P27.00 per kilo.
The council tasked the NFA tomake available its
rice to more outlets. One of the
identified outlets is the Farm Level Grains Center (FLGC), a Spanish-Government
funded project which provides rice milling, palay buying and selling.
NFA Assistance Manager, Hugo Sarigumba,
requested the council to submit to their office the volume requirement of NFA
rice for the municipality of Prosperidad.
The LPCC also considered tapping barangay
council halls through the barangay captainsas alternative outlets to ensure
that NFA rice can reach the different communities in the municipality.
DTI-Agusan del Sur Provincial Director, Dir.
Lolita I. Dorado, for her part reported that prices of basic necessities and
prime commodities under DTI jurisdiction, as monitored in the municipality and
the whole of Agusan del Sur, are within the suggested retail prices (SRPs) set
by the agency. She said further that
there is adequate supply of these products which include canned products
[sardines, luncheon meat, meat loaf, corned beef and beef loaf], processed milk
[condensed, evaporated and powdered], coffee refill, soap [detergent/laundry
and toilet soap variants], bread, instant noodles and flour. (DTI-Agusan del Sur/PIA-Caraga)
DOH-CHD Caraga leads Consumer Welfare Month
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 14 (PIA) - The month of
October has been declared as the Consumer Welfare Month as per Presidential
Proclamation no. 1098 dated September 26, 1997, which also created the National
Consumer Affairs Council (NCAC). The Department of Health as a member has been
designated to lead the celebration for 2013. This year’s theme is “Health
Products, Quality, Efficacy, Safety and Transparency – Everybody’s Concern”.
The DOH Center for Health Development Caraga in
coordination with other agencies have lined-up different activities in
celebration hereof, such as a holy mass at the St. Joseph Cathedral Diocesan
Shrine at 5:00 am on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 followed by a fun walk from
Guingona Park to the Provincial Capitol Grounds. A Hataw was then conducted led
by the DOH CHD Caraga staff after the joint opening ceremonies of the Consumer
Welfare Month, National Research Month and Cooperative Month celebrations. To
better foster comradery and socialization, a Budol Feast highlighted the day’s
activities.
On October 25, 2013, a ConsumerNet Meets the
Public, a DOH Policy Dissemination and Advocacy forum on the implementation of
the Electronic Drug Price Monitoring System (EDPMS) will be conducted in one of
the convention centers in the city with a resource speaker coming from the DOH
CHD Caraga.
Also, on October 31 a Regional Quiz Bowl and
culmination program will be held at the DTI – Caraga Conference room with the
DOH as a contributor to the questions for the said quiz bowl.
“Consumers, especially of health products, be it
services of health professionals or health goods in different forms; should be
knowledgeable of what they are accessing and availing. It is everyone’s
responsibility to safeguard their health. The DOH will help in ensuring a
nation of consumers with good and improved health seeking behavior towards cost
efficient/effective interventions for better health outcomes.” – Dir. Minerva
P. Molon. (DOH-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
