Waste Management Practices of Poultry Farms (1)

WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF POULTRY FARMS IN GENERAL SANTOS CITY

A Research Paper Presented to The Faculty of Business College Notre Dame of Dadiangas University General Santos City

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement of the Degree Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

by Coronado, Kim John Ishmael, Mohammad Shane Relunio, Xelina Blanché Villares, Ainee Joy

October, 2016

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title Page Acknowledgement Table of Contents List of Figures List of Boxes List of Tables Abstract

i ii iii v vi vii viii

Chapter 1. The Problem and Its Setting Introduction

1

Statement of the Problem

2

Scope and Limitations

3

Significance of the Study

4

Definition of terms

5

Chapter 2. Conceptual Framework Conceptual Framework

7

Review of Related Literature

9

Review of Related Studies

36

Chapter 3. Research Design and Methodology Research Design

44

Research Locale

46

Respondents of the Study

46

Instrumentation

47

Data Gathering Procedure

49

Statistical Data and Analysis

49

Chapter 4. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data

51

3

Chapter 5. Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations Summary of Findings

86

Conclusions

87

Recommendations

88

Bibliography

90

4

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

Page

1

Conceptual Framework

8

2

Research Design

43

5

LIST OF BOXES

Box 1 2

Page Rating Scale of Waste Management Practices of Poultry Farms in General Santos City

45

Interpretation for the Extent of Practice of Poultry Farms in General Santos City

48

6

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1

Page Distribution of Respondents According to the Number of Years in Operation

49

Distribution of Respondents According to the Number of Employees

52

Distribution of Respondents According to the Amount of Capitalization

54

Distribution of Respondents According to the Types of Products Offered

56

Distribution of Respondents According to the Number of Poultry Heads Produced

58

6

Poultry Farms’ Solid Waste Management

61

7

Poultry Farms’ Liquid Waste Management

69

8

Problems Encountered by Poultry Farms

73

2 3 4 5

7

ABSTRACT This study determined the waste management practices of local poultry farms in General Santos City by presenting their profiles, solid and liquid waste management practices and the problems and challenges they encountered in implementing such practices. The data from the questionnaires were analyzed and interpreted using frequency, ranking, and weighted mean. The findings of the study revealed that the poultry farms in General Santos City were operating for five years and below, mostly producing broiler with capitalizations of one to three million pesos. In terms of solid waste management, the local poultry farms bury poultry litter and carcass with the highest weighted mean of 2.92. While in terms of liquid waste, the poultry farms let their liquid waste flow to drainage canal with the highest weighted mean of 2.68. Furthermore, the results showed that the poultry farms identified insect infestation as their most prevalent problem. It was recommended that poultry farms must create compost pits to be able to reuse their poultry waste by turning them into compost fertilizer and thereby lessen the occurrence of pests and communicable diseases.

8

Chapter I THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING This chapter introduced the subject under research. It provided a thorough discussion of the problem being investigated as well as its significance. It further discussed the scope and delimitation of the study. Introduction General Santos City, the tuna capital of the republic has now become one of the most competitive capitals in the nation perhaps one of the best fish and agricultural producers thereto. The production of goods, agronomic machineries, and poultry raising activities that the City of General Santos yielded over the years have become sustainable and have developed by thorough market planning, feasibility structures, and capital investments of international and local industry players. With the abundance of resources, General Santos City has been continuously making poultry commerce a primary source of income and employment mechanism within its constituents. Although this translates to greater income and employment opportunities, it has also been implicated in environmental degradation and pollution. Intensification of animal production is concomitant to key environmental issues such as higher production of waste products such as manure and effluent. (Paraso, et al., 2010) In connection with this, many water sources in SOCSKSARGEN had failed in some physical, chemical, and microbiological analysis. Silway River which drains into Sarangani Bay registered a 300,000 MPN (most probable

9

number) per 100 millilitres (ml) coli form count which was higher than “permissible limit” of 5,000 MPN per ml. The Coli form count indicated presence of faecal contaminant. Firms engaged in activities including poultry and livestock contributed significantly in water contamination. (Dave L. Llorito; Philippine Star) This research was undertaken in probing the current status of General Santos City’s poultry farms’ waste management practices. This had been an initiative in helping the community for their own welfare, safety, revenue gains, and output consummation on their products and services as poultry producers in General Santos City, a deep understanding on how the government and concerned business owners push towards the positive harvests as expected from its poultry production and all related waste management practices. Statement of the Problem This research had investigated the different waste management practices observed by the poultry famers in General Santos City. It had also determined the different problems and concerns that the poultry farmers had regarding their waste management practices. The study had then provided recommendations to answer those concerns. Specifically, this research had answered the following questions: 1. What is the profile of poultry farms in General Santos City in terms of: a. Number of years in operation; b. Number of employees; c. Amount of capitalization; d. Types of products offered; and

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e. Number of poultry heads produced? 2. What are the waste management practices of poultry farmers in General Santos City in terms of: a. Liquid Waste and b. Solid Waste? 3. What are the problems and challenges that the poultry farmers in General Santos City have encountered regarding their waste management practices? 4. What recommendations can be made for the improvement of the waste management practices of the poultry farmers in General Santos City? Significance of the study The importance of the study aimed to be beneficial to the following sectors: Poultry Farmers. This study helped the poultry farmers to identify the different problems and challenges that the poultry farmers had encountered in their waste management practices and provided appropriate solutions for such. Poultry Buyers. This study provided information to buyers regarding the waste disposal used by the poultry farmers. This study also raised awareness and gave the buyers the chance to apply some of the practices the farmers employed should they ever decide to engage in poultry farming. Bureau of Animal Industry. This study gave the Bureau of Animal Industry an overview of the waste management and disposal arising from poultry

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farms which served as basis for the development of better programs and standards aimed to regulate the management of poultry wastes. Stakeholders. This study gave awareness to the different stakeholders in the community regarding the waste management practices of poultry farmers in General Santos City. This enabled them to have a better view of their investments and apply appropriate measures to safeguard their interests. Health and Sanitation Office of General Santos City. This study served as a basis for the Health and Sanitation Office of the city to formulate guidelines or standards to regulate the waste management practices of poultry farms. Future Researchers. This study served as their guide or basis as a related study in their future research paper. Also, it helped them in the formulation of their research title and other information they need in their study. Scope and Delimitation The paper dealt primarily on the waste management practices of poultry farmers in Generals Santos City in terms of the liquid waste and solid waste. The locale of the study was limited to the operating poultry farms in the vicinity of General Santos City. The respondents of the study were the 35 registered poultry farms under the Business and Licensing Office of the City Government as of June 29, 2016. Of that number, 9 poultry farms were located in Barangay Conel, 1 was in Barangay Lagao, 14 were in Barangay Katangawan, 1 was in Barangay San Isidro, 2 were in Barangay Olympog, 3 were in Barangay Sinawal, 4 were in Barangay Ligaya and 1 was in Barangay Mabuhay. Out of 35 poultry farms in General Santos City, only 19 were open and willing to take part

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in the survey. Seven of the farms in the list were no longer operating, two of the farms were one and the same and the rest did not permit the researchers to conduct the survey cite reasons such as, the owner is unavailable to authorize and the person in attendance is not qualified to answer the questionnaire. The research outcome of this study was purely based on the instrument used by the researchers, explicitly the survey questionnaire. Aside from the survey questionnaire, secondary sources used were library, internet references, books and other magazines. The research study was started on November 2015 until the month of October 2016. Definition of Terms The following terms were defined operationally for better understanding of the readers. Composting. The controlled aerobic biological decomposition of organic matter, such as food scraps and plant matter, into humus, a soil-like material. Effluent. This refers to the liquid waste produced by poultry farms, specifically, the water that the farm owners use to clean off the droppings of the birds. Liquid Waste. This also refers to poultry (broiler litter) or any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence in poultry farms. Manure. This refers to the solid waste produced by poultry farms, specifically the fecal matter excreted by the birds.

13

Poultry Farmers. This refers to the small and medium enterprises engaged in the poultry industry registered under the City Veterinary Office of General Santos City. Solid Waste. This refers to poultry solid chicken manure or poultry (broiler) litter or any garbage, refuse, sludge from a poultry farm under their operations to reduce their own in house waste. Waste Management Practices. This refers to the measures or ways by which poultry farms in General Santos City use to address their waste disposal activities.

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Chapter II CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES This chapter contained the presentation of the conceptual framework and review of the related literature and studies of Waste Management Practices of Poultry Farms in General Santos City. Conceptual Framework The study determined each of the respondents’ profile in terms of: the number of years in operations; the number of employees; amount of capitalization; the types of products offered by the business; and the number of poultry heads produced. The responses of the owners, primarily in the waste management practices in terms of liquid waste and solid waste were regarded. In lieu of the owners, the employee with certain qualifications assumes their place. Upon evaluating the different variables, the researchers drew the findings of the study as bases for the conclusion and recommendations in the improvement of waste management practices of local poultry farms in General Santos City. A framework, as shown in figure 1, was developed for waste management practices of local poultry farms in General Santos City wherein identified variables are presented.

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Profile of the Poultry Farms: - Number of Years in Operation - Number of Employees -Amount of Capitalization -Types of Products Offered -Number of Poultry Heads Produced

Waste Management Practices:

Problems and Challenges Encountered by Poultry Farmers

- Liquid Waste - Solid Waste

Recommendations to improve the practices of waste management of poultry farms in General Santos City

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of Waste Management Practices

Review of Related Literature

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The review of related literature is comprised of available documents, both published and unpublished, containing information, ideas and data written from a particular point of view. This focuses on the profile and waste management practices of the poultry farms in General Santos City. Profile of Poultry Farms in General Santos City This part presents the various related literature in terms of the number of years in operation, number of employees, amount of capitalization, types of products and number of heads produced. Number of Years in Operation It is believed that, domestication of poultry has been started in Asian countries. There is evidence that, the fowl was first, domesticated in South Asia probably well over 8000 years ago. The earliest record of poultry dates back to about 3200 BC in India. Chicken has been reared in Egypt since 1400 BC. The red jungle fowl, an Asian breed considered by many as the ancestors of modern poultry breeds. Recently, some evidence was found indicating that, the first domestication of the fowl took place much earlier, and not in South Asia but in China (Velasco, 2014). Commercial poultry production in South Asia is barely 40 years old although poultry raising dates back to pre-historic times. Hybrid layer strains were introduced into the sub-continent in 1955 and followed by broiler strains in 1961. Modern

commercial

poultry

rearing

was

demonstrated

in

government farms and by state agricultural universities which popularized

17

modern poultry production in villages throughout India and elsewhere. As a result, there has been a significant growth in poultry production throughout the region. For example, in India the broiler population increased from 4 to 700 million birds between 1971 and 2000, respectively. The development of a system of partnerships between private investors, known as “integrators”, who provide credit and inputs to farmers who provide housing and labor has been a deciding factor in this growth of the Indian poultry industry. Commercialization of poultry production in South Asian countries started with the introduction of superior stock birds during the 1950s and 1960s and poultry meat and eggs have now become very common in the diet of the people of the region. People have become increasingly aware of their advantages as food items and the demand for poultry products has increased, raising the scope of commercial poultry production activities. (R. Prabakaran, 2003). In an article by Jerry Alder and Andrew Lawler in 2012 called, “How the chicken conquered the world”, it was stated that the bird’s resemblance to modern chickens is manifest in the male’s red wattles and comb, the spur he uses to fight and his cock-a-doodle-doo mating call. The dun-colored females breed eggs and cluck just like barnyard chickens. In its habitat, this stretches from north-eastern India to the Philippines, G. gallus browses on the forest floor for insects, seeds and fruit, and flies up to nest in the trees at night. But G. gallus is not the sole

18

progenitor of the modern chicken. Scientists have identified three closely related species that might have bred with the red jungle fowl. Precisely how much genetic material these other birds contributed to the DNA of domesticated chickens remains a matter of conjecture. Recent research suggests that modern chickens inherited at least one trait, their yellow skin, from the gray jungle fowl of southern India. Chicken bones have been discovered in the tombs of ancient European Pharaohs. The Greeks also portrayed chickens in their pottery around 500 BC. A bit later on, the Romans considered chickens to be oracles.

7th century

BC

Corinthian

pottery

features

pictures

of

domesticated chickens. A 2007 study by The University of Auckland’s Department of Anthropology suggests that prehistoric Polynesians were the first to bring domesticated chickens to the Americas. Other studies claim that chickens arrived in the Americas with European explorers. Easy to care for and inexpensive to purchase, the chicken offered man quick and nutritious food. Chickens were vital to early American colonists striving to survive in a harsh and unforgiving new world. Pioneers brought chickens in West, relying on their eggs and meat in a vast land. Chickens were an important part of life. Regardless, these useful birds became popular wherever they were taken, raised for eggs and for meat and sustaining generations of humanity (White, 2013). The sport of cockfighting had tremendous influence not only in the domestication of the chicken but also on the distribution of fowl throughout

19

the world. After centuries of selection and breeding for numerous extremes, chickens now exist in many colors, sizes and shapes. There are more than 350 combinations of physical features known today. In 1873, the American Poultry Association was organized for the purposes of adopting standards of excellence and establishing a way of classifying the various breeds. Although the purebred poultry industry served as the foundation for the development of the commercial industry, the two industries soon developed very different types of domestic fowl. While the purebred exhibition industry continued to select and breed fowl for standard conformations and plumage colors, the commercial industry developed specialized hybrids for meat and egg production. Today, the two industries are very different: The purebred fowl of today are basically the same as they were 100 years ago and are mainly raised as a hobby; whereas, the commercial poultry industry has developed into a science, which produces highly

nutritious

meat

and

eggs

with

extreme

efficiency

(http://extension.psu.edu/animals/poultry/topics/general-educationalmaterial/the-chicken/history-of-the-chicken). Number of Employees According to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Council Resolution No. 01 Series of 2003 dated 16 January 2003, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) may also be categorized based on the number of employees – firms’ enterprises having 1-9

20

employees fall under micro enterprise, 10-99 employees as small enterprise, 100-199 employees as medium enterprise and those having more than 200 employees are considered as large enterprise. Based on the Agricultural Worker Factsheets published by the National Center for Farmworker Health, Inc., poultry workers labour at both a high intensity and speed. A team of 7-10 chicken catchers will catch 30,000-60,000 chickens in one shift, and poultry processing workers may process up to 140 birds per minute. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is often not provided by employers, despite frequent worker exposure to chemicals, blood, feces, mold, endotoxins, and sharp cutting tools. Total

employment

of

all

agriculture,

forestry

and

fishing

establishments reached 137,248 in 2010. Of the total workforce, 98.7 percent were paid employees and the remaining 1.3 percent was working owners and unpaid workers. According to the results, total employment for poultry industry is 5 982 number of worker poultry. The average number of workers per establishment for the sector was recorded at 89. Poultry farms used both family labor, including husband and wife, children, nieces, and nephews, and hired labor. Husbands and wives both work on pastured poultry production. On the farms raising 4,000 to 10,000 chickens, families provide most of the labor. During the pastured poultry season, they work about 2.6 hours per day on chickens, not including processing. Farms raising over 10,000 to 25,000 chickens depend more on hired labor. These farmers work slightly fewer minutes per bird than the

21

farmers raising 10,000 or fewer chickens. They also work almost seven hours a day on pastured chickens through their slightly longer growing season (Stevenson and Schuster, 2003). In A Review of the Agricultural Sector in SOCCSKSARGEN by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2002, SOCCSKSARGEN recorded 330.6 thousand agricultural operators aged 15 years and over, with 300.5 thousand males (90.9 percent) and 26.3 thousand females (8 percent). This translates to a ratio of one female for every 11 male agricultural operators. Majority of the operators (62.6 percent) in the region belonged to the 25 to 49-year age group. A total of 432.5 thousand household members were engaged in agricultural activities. Of this number, about 332.6 thousand (76.9 percent) were employed in own holding, 73.8 thousand (17.1 percent) both in their own holding and in the holding of others, and 26.1 thousand (6 percent) in other holdings. About 231.5 thousand or 44.6 percent of the household members 10 to 24 years old were engaged in an agricultural activity. Three in four of them were working in own holding. While male operators dominated the agricultural operations in the year, female non-operator household members engaged in an agricultural activity (260.2 thousand) outnumbered their male counterparts by 95 thousand. Amount of Capitalization

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Capitalization, in accounting, is when the costs to acquire an asset are expensed over the life of that asset rather than in the period it was incurred. In finance, capitalization is the sum of a corporation's stock, longterm debt and retained earnings. Capitalization also refers to the number of

outstanding

shares

multiplied

by

share

price

(http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalization.asp). Invested capital is also commonly referred to as capitalization. This is when a corporation's stock, their owed long term outstanding debt and retained profit are all added together. This gets the invested capital amount or the capitalization amount. Market capitalization is when a company's outstanding shares are multiplied by its share price. This gives an indication of the company's net worth and is one of the factors that go in to valuing its stock. This shows its overall 'capitalization' in the market place. Depending on this, companies are referred to as small cap, mid cap, large cap or even mega cap ($200 billion or greater). Against popular belief, just because a company has a large stock price doesn't mean the company itself is large (http://www.financialdictionary.net/define/Capitalization/). Republic Act No. 9501, The Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on 23 May 2008 defines micro enterprises as entities with total assets of not more than Php 3,000,000, small enterprises as The new law,

23

R.A. 9501 amends the 17-year old R.A. 6977 or the Magna Carta for Small Medium Enterprises. Department of Trade and Industries defines small and medium enterprises as provided under the Magna Carta of SMEs (R.A. 6977 as amended by R.A. 8289) as any business activity or enterprise engaged in industry, agribusiness and/or services single proprietorship, cooperative, partnership, or corporation whose total assets inclusive of those arising from loans but exclusive of the land of which the particular business entity’s office, plant and equipment are situated, must have value falling under the following categories; micro enterprise if less than Php 3,000,001, small enterprise if amounts to Php 3,000,001 up to Php 15, 000,000, medium enterprise if amounts to Php 15,000,001 up to Php 100, 000,000 and large enterprise if amounts to more than Php 100,000,000. Types of Products Layer Layer poultry farming means raising egg laying poultry birds for the purpose of commercial egg production. Layer chickens are such a special species of hens, which need to be raised from when they are one-day old. They start laying eggs commercially from 18-19 weeks of age. They remain laying eggs continuously till their 72-78 weeks of age. They can produce about one kg of eggs by consuming about 2.25 kg of food during their egg laying period. For the purpose of producing hybrid eggs layer, various characteristics of cock and hen are considered before breeding.

24

There are various types of highly egg productive layer breeds available throughout

the

world

(http://www.growelagrovet.com/layer-poultry-

farming/). The egg production cycle lasts for about one year. The pullets and laying hens are raised mainly in environmentally controlled poultry houses in cage systems. To make the maintenance process easier, automated feeding, watering, and egg collection systems were developed. Feed and water are moved on rotating belts which pass by the cages. Another rotating belt collects the eggs and sends them to the sorting chamber to be tested for fertility, graded, and sorted according to size, making them ready for delivery to the market (Dr. M. Farran, 2009). Laying hens in egg producing farms are usually of small body frame and body weight compared to broilers. They can be classified into two groups: dual purpose chickens or egg producing chickens. Egg producing chicken breeds have been bred and raised for maximum egg production (up to 300 eggs per year) rather than high meat yield (Beutler, 2007). Dual purpose chickens are smaller in size than commercial meat breeds. They are used for meat as well as egg production, and can produce around 200 to 250 eggs per year. There have been several developments to increase the marketing value of eggs. These developments include omega-3 eggs; folate and lutein enriched eggs, as well as free run and organic eggs. These

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specialty eggs increase the value of eggs, and have caused a noticeable change in the market (Dr. M. Farran, 2009). Broiler Broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), or broilers, are a gallinaceous domesticated fowl, bred and raised specifically for meat production (Kruchten, 2002). They are a hybrid of the egg-laying chicken, both being a subspecies of the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus). Typical broilers have white feathers and yellowish skin. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter-weight at between five and seven weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaughter-weight at approximately 14 weeks of age. Because the meat broilers are this young at slaughter, their behavior and physiology are that of an immature bird. Due to artificial selection for rapid early growth and the husbandry used to sustain this, broilers are susceptible to several welfare concerns, particularly skeletal malformation and dysfunction, skin and eye lesions, and congestive heart conditions. The breeding stocks (broiler-breeders) grow to maturity and beyond but also have welfare issues related to frustration of a high feeding motivation and beak trimming. Broilers are usually grown as mixed-sex flocks in large sheds under intensive conditions, but some breeds can be grown as free-range flocks. Chickens are one of the most common and widespread

domestic

animals

(http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/global-livestockcounts).

26

Chickens reared for meat are called broilers or broiler chickens. They originate from the jungle fowl of the Indian Subcontinent. The broiler industry has grown due to consumer demand for affordable poultry meat. Breeding for particular traits and improved nutrition have been used to increase the weight of the breast-muscle. Commercial broiler chickens are bred to be very fast growing in order to gain weight quickly. In their natural environment; hens spend much of their time foraging for food. This means that they are highly motivated to perform species specific behaviors that are typical for chickens (natural behaviors), such as foraging, pecking, scratching and feather maintenance behaviors like preening and dustbathing. Trees are used for perching at night to avoid predators. The life of chickens destined for meat production consists of two distinct phases. They are born in a hatchery and moved to a growing farm at 1 day-old. They remain here until they are heavy enough to be slaughtered (https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235306/The-life-of-Broiler-chickens.pdf). In 2010, the chicken population in the Philippines was estimated 159 million, slightly higher (0.2 percent) than last year’s level. Layer and native chicken inventory grew by 13 and 2 percent, respectively. Almost 50 percent of the total chicken population was accounted for native or village chicken raised in backyard farms while the remaining 32.8% (broilers) and 18% (layers) were taken up by commercial broilers (http://www.pcaarrd.dost.gov.ph/home/momentum/poultry). Cull

27

Chick culling is the process of killing newly hatched poultry for which the industry has no use. Due to modern selective breeding, laying hen strains differ from meat production strains. As male birds of the laying strain do not lay eggs, they are generally killed soon after they hatch and shortly after being sexed. Methods of culling include cervical dislocation, asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and maceration using a high speed grinder (https://web.archive.org/web/20090222091817/http://www.vegsoc.org/info /laying.html#male). Unlike female chicks, males from egg-laying hens do not produce eggs and are instead culled and used as feed for reptiles and other animals. This culling process is not something consumers can avoid either. Killing male chicks happens regardless of whether the egg is produced in a free range system or from a caged battery hen (Saul, 2015). Prior to the development of modern broiler meat breeds, most male chickens (cockerels) were slaughtered for meat, whereas females (pullets) would be kept for egg production. However, once the industry bred separate meat and egg-producing hybrids, there was no reason to keep males of the egg-producing hybrid. As a consequence, the males of egglaying chickens are killed as soon as possible after hatching and sexing to reduce losses incurred by the breeder. It has been reported that in India for example, more than 180 million male chicks per year are culled. The egg industry in India is

28

growing at the rate of 8-12% yearly, and is the third largest egg producer (Saraswathy, 2014). Chicks are also culled in the production of foie grass. After hatching, the ducklings are sexed. Males put on more weight than females, so the females are killed, sometimes in an industrial macerator. Up to 40 million female ducks per year may be killed in this way. The remains of female ducklings are later used in cat food, fertilisers and in the pharmaceutical industry (Hughes, 2014). Number of Poultry Heads Chicken products consumption per household per month was 33 eggs and 15 eggs for DADPs farmers and other farmers, respectively. Price of chickens varied depending on the season of the year and festivities (Kafuku, 2012). Abuel-Ang, 2005 said that Broiler production in the Philippines in 2003 was 635,000,000 constituting only about 6% and 50% of the Chinese and Thai production, respectively. According to University of Asia and the Pacific, 1999, production inefficiency, along with the reliance on high-cost, imported inputs, has resulted in the higher production cost of live birds. Therefore, there is a need to modernize by adopting the latest technology in poultry-raising; environmental control; and automation in feeding, drinking, and other management practices.

Waste Management Practices

29

This portion of the study presents the related literature regarding the waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City in terms of solid and liquid waste. Solid Waste Management Practices In agriculture, poultry litter is a mixture of poultry excreta, spilled feed, feathers and material used as bedding in poultry operations. This term is also used to refer to unused bedding materials. Common bedding materials include wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, shredded sugar cane, straw, and other dry, absorbent, low-cost organic materials. There are specific practices that must be followed to properly maintain the litter and maximize the health and productivity of the flocks raised on it. (https://poultry.ces.ncsu.edu, 2012) In addition, the production of poultry results in: hatchery wastes, manure (bird excrement), litter (bedding materials such as sawdust, wood shavings, straw and peanut or rice hulls), and on-farm mortalities. The processing of poultry results in additional waste materials, including offal (feathers,

entrails

and

organs

of

slaughtered

birds),

processing

wastewater and bio solids. Most of these by-products can provide organic and inorganic nutrients that are of value if managed and recycled properly, regardless of flock size. (Williams, 2012) Poultry wastes are handled differently depending on their consistency which may be liquid, slurry, semisolid or solid. The total solids concentration of manure depends on the climate, weather, amount of

30

water consumed by the birds, types of birds produced and their feed. Poultry wastes are handled differently depending on their consistency which may be liquid, slurry, semisolid or solid. The total solids concentration of manure depends on the climate, weather, amount of water consumed by the birds, types of birds produced and their feed (http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/05/04702/pwm.pdf). Additionally, solid waste can be divided in to two groups: (1) lowrisk material originating from healthy birds and, (2) high-risk material that has the potential to transfer disease to humans and animals. Examples of high-risk material include birds that died from causes other than slaughtering, birds or bird parts condemned as unfit for human consumption, and birds suspected of carrying a disease that can be transferred to animals (International Finance Corporation, 2007). Poultry raised for commercial purposes produce large amounts of manure which is a collectible resource unlike the manure of free range or pastured animals. It contains valuable plant nutrients and other chemicals that, if properly managed, can be returned to the land or processed for other uses (http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/05/04702/pwm.pdf). Common procedures for managing dry broiler litter or dry manure from layer operations center on protecting this material after it is moved from the house until its valuable fertilizer nutrients can be put to other uses. Litter that is not properly stockpiled or stored suffers a reduction of nitrogen from releases to air and water Storages are classified into three

31

main types: (1) temporary, or “stockpiling”; (2) open storage; and (3) permanently roofed storages. Each type provides flexibility for the grower, either for utilizing litter for fertilizer or for holding litter until such time as it can

be

sold

or

donated

to

someone

else

(http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/05/04702/pwm.pdf). Proper management of litter in the house will reduce the need to move litter between flocks and will aid in developing a cleanout schedule that allows direct application of manure to cropland without intermediate storage. Greater efficiency is obtained if manure can be directly applied at the proper time, because handling costs are less and nitrogen will be more efficiently utilized. The primary key to good in-house management of litter is to keep the litter dry. Wet litter creates conditions where more nitrogen is released from the litter in the form of ammonia. Proper heating and ventilation of the poultry house and selection and operation of bird watering systems to minimize spillage on the litter will provide high-quality litter. Reducing water spillage will: (1) save water, (2) improve bird quality, (3) improve production environment, (4) reduce ammonia released from litter, (5) reduce volume of wet manure cake, and (5) extend time between litter cleanouts (Collins Jr and Ogejo, 2009). Direct movement of litter from house to field will minimize handling costs and – if synchronized with a cropping plan – will usually allow more efficient utilization of manure nutrients. Many growers, however, either don’t have enough land to spread all litter properly or aren’t able to

32

coordinate poultry house cleanout with times that litter can be directly spread. In such cases, the grower might contract with neighbors or other potential users who can use the litter when houses are cleaned (http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/05/04702/pwm.pdf). Poultry wastes are mainly managed by burying them on the ground. This is to avoid insect infestation and unpleasant odors. Additionally, because mortality is an unavoidable occurrence in poultry production, the disposal of dead animals is also a common environmental issue. The proper depth of the burial site is important especially if the animal died of infectious and/or zoonotic causes. Carcasses should be buried at least six feet deep into the ground to limit the possibility of stray animals unearthing the carcass subsequently exposing it to the environment where flies and maggots can feed on it and spread diseases to both human and animal populace (Paraso, et. al, 2010). Moreover, most commercial chicken farms put value to manure by selling them as fertilizer for plantation and field crops, or as livestock feed since properly processed poultry litters are acceptable feed ingredients for cattle. However, sale of chicken manure in small-scale enterprises is almost impossible due to the fewer number of birds (Paraso, et. al, 2010). On the other hand, incineration of poultry litter has been receiving a lot of attention in recent times. Litter (unlike manure) is an excellent fuel because of the presence of bedding material. Its heat content is higher

33

than firewood and therefore lends itself to good combustion (Waste Concern, 2005). Incineration is an option to reduce waste where anywhere within 80 to 90% of the solid waste is potentially reduced. However, incineration is an inaccessible technology for most low-income countries because of the high financial investment it requires. The negative environmental consequences of incineration mostly revolve around airborne emissions where many compounds harmful to humans, such as metals (lead and mercury), organics (dioxins), acid gases (sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride), nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and dust, are volatilized (Zerbock, 2003). Because of the limitations imposed by incineration technology, some poultry farms resort to open-air trash burning. This practice is dangerous to public health and contribute to environmental deterioration as it releases into the air particulate matter from biomass (Simoneit and Elias 2001), as well as hazardous compounds such as dioxins, alkanes, phthalates and minor amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from open-burning of plastics and refuse (Nguyen et al. 2003; Simoneit et al. 2005). A compost pit is basically a hole where the animal litter or manure and carcass are left to rot to achieve a nutrient-rich soil to be used for farming. Composting is the aerobic degradation of biodegradable organic waste. It is a relatively fast biodegradation process, taking typically 4–6 weeks to reach a stabilized material. The composted material is odorless

34

and fine textured with low moisture content and can be used as an organic fertilizer. Composted poultry litter is easy to handle and pathogen free. (Kelleher et al, 2008) It has long been recognized that poultry manure and litter is a good source of plant nutrient mainly nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). In addition, poultry waste also contains calcium, magnesium, sulphur and some micronutrients. This knowledge has resulted in fairly widespread use of poultry waste as a fertilizer produced from composting (Waste Concern, 2005). Applying the poultry litter unto the land is the easiest and cheapest option for disposal of poultry solid waste. This has long been practiced in the areas where land availability has not been an issue. But in recent times, when concentrations of poultry farms started to develop, this option started to become limited. The primary reason behind this is the emerging evidence that there are dangers to over-application of poultry manure to croplands. (Waste Concern, 2005) The Rural NI Portal (2005) mentions the following problems associated with over-application of poultry manure to cropland: surface and ground water pollution, aesthetic problems with odors and insects and over-accumulation of manure and trace elements leading to reduced crop yields. Farmers compost the purchased waste in their own land by dumping on heaped piles. This practice is an extension of the illegal dumping practice described above, but is the more environmentally sustainable one. The Dumping option is clearly a function of adequate

35

land availability and awareness of the issues involved. However, most of this crude composting practice is haphazard and does not produce a good fertilizer, and more importantly, does not kill all the pathogens. Compared to open dumping, this practice produces much less nuisance like smell, flies, dust and rodents (Waste Concern, 2005). One of the most common uses of poultry litter is as a fish feed. However, this activity is pursued through an informal channel with no wellestablished market mechanism. As far as it could be gathered, fish farmers on individual basis make contacts with nearby poultry farms and purchase the litter. The application procedure involves allowing the litter to slowly leach out from jute bags placed on the sides of the ponds. In the earlier days of this practice, some inexperienced fish farmers dumped litter straight into the pond. This sudden addition of large quantity of litter caused large increases in the BOD of the water and killed off most of the fishes. Over time farmers have learnt that a very slow addition method must be employed. In this application, the litter stimulates the growth of algae, which is a good fish feed. Fishes usually do not consume the litter (Waste Concern, 2005). The use of poultry waste as a feed amendment for ruminants is an age-old practice. However, in recent times, the dangers of such practice have become more apparent. This practice is certain to be banned worldwide, and therefore, can be neglected from consideration. The practice of re-feeding poultry litter is unacceptable because it allows for

36

the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, the gruesome and fatal neurodegenerative disorder more commonly known as mad cow disease. While poultry litter is mainly a combination of feces, feathers, and uneaten chicken feed, it could also contain antibiotics, heavy metals, disease-causing bacteria, and even beef protein, including ground-up meat and bone meal. Meat and bone meal containing infected bovine protein is the chief culprit behind the spread of mad cow disease. Because of this, in the year 2003, animal re-feeding of poultry has been banned (Jacobson, 2013). In Bangladesh, selling poultry litter to cooking fuel companies is an extremely specialized use, and has been reported only from Keraniganj at the outskirts of Dhaka city. The shortage of cooking fuels has in many places forced people to look for alternatives. The high heat content of poultry litter (because of the presence of bedding material – rice husk in Bangladesh) makes it an ideal fuel for many purposes. Some innovative people in the Keraniganj area have somehow discovered this property of poultry litter, and have spontaneously developed an appropriate use for it. It is likely that in other areas of the country where cooking fuel is scarce, this practice is also prevalent. Use of cow dung as a cooking fuel is an ancient practice all over the Indian Subcontinent. Therefore, use of poultry litter should come as no surprise. The only point here is that poultry litter because of the high protein diet given to chicken, is not as harmless as cow dung (Waste Concern, 2005).

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Liquid Waste Management Practices A fixed-hearth process, by which both liquid and solid wastes can be handled, is also used. The waste is treated in two stages. It is first partially burned with insufficient air and then burned again with excess air at higher temperatures to destroy the gases released during the first stage. Another widely used process involves incineration in a rotary kiln. This is used for solids, liquids, their mixtures (slurries), and wastes in containers. Some hazardous wastes are disposed of directly as fuel in industrial boilers or cement kilns. Liquid toxic wastes must be stored temporarily before disposal. Steel drums are used for short-term storage. Materials less subject to corrosion, such as glass or ceramic, are often required for long-term storage. Ocean dumping and the use of landfills are no longer permitted for the disposal of hazardous waste in the United States (Christensen, 2010). Wastewater consists of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present. The terms "waste-water" and "sewage” are sometimes used inter-changeably. Collection systems for domestic and industrial wastewaters involve part of all of the following elements: plumbing systems, connections from plumbing systems into the collection system, sewers, manholes, and pumping stations. Because the materials in domestic and industrial waste-

38

waters may be corrosive, the sewers are usually made out of vitrified clay tile, cement-asbestos mixtures, centrifugally cast concrete, or rigid plastic materials. Wastewater treatment plant effluents are extremely useful for industry, particularly as cooling water. The required quality of the wastewater depends on the industry and the use. Industrial plants often install their own treatment facilities to improve and regulate the quality and quantity of the wastewater they use (Okun, 2004). Drainage is factored into the build of the floor, with a slope to remove wastewater and promote good drainage. Drains and gulley are situated in processing areas and passages, where easy access for regular cleaning reduces the level and subsequent risk of contamination. Waste water and small eggshell particles are washed away effectively (Pas Reform, 2012). Gutters and downspouts - the vertical sections that send runoff down to the ground and the ends of the downspouts run to a suitable drainage system or absorbent, properly graded soil (Vandervort, 2012). According to Wang (2007), land application is the method most widely used by the food processing industry to dispose of agricultural wastes.

Application of such wastes to crop land is often the most

affordable waste management alternative as properly applied waste can provide plant nutrients and act as a soil conditioner. Sustainable land

39

application systems should aim to maximize nutrient use while minimizing environmental impact. Releasing liquid waste unto bodies of water, storing liquid waste in a waste basin, using furnace to heat the waste to produce steam to run a turbine generator, using an in-line composter to stabilize the waste, vacuum extraction system, using settling tanks for poultry liquid waste, and utilizing treatment lagoons and ponds are not practiced in the poultry farms. Sedimentation tank, also called settling tank or clarifier, component of a modern system of water supply or wastewater treatment. A sedimentation tank allows suspended particles to settle out of water or wastewater as it flows slowly through the tank, thereby providing some degree of purification. A layer of accumulated solids, called sludge, forms at the bottom of the tank and is periodically removed (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). Most agricultural treatment lagoons are anaerobic lagoons. Anaerobic lagoons are earthen structures, which look at first glance like farm ponds. These lagoons are designed to provide biological treatment and long term storage of animal waste. Anaerobic lagoons are larger than manure storage basins, which do not provide significant biological treatment or long storage periods, but smaller than aerobic lagoons (Animal Manure Management, 2015).

40

It is a sewerage system which uses differential air pressure and gravity to rapidly transport sewage in a network of essentially empty pipes from Collection Pits to a central collection tank and then to a point of discharge (Flock, 2016). The suction pressure necessary for removing wastewater and cleaning sewer networks is provided by vacuum pumps. The contaminants in the wastewater are sucked in and can be flushed out periodically by means of pumps. With the use of central vacuum systems, the disposal of wastewater can be effected at the same place. The wastewater can be collected, drained and disposed of in complete housing areas at the same time. With the use of vacuum up to 97% of the wastewater can be transported uphill (Gardner Denver Inc. 2015). The heat generated by the following wastes can be used directly to warm homes and buildings or to generate electricity using a steam turbine, or both, through combined heat and power systems: direct combustion (incineration) of dry biomass waste such as wood; waste, straw and poultry litter; he biomass part of municipal waste; some commercial and industrial wastes; some construction and demolition wastes. Where waste is combusted in a combined heat and power unit, it is possible to produce both heat and power at greater efficiencies (Guidance, 2013). Problems and Challenges Poultry farms often constitute some environmental risks to both human and animal lives through water/soil and air pollution. These waste products are

41

produced in form of hatchery wastes, birds’ excrement, litters and on-farm mortalities, among others. To mitigate the health risk that poultry wastes caused to the environment and the health of the residents of the households in the localities, there is the need for the management of poultry farms to recognize and respect 1 km resident-poultry unit distance, maintain proper and timely hygiene and observe high level of discipline in the way and manners they dispose the wastes (Akanni, 2002). The implications of the management pattern on yield and revenue and further determine the socio-economic differentials of farmers on management pattern. Poultry waste is poorly collected, packaged and transported. Proper knowledge on treatment is lacking due to lack of skill, space, time together with paucity of capital. Availability and cost of synthetic fertilizer among other factors determine poultry waste utilization. Exotic vegetable requires more poultry waste than indigenous ones and soil characteristics play strong role in influencing poultry waste input and yield of vegetable crops (Adedayo, 2012). Over the past decades, the poultry sector’s growth and trends towards intensification and concentration have given rise to a number of environmental concerns. A direct consequence of these structural changes (industrialization, geographical concentration and intensification) in poultry production is that far more waste than can be managed by land disposal is produced, resulting in environmental problems (Gerber et. al, 2009). Managing poultry by-products as potential pollutants centers on water and air quality concerns, and in some cases on soil quality: specific concerns that are

42

well documented include degradation of nearby surface and/or groundwater, resulting from increased loading of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and potassium in some locations (Williams, 2012). For instance, most poultry manure and litter are applied to land near poultry production farms. With few exceptions, this is the preferred practice in developing countries and elsewhere. Such land management of poultry byproducts brings the risk of surface and groundwater contamination from potential pollutants contained in the manure and litter (Williams, 2012). Buried birds undergo a decomposition process. During this process, nutrients, pathogens and other components of the carcass are released into the environment. As these substances enter the surrounding soil, they may be broken down, transformed, lost to the air, or otherwise immobilized so that they pose no environmental threat. However, there is a possibility that some constituents may eventually contaminate soil, groundwater and surface water (Freedman and Fleming, 2003). Poultry facilities are a source of odor and attract flies, rodents and other pests that create local nuisances and carry disease. Odor emissions from poultry farms adversely affect the life of people living in the vicinity. Odor associated with poultry operations comes from fresh and decomposing waste products such as manure, carcasses, feathers and bedding/litter (Kolominskas et al., 2002). Onfarm odor is mainly emitted from poultry buildings, and manure and storage facilities (Williams, 2012). Likewise, flies are an additional concern for residents living near poultry facilities. In addition to the nuisance they cause, flies and mosquitoes can transmit diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, malaria,

43

filarial and dengue fever. Although less often reported than flies and mosquitoes, rats and similar pests are also a local nuisance associated with poultry production. As with flies and mosquitoes, they can be a vector for disease transmission. Their presence is mainly related to animal-feed management and especially to storage and losses from feeding systems (Williams, 2012). Additionally, local disturbances (e.g. odor, flies and rodents) and landscape degradation are typical local negative amenities in the surroundings of poultry farms. Pollution of soil and water with nutrients, pathogens and heavy metals is generally caused by poor manure-management and occurs where manure is stored (Gerber, et. al, 2009). Improper disposal of poultry carcasses can contribute to water-quality problems especially in areas prone to flooding or where there is a shallow water table. Methods for the disposal of poultry carcasses include burial, incineration, composting and rendering. In the case of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks, the disposal of large numbers of infected birds has presented

new

and

complex

problems

associated

with

environmental

contamination. Large volumes of carcasses can generate excessive amounts of leachate and other pollutants, increasing the potential for environmental contamination (Williams, 2012). Air quality can be affected by aerial emissions of pollutants from poultry production facilities. Ammonia emitted into the atmosphere is arguably the most environmentally significant aerial pollutant associated with poultry production (Smith, 2006). The transport and fate of ammonia once it is emitted into the

44

atmosphere are not well understood, but its presence in high concentrations can trigger environmental effects that have impacts on local ecosystems and human health. Ammonia from poultry operations is derived from nitrogen, which is an essential component of dietary protein, amino acids and other biomolecules necessary for life. However, dietary nitrogen not converted into meat, eggs or other tissue is excreted in the form of organic nitrogen, which is rapidly converted into ammonia under most, but not all, poultry production practices (Williams, 2012). Particulate matter (or dust) is an aerial pollutant of more concern than hydrogen sulphide and VOCs. It occurs in typical poultry operations where appreciable numbers of birds are confined. Dust emissions can contain dried fecal matter and may include bacteria, endotoxins, molds, mites and insect parts (Clark, Rylander and Larsson, 2008). Review of Related Studies The review of related studies focuses on the waste management practices of livestock farms in General Santos City. Generally, it reviews previous researches in connection to the study of the researchers in local and international that can help in strengthening the ideas and knowledge of the researchers in the subject matter. According to the study conducted by Paraso, et. al (2010), entitled “A Survey of Waste Management Practices of Selected Swine and Poultry Farms in Laguna, Philippines”, which aimed to learn the different practices of the respondents in handling their liquid and solid waste.

45

It was found that inappropriate practices were employed such as open dumping, discharge of wastes into the waterways and open-air burning of wastes were practiced. The study called for stricter enforcement and effective dissemination of local government regulations and existing environmental laws by concerned government agencies to ensure that a sustainable livestock and poultry production in the province of Laguna is achieved. In the study conducted by Moreki and Keaikitse (2013), entitled “Poultry waste management practices in selected poultry operations around Gaborone, Botswana”, it was found that the farmers possessed adequate knowledge about dealing with the wastes in their poultry farms. The study investigated the different waste management practices in poultry operations around the City of Gaborone. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that was administered to 25 randomly selected commercial poultry farmers in Kgatleng, Kweneng and South-East Districts. Data were also collected through direct observation and by reviewing secondary sources of data. Data were then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 19. Results showed that 80% of the respondents disposed of manure and/litter by giving it away to other farmers, 16% used it as a fertilizer on their own fields, whereas 4% of the respondents disposed of manure/litter in the landfills/dumping sites. The three methods of mortality disposal were landfills (52%), incineration (20%) and burning (20%). The challenges in disposing of poultry waste were lack of transport, lack of

46

farmer’s knowledge of poultry waste management and insufficient space to enable construction of waste disposal pits on farms. Research by Nauti II and Zapatero (2010) supports that chicken manure is not a good source of methane gas. The experiment went under a 35-day observation. The collector is an improvised LPG tank with welded apparatus. There are no data gathered since the pressure of the accumulated methane gas did not reach 5 pei, thus, the set proportions did not produce considerable amount of methane gas. Research by Gyeltshen (2012) employed a group meeting in Denchhukha and involved four key informants in each geog to understand the livelihoods and access to services and resources for the village households. Thirty-eight households in Denchhukha and 39 households in Yoeseltse were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire on poultry rearing and production. The VIPOSIM simulation model was used to test different improvement options and were compared to the base situation. Simulation was done for 12 time-steps; each time step equals to three months, which is one reproduction cycle. In Denchhukha, poultry rearing was for dual-purpose of meat and egg production. In Yoeseltse, it was mainly for eggs in Buddhist communities and for dual-purpose in Hindu communities. Chickens served households with proteins such as meat and eggs, generated small cash income and helped to obtain household items like grains and tea through barter. Eggs and chicken meat are used to entertain guests or are given as gifts. Poultry has cultural significance; they are used for religious sacrifices and festivities. The average flock sizes were

47

13, 17 and 5 in Denchhukha, Yoeseltse dual-purpose production and Yoeseltse egg production systems respectively. The number of birds and eggs sold were significantly higher in Yoeseltse as compared to Denchhukha. Predation was considered the most important constraint in rearing the existing flocks in both the geogs, while inadequate feed was considered the most important constraint by majority of the respondents both in Denchhukha and Yoeseltse. Simulations with different improvement options showed that daytime housing and supplemental feeding had positive effect on the flock size but resulted in negative net returns. Crossbreeding resulted in net returns lower than in base situation. Preferential chick housing seemed to be economically the most effective intervention in Denchhukha and Yoeseltse dual-purpose production. In the egg production system, incubating more eggs indicated bigger flock size and better net returns. Improving production will require that farmers become market-oriented. Access to markets, farmers training and effective extension services are essential for improving income generation for rural people (Gyeltshen, 2012). Two groups of farmers were interviewed in this study: 45 farmers in the DADPs project and 45 local chicken farmers not in the DADPs project. Added to this, 20 chicken sellers at district markets were interviewed. For DADPs farmers’ improvement in chicken management resulted in reduced bird mortality, increased eggs laid per clutch, reduced age at first lay, increased adult weight of cockerels and hens. Egg prices and prices for chickens were higher for DADPs famers than for other farmers. Cash income of DADPs farmers also was higher: per month DADPs farmers got Tsh 290,225 compared to Tsh 141,480 for other

48

farmers. Chicken products consumption per household per month was 33 eggs and 15 eggs for DADPs farmers and other farmers, respectively. Price of chickens varied depending on the season of the year and festivities. Village chicken producers, consumers, middlemen (the chicken sellers) and local restaurants/hotels are the main actors involved in chicken marketing. The main marketing channels are from farmer to farmer, from farmer to retailer (chicken seller) and to consumer. On average the profit earned per chicken by chicken sellers was Tsh 2500 – 3000. Farmers are not benefiting from chicken improvement due to low prices offered by chicken sellers. Therefore, in order for the impact of chicken improvement to be realized by farmers the project should come up with integrated interventions which support both chicken production and marketing (Kafuku, 2012). Although in the past, environmental engineering has been primarily concerned with waste disposal, the focus of the field is now shifting toward viewing wastes as potential resources. Because reclamation usually consumes less energy than producing new materials, increasing reclamation not only reduces pollution but saves energy. Technological innovations contributing to this shift are summarized here, and are variously classified as emerging technologies or research topics, as either new departures or incremental improvements, and as opportunistic innovations, or examples of a unifying strategy. Both liquid and solid waste examples are given, such as a recent discovery of effects in disinfecting micro filtered reclaimed wastewater with ultraviolet light. In addition to its value in reducing pollution and conserving energy, this reorientation of

49

environmental engineering could contribute to a more general shift toward greater cooperation among organizations dealing with the environment (Iranpour, et al.,1999).

50

Chapter III RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This chapter presented the research design, research locale, respondents of the study, sampling technique, instrumentation, data gathering procedure and statistical data treatment/analysis. Research Design The study was a descriptive research. It was the most appropriate method to be used in the study. It had described the waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City. The factors needed in the study are observed in figure 2. As seen in figure 2, the variables essential to the completion of the study are shown in the leftmost part of diagram; namely: profile of local poultry farms which included the years in operation, number of employees, amount of capitalization, types of products offered and number of poultry heads produced. The waste management practices of poultry farms that are currently implemented are shown below the profile of poultry farms which include liquid and solid waste. Below this are the problems and challenges that the poultry farms have encountered. To give life to the study, the researchers have set General Santos City as their research locale, in which the respondents of the study were the owners of local poultry farms. Questionnaires were used to gather data for the study.

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Figure 2. Research Design

52

After collecting the data, statistical data treatment such as frequency, percentage and weighted mean was used to figure and analyse the result of the study.

These factors lead to the improvement of the waste management

practices of poultry farms in General Santos City. Research Locale This study was conducted in General Santos City, located in the southern part of the Philippines. This was chosen as the appropriate locale of the study because the city is one of the most prosperous among the cities and municipalities in SOCCSKSARGEN area. General Santos City has a total agricultural land use of 14,486 Hectares, 46.7% is utilized for agricultural production with 205.67 Hectares devoted to Aquaculture. General Santos City is the regional center for commerce and industry of the SOCCSKSARGEN region. The city is also a top producer and exporter of quality livestock. From the City Veteran’s Office’s record, 9,764,345 poultry are slaughtered in 2010, 11,517,642 in 2011 and 10,659,413 in 2013. Poultry has the highest number of slaughtered units compared to other livestock in General Santos City such as swine, cattle, carabao, goat and horse. Respondents of the Study The respondents were the owners of different poultry farms in General Santos City. There were a total of 35 respondents as of June 29, 2016 composed of commercial poultry farms recorded in the Business and Licensing Office of the City Government. Of that number, 9 poultry farms were located in Barangay

53

Conel, 14 were in Barangay Katangawan, 1 was in Barangay San Isidro, 1 was in Barangay Lagao, 2 were in Barangay Olympog, 3 were in Barangay Sinawal, 4 were in Barangay Ligaya and 1 was in Barangay Mabuhay. They were the type of poultry farms sought to be implementing waste management practices which were provided in the results for this study. Thus, the researchers had qualified them as the key persons to collect information and most credible to answer the survey questionnaire. Out of 35 poultry farms in General Santos City, only 19 were open and willing to take part in the survey. Seven of the farms in the list were no longer operating, two of the farms were one and the same which were the Bodani Dave Farm and Farmville Poultry Farm, and the rest did not permit the researchers to conduct the survey cite reasons such as, the owner is unavailable to authorize and the person in attendance is not qualified to answer the questionnaire. Instrumentation The researchers used survey questionnaires in gathering data for the study. The data collection instrument was based on published books and online resources- identifying the waste management practices of poultry farms. This was validated with the advisers and evaluators et. al. The questionnaire was divided into three (3) parts. The first part contained the profile of the poultry farms which covers the number of years in operation, number of employees, amount of capitalization and types of products and services they offer. The second part included the waste management practices in terms of liquid waste and solid waste. The third part included the problems and

54

challenges encountered by the poultry farms in their waste management practices. Box 1. Rating Scale of Waste Management Practices of Poultry Farms in General Santos City Rating

Verbal

Scale

Description

4

Highly Practiced

3

Practiced

2

Slightly Practiced

1

Not Practiced

Interpretation Waste management practices are observed all the times. Waste management practices are observed most of the time Waste management practices are observed rarely Waste management practices are never observed

Box 2. Interpretation for the Extent of Practice of Poultry Farms in General Santos City Rating

Verbal

Scale

Description

3.26-4.00 2.51-3.25 1.76-2.50 1.00-1.75

Interpretation

Highly

Waste management practices

Practiced

are observed all the time

Practiced

Waste management practices are observed most of the time

Slightly

Waste management practices

Practiced

are observed sometimes

Not

Waste management practices

Practiced

are observed rarely

Percentage (%) 67-100 34-66 1-33 0

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Data Gathering Procedure To conduct the study, the researchers had obtained the number of respondents which was taken from the record of the Business and Licensing Office of the City Government. This was done before the researchers could gather necessary data needed for the study. The researchers provided a copy of questionnaire based on the related literature and related studies to the advisor and validators to be corroborated. As soon as the questionnaires were approved, these were distributed to the respondents for the purpose of gathering data needed for the study. The researchers had interviewed the identified owners of poultry farms in General Santos City through visiting their farms. The researchers made the necessary communications and inform them about the study being conducted. Researchers had ensured that the questionnaires were answered with their presence so that they could at the same time personally ask questions which had further supplemented their study. The collection of data was done in two weeks. After the compilation of completed questionnaires, data analysis and interpretation had followed. Statistical Treatment/Analysis As presented in the research design, the study used frequency, percentage and weighted mean to help the researchers in analysing the answers of the respondents. These methods helped the researchers to identify the result of the data and to be able to discern suggestions and recommendations.

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The researchers used frequency and percentage in calculating the first part of the questionnaire which includes the profile of the poultry farms in General Santos City. Weighted mean is an average in which each quantity to be averaged is assigned a weight which determined the relative importance of each quantity on the average (Investopedia, 2014). Weighted mean was used in interpreting the second part of the questionnaire which includes the waste management practices. The result was summed up and total was divided by the sum of weights. Weighted average was utilized in the descriptive statistical analysis. Ranking was used in both products and services offered by the poultry farms in General Santos City. Ranking data involves putting values in numerical order and then assigning new values to denote where the ordered set they fall (Statistics and Research Methodology, 2014). In cases of ties, the method presented in A Handbook of Statistics by Parushuri R. Krishnaiah published in 1982 was used which states that: “Sometimes, more than one item has the same value in the series than a common rank is given to such items. This common rank is the average of the ranks they would have got if there had been a slight difference in their values.” The purpose of the data analysis and interpretation phase is to transform the data collected into credible evidence about the development of the intervention and its performance.

57

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Chapter IV PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA This chapter presented the interpretation and analysis of the gathered data. Out of thirty-five (35) poultry farms in General Santos City, only 19 were open and willing to take part in the survey. The results were presented by means of tables followed by interpretation and analysis as well as the supporting studies. Profile of Poultry Farms in General Santos City The profile of poultry farms in General Santos City are presented in terms of years in operation, number of employees, amount of capitalization, types of products offered and number of poultry heads produced. Table 1 Number of Years in Operation n=19 Variables 5 years and below

Frequency (f) 9

Percentage 47

6 to 10 years

3

16

11 to 15 years

5

26

16 to 20 years

1

5

21 years and above

1

5

TOTAL

19

100

Table 1 above showed that 47% of poultry farms in General Santos City have been operating for 5 years and below, 16% were operating for 11 to 15 years, while only 5% have been operating for 16 years to 20 years and 5% were operating for 21 years and above.

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According to local poultry owners/managers, poultry farms have two categories: conventional and non-conventional. The term “conventional” refers to poultry farms which lease the land from other farm owners while the term “nonconventional” refers to farms that own both the land and the poultry business. The above mentioned statistics has something to do with their capitalization and number of poultry heads produced regularly. The respondents of this study were mostly conventional poultry farms. The poultry inventory in the Philippines is classified into “commercial” and “backyard”. A poultry farm is classified as “commercial” if it has more than 100 birds (BAS, 1987). Based on this definition, backyard production of chickens accounted for more than 50% of the chicken inventory of the Philippines in 2005. (BAS, 2006) According to the local poultry farms, on conventional farming system they have the preference and options in continuing the lease or not, knowing that the farm itself has small initial capital. This is to test their 3 to 5-year projection of profitability and productivity. Some of those conventional farms are diversified into other by-products; fertilizer is one of them. Most of poultry farms had newly started due to the increasing demand of chicken in the local market. Non-conventional poultry farms are those who started a long time ago and due to their consistency of funds and market share, they lasted for more than 10 years. Among the respondents, non-conventional poultry farms are Cavestany Poultry and Goat Farms, Herana Poultry, and those managed by San Miguel and other high end poultry giants.

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According to the Philippines Bureau of Statistics (BAS), the poultry subsector grew by 3.72 per cent in 2010 and accounted for 14.93 per cent of total agricultural production. Chicken and chicken egg production has steadily grown over the past few years. In contrast, duck and duck egg production has steadily declined. Native chickens accounted for 47 per cent of the chicken inventory, broilers 34 per cent, and layers 19 per cent in 2010. Chicken production grew by 4.01 per cent in 2010. The larger volume of broilers was due to expansion in stocking capacity and sufficient supply of day old chicks. Chicken egg production grew by 5.12 per cent; a higher inventory of laying flocks combined with increases in the egg-laying efficiency ratio of hens in several provinces. The downward trend in duck and duck eggs production continued with this year’s declines of 8.24 per cent and 7.44 per cent, respectively. Duck egg production was constrained by lingering hot weather that resulted in low laying efficiency ratios (USDA AMS, 2011). The Philippine broiler industry is controlled by four major integrators, namely: Swift Foods, San Miguel Foods, Tyson Agro-Ventures and Universal Robina Corporation. Together, they account for 65% of the total broiler supply in the country (Abuel-Ang, 2005). However, smaller companies became so cashrich that they then ventured into the stock market with their own IPOs. Along the way, the chicken business got swallowed by the IPOs and before long, the newcomers surged past the industry goliaths to become number one at some point, supplying wet markets and supermarkets with dressed chickens. (PhilStarGamboa, 2016)

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Table 2 Number of Employees n=19 Variables Less than 5 employees

Frequency (f) 5

Percentage 26

5 to 10 employees

7

37

11 to 15 employees

1

5

16 to 20 employees 21 employees and above TOTAL

1

5

5

26

19

100

Table 2 above showed the distribution of respondents according to the number of employees. The results showed that majority of the respondents hired 5 to 10 employees with the highest frequency and percentage of 37%. In contrast, only 5% of the poultry farms employed 11 to 15 employees and 5% of the poultry farms had 16 to 20 employees. The number of employees in the poultry farms is typically based upon the number of heads that it produces and its amount of capitalization. Based on the profiling, most of the poultry farms produced about 20 001 - 50 000 heads per cycle which are considered to be commercialized farms. These poultry farms use more advanced equipments such as feeders and drinkers, lessening their need for more manpower in their daily operations. Employees do rounds to oversee the feeding few times a day, check the status of the breeder house such as room temperature, lightings and the likes, remove dead chickens if there are any and make sure that the operation is running smoothly. Employees need to perform more laborious works only when the brooder houses are needed to be cleaned

62

and prepared for another cycle.Taking into consideration that most of the poultry farms are microenterprises, having a capital of less than P3 000 000, they do not require numerous workers in their daily operations. By adding excessive manpower, microenterprises will face costly situation by incurring additional expenses which are unreasonable for their nature and size. According to a study conducted by Stevenson and Schuster in the year 2003, poultry farms relied primarily on family labor, including husband and wife, children, nieces, and nephews, and hired labor. Labor requirements are one significant limitation of large scale-pastured poultry operations. During the pastured poultry season, they work about 2.6 hours per day on chickens, not including processing. Farms raising over 10,000 to 25,000 chickens depend more on hired labor. These farmers work slightly fewer minutes per bird than the farmers raising 10,000 or fewer chickens. They also work almost seven hours a day on pastured chickens through their slightly longer growing season. Table 3 Amount of Capitalization n=19 Variables Less than P1 000 000

Frequency (f) 2

Percentage 11

P1 000 000 to P3 000 000

9

50

P3 000 001 to P5 000 000

1

6

P7 000 001 and above

6

33

TOTAL

18

100

Table

3

above

page

showed

that

50%

of

the

poultry

farms

63

hadcapitalizations of P1 000 000 to P3 000 000, 11% had less than a million capital and 6% of the poultry farms had P3 000 001 to P5 000 000. According to local poultry owners/managers, poultry farming is very vital in procuring its sustainable operations on the long run. Since poultry farming is essential in the city’s geographical area, they are willing to invest large capital. They also said that poultry farming can also be dangerous in market demands since the risk of biosecurity is always present. Most of them are conventional poultry farms. These farms have less maintenance and production value. Relatively, they can only raise an average of 20,000 heads, hire 5 to 10 employees and have a maximum of P3 000 000 capital, which can also be found on other tables. Later, this analysis will lead to the discovery of related waste management and problems and challenges faced by both poultry farming classes in relation with their profile. Start-up costs for a pastured poultry system are relatively low with feed and

livestock

purchases

accounting

for

57%

and

21%,

respectively

(Fukumoto&Replogle, 1999). Portable field pens, such as those created and popularized by Joel Salatin, are considered the least expensive housing structures for this system. Making a 10-foot-by-12-foot pen capable of holding up to eighty mature broilers is estimated to cost, at most, $400. Moreover, using salvage materials can reduce this cost. Basic brooders, with a capacity for approximately 250 chicks, can be built for roughly $100. Feeders and drinkers can be bought or homemade to further reduce expenses (Berton, Mudd, & Spencer, 2012).

64

On the other hand, start-up costs for a commercial production system is quite expensive. The cost associated with facilities and equipment is one of the largest factors in the overall expenses of the broiler operation. Berton et al. (2012) stated that houses capable of holding at least 25,000 birds cost as much as $140,000. Moreover, the cost of a broiler house will vary with size and specifications. Constructing a fully equipped house is estimated to cost approximately $13.00 per square foot, excluding the cost of land. Other major expenses associated with commercial production systems include fuel, labor, repairs, utilities, loans, interest, taxes and feed; all of which vary depending on size of the house (Doye, Freking, Payne & Ferrell, 2006). Table 4 Types of Products Offered n=19 Variables Layer

Frequency (f) 3

Percentage 16

Broiler

16

84

TOTAL

19

100

Table 4 above showed that the majority of the respondents produced broiler at 84% while 16% of the poultry farms produced layers. According to the interview conducted, most of the respondents are engaged in contract farming whereby agricultural production is being carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer and farm producers. Most of them are in contract with some of the leading food corporations in the Philippines. The use of contracts has become attractive to many farmers because the arrangement can offer both an assured market and access to production support.

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Contract farming is also of interest to buyers, who seek supplies of products for sale further along the value chain or for processing. Processors constitute the main users of contracts, as the guaranteed supply enables them to maximize utilization of their processing capacity (Eaton and Shepherd, 2001). Based on a report submitted to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in 2003, broiler production in the Philippines has become largely commercial, with contract production as the dominant arrangement. Minimum contract sizes have been set at about 10,000 birds. Hence, farms that raise less than 10,000 birds were considered smallholders, while larger farms were categorized as largescale or commercial. Broilers today has emerged as the fastest growing segment for poultry industry with the increased acceptance of chicken meat in city, town and villages, the demand for broiler is growing in a fast pace. Broiler population as of January 1, 2016 from the record of the Philippine Statistics Authority, was around 66 million birds. Region III (Central Luzon) had the highest broiler inventory with a total share of 29.13 percent in the country’s total broiler inventory. Large integrators control some 80 percent of the broiler market in the Philippines. The remainder is in the hands of independent commercial broiler producers, who typically maintain inventories of 20,000 to 100,000 birds, and a few smallholders, who typically raise 1,000 to 2,000 birds at a time. The large integrators are banded together into a producer's organization, the Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI), consisting of six large

66

firms. The integrators engage in breeding and contract growing, processing, and distribution of branded output. They are also a major player in the live broiler market, in which the daily reference price is set by the group in the form of a "gentlemen's agreement" (Costales et.al. 2003). Table 5 Number of Poultry Heads Produced n=19 Variables Less than 20 000

Frequency (f) 4

Percentage 21

20 001 to 50 000

8

42

50 001 to 80 000

2

11

80 001 to 110 000

3

16

110 001 and above

2

11

TOTAL

19

100

Table 5 above showed that 42% of the poultry farms in General Santos City produced 20 001 to 50 000 heads while 11% produced 50 001 to 80 000 heads and 11% produced 110 001 heads and above. Poultry owners/managers said that the number of poultry heads that can be produced may vary on the housing capacity of the farm. Although death among these animals that are caused of changing temperature, stress and poultry diseases is inevitable, it does not affect its population much. Some poultry owner/managers have upgraded their farm to air-conditioned chicken coop. There are two-types of chicken coop according to the interview conducted with the survey, the Open-housing and the Air-conditioned coop. Open-housing is the typical type of chicken coop while the air-conditioned coop is a closed facility

67

that enables the poultry farmer to control the temperature and prevents the contaminants to penetrate. The number of poultry heads may also vary in the amount of capitalization of the poultry farm. In table 3, the number of respondents declared the range of P7,000,000 and above as the amount of capitalization coincide with the number of poultry heads that ranges from 80,000 heads and above. Chicken products consumption per household per month was 33 eggs and 15 eggs for DADPs farmers and other farmers, respectively. Price of chickens varied depending on the season of the year and festivities (Kafuku, 2012). AbuelAng, 2005 said that Broiler production in the Philippines in 2003 was 635,000,000 constituting only about 6% and 50% of the Chinese and Thai production, respectively. According to University of Asia and the Pacific, 1999, production inefficiency, along with the reliance on high-cost, imported inputs, has resulted in the higher production cost of live birds. Therefore, there is a need to modernize by adopting the latest technology in poultry-raising; environmental control; and automation in feeding, drinking, and other management practices. Waste Management of Poultry Farms This part of the study showed the data concerning the waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City in terms of their solid and liquid wastes. Solid Waste Management This part of the study showed the data concerning the solid waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City.

68

Table 6 Solid Waste Management n=19 Determinants Burying poultry litter and carcass Collection of poultry litter and carcass by the LGU Burning poultry litter and carcass Openly dumping poultry litter and carcass (i.e. indiscriminate disposal of waste) Storing poultry litter and carcass in a compost pit Selling poultry litter and manure to fish feed companies Selling poultry litter and manure to compost manufacturers

Weighted Mean 2.92

Interpretation Practiced

1.32

Not Practiced

2.47

Slightly Practiced

1.42 2.05 1.58

2.68

Not Practiced Slightly Practiced Not Practiced Practiced

Selling chicken litter and manure to cooking fuel companies

1.53

Not Practiced

Selling chicken manure as fertilizer to farmers

2.32

Slightly Practiced

Land application to enhance crop production

1.79

Slightly Practiced

Animal re-feeding (i.e. to be used as feeds after pathogens are neutralized)

1.39

Using poultry litter for bio-energy production

1.16

Not Practiced Not Practiced

Table 6 above illustrated the solid waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City. The respondents’ ratings on the questionnaire of 4 and 3 were interpreted as for those waste management methods that they do follow and the ratings of 2 and 1 were for those methods that they do not

69

practice.From this, the percentage of those farms observing or not observing a particular method was determined. According to the results, the local poultry farmers had two solid waste management practices that they observe most of the time namely: burying the poultry litter and carcass and selling poultry litter and manure to compost manufacturers. Majority of the local poultry farms bury poultry litter and carcass with the highest weighted mean of 2.92 which meant that it is practiced. The results further showed that out of the 19 poultry farms interviewed, 10 poultry farms or 56% bury poultry litter and carcass while 8 poultry farms or 44%, do not practice this solid waste disposal method and 1 of the poultry farms refused to answer. According to the manager of the RVM farm, it is fairly common for poultry animals to catch illnesses due to changing weather patterns; in the instance that poultry animals do get sick, they are often treated with some chemicals and medicines to cure them. Moreover, the results of the study showed that local poultry farms sometimes observe the following practices: burning poultry litter and carcass, storing poultry litter and carcass in a compost pit, selling chicken manure as fertilizer to farmers and land application to enhance crop production. Results showed that local poultry farms practice burning poultry litter and carcass. Moreover, out of the 19 poultry farms, 10 poultry farms or 53% said that they burn their poultry litter and carcass while 9 poultry farms or 47% said that they do not practice this waste disposal method. According to local poultry farms,

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the poultry carcass is either burnt or buried. The manager/caretaker of Jun Salazar Poultry Farm said that the carcass is burnt when burying it poses some difficulties to the farmers, for instance, when burial space is not available which is a problem identified by the local poultry farms in Table 8. In addition, according to the caretaker of James Ang Farm, they mainly use the chicken litter as fertilizer but it is sometimes dried up to serve as fuel as substitute for wood. According to a study conducted by Waste Concern (2005), a “Not for Profit” research and development arm of Waste Concern Group, which focuses on pilot projects on all types of waste and cleaner energy projects, incineration of poultry litter has been receiving a lot of attention in recent times. Litter (unlike manure) is an excellent fuel because of the presence of bedding material. Its heat content is higher than firewood and therefore lends itself to good combustion. Results further showed that local poultry farms sell chicken manure as fertilizer to farmers. Furthermore, out of the 19 respondents, 9 poultry farms or 47% said that they do sell chicken manure as fertilizer to farmers while 10 of the poultry farms or 53% said that they do not practice this solid waste disposal method. Majority of the poultry farms in General Santos City are located in rural areas such as Olympog and Katangawan where the primary source of livelihood is crop farming. As previously discussed, the managers of RVM Farm, J.A. Romero Farms, and Cavestany Farm said that most of the local poultry farms have regular customers for their chicken litter who are usually neighbouring farmers or

71

compost fertilizer manufacturers. In addition, this statement is being corroborated by the managers of Bodani Farm, Farmville Poultry Farm and Herana Poultry Grower. According to Moreki and Keaikitse (2013), poultry farmers dispose of manure and/or litter by selling it to other farmers to use in their arable fields, or use it to fertilize their own fields. Results showed that local poultry farms store poultry litter and carcass in a compost pit. Additionally, out of the 19 respondents, only 6 poultry farms or 32% of them said that they store poultry litter and carcass in a compost pit while 13 of the poultry farms or 68% of them said that they do not observe this particular waste management practice. According to the manager/owner of Cavestany Farm, poultry farms that also engage in farming have compost pits that they use to make their own compost fertilizer which they use to encourage the growth of their crops. The carcass and litter are sometimes thrown into the compost pit to rot, which will later on be turned into nutrient-rich compost fertilizer to be used in farming. A compost pit is basically a hole where the animal litter or manure and carcass are left to rot to achieve a nutrient-rich soil to be used for farming. Composting is the aerobic degradation of biodegradable organic waste. It is a relatively fast biodegradation process, taking typically 4–6 weeks to reach a stabilised material. The composted material is odourless and fine textured with low moisture content and can be used as an organic fertiliser. Composted poultry litter is easy to handle and pathogen free. (Kelleher et al, 2008) It has long been recognized that poultry manure and litter is a good source of plant nutrient mainly

72

nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). In addition, poultry waste also contains calcium, magnesium, sulphur and some micronutrients. This knowledge has resulted in fairly widespread use of poultry waste as a fertilizer produced from composting (Waste Concern, 2005). Results further indicated that for the smaller-scale local poultry farmers who also practice backyard gardening and for those local poultry farms with bigger operations who also engage in farming, land application of poultry litter is practiced. Moreover, of the 19 poultry farms interviewed, only 5 poultry farms or 26% said that they practice land application of poultry litter while 14 or 74% of them do not observe this solid waste management practice. While applying the poultry litter unto the land is the easiest, cheapest and long-standing option for disposal of poultry solid waste in areas where land availability has not been an issue, in recent times, when concentrations of poultry farms started to develop, this option started to become limited. The primary reason behind this is the emerging evidence that there are dangers to over-application of poultry manure to croplands (Waste Concern, 2005). The Rural NI Portal (2005) mentions the following problems associated with over-application of poultry manure to cropland: surface and groundwater pollution, aesthetic problems with odours and insects and over-accumulation of manure and trace elements leading to reduced crop yields. Furthermore, the results of the study illustrated that the following practices are not being observed by the local poultry farms, as follows: collection of poultry litter and carcass by the LGU, openly dumping poultry litter and carcass, selling

73

poultry litter and manure to fish feed companies, selling chicken litter and manure to cooking fuel companies, animal re-feeding and using poultry litter for bioenergy production. Results indicated that the poultry litter and carcass are not being collected by the Local Government Units. Moreover, out of the 19 poultry farms interviewed, only 2 or 11% of the local poultry farms said that the LGU collects their poultry litter and carcass while 17 or 89% of the poultry farms said otherwise. As previously discussed, the poultry farms derive certain benefits from the solid wastes, specifically, litter is being sold off to farmers and compost manufacturers, turned into fertilizers for their own crops or dried up and used as firewood or fuel. Therefore collection by the local government is not necessary. In terms of the poultry carcass, it is simply buried or turned into compost material, provided that sufficient burial space is available. According to the manager of J.A. Romero Farm, the Local Government Unit conducts several inspections to ascertain that poultry farms follow certain government regulations on a yearly-basis but they do not actually collect the solid wastes for disposal. According to the study conducted by Moreki and Keaikitse (2013), due to the far locations of the poultry farms, the local government units cannot perform solid waste collection. Transport of solid waste is a main concern which leaves the poultry farmers to find of alternative ways to dispose of their solid waste such as burying, burning or selling. Results illustrated that the local poultry farms do not practice opendumping of their solid poultry wastes. Furthermore, out of the 19 poultry farms

74

interviewed, only 2 or 11% admitted to openly dumping their solid poultry wastes while the other 17 or 89% said that they do not practice this particular solid waste disposal method. Open-dumping of solid poultry wastes is not practiced by the local poultry farms because it is a violation of environment safety codes that could revoke the license of the business. Instead they resort to other means, as previously discussed: burying them, selling them or turning them into fertilizer. However, in some instances where certain problems arise, such as the unavailability of burial space or burning off of the wastes would prove to be hazardous to the health of the local poultry farm workers or that the fire could spread, the local poultry farms resort to openly dumping the wastes. In the study conducted by Paraso, et.al (2010), very few of the poultry farmers admitted to the ecologically unacceptable practice of open or indiscriminate dumping of poultry wastes. Results further showed that the local poultry farms also do not practice selling of the poultry litter and manure to fish feed companies. Additionally, out of the 19 poultry farms, only 4 or 21% said that they do sell the poultry litter and manure to fish feed companies while the remaining 15 or 79% said that they do not observe this particular solid waste disposal method. As previously discussed, the poultry farms said that their main customers in terms of the poultry litter are the neighbouring farmers and compost manufacturers. However, sometimes, when there are fish feed companies seeking to buy poultry litter, the local poultry farms sell it to them. This rarely happens however, because while it may be true that General Santos City’s main

75

industry is its fishing industry, most fishing companies are located in areas near the ocean. In Table 8, it is presented that one of the problems encountered by the local poultry farms in the management of their solid waste is the long distance and unavailability of transportation to disposal sites. Another reason for this is that the poultry farms already have regular customers for the poultry litter and manure, namely farmers and compost manufacturers. According to Waste Concern (2005), one of the most common uses of poultry litter is as fish feed. This activity is pursued through an informal channel with no well-established market mechanism. As far as it could be gathered, fish farmers on individual basis make contacts with nearby poultry farms and purchase the litter. The application procedure involves allowing the litter to slowly leach out from jute bags placed on the sides of the ponds. In the earlier days of this practice, some inexperienced fish farmers dumped litter straight into the pond. This sudden addition of large quantity of litter caused large increases in the BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of the water and killed off most of the fishes. Over time farmers have learnt that a very slow addition method must be employed. In this application, the litter stimulates the growth of algae, which is a good fish feed. Fishes usually do not consume the litter. Results illustrated that the local poultry farms also do not sell the poultry litter and manure to cooking fuel companies. Moreover, only 3 or 16% out of the 19 poultry farms interviewed said that they sell the poultry litter to cooking fuel companies while the other 16 or 84% said that they do not observe this particular solid waste disposal method. As previously discussed, according to the local

76

poultry farms, they sometimes use the poultry litter as fuel after it has been dried in the sun as substitute for firewood. However, they do not sell the poultry litter and manure to cooking fuel companies because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of those in General Santos City. Also, as previously discussed, the poultry farms have regular customers for their chicken litter and manure. According to Waste Concern (2005), selling off of the poultry litter to cooking fuel companies is of an extremely specialized nature and has only been reported in some areas. In those areas, the people use the poultry litter as fuel after it has been dried-up, the ashes of which are then collected and applied to the crops. Results further showed that the local poultry farmers do not practice animal re-feeding of the poultry litter. Additionally, only 1 poultry farm or 6% admitted to re-feeding the poultry litter while the other 17 poultry farms or 94% said that they do not practice this particular solid waste disposal method and 1 poultry farm did not give an answer. As presented in Table 4, the products offered by the local poultry farms are layer, broiler and cull. Animal re-feeding of poultry litter is practiced with cows. The local poultry farms’ operations do not extend to raising other animals such as cows. The use of poultry waste as a feed amendment for ruminants is an age-old practice. However, in recent times, the dangers of such practice have become more apparent. (Waste Concern, 2005) According to Jacobson (2013), the practice of re-feeding poultry litter is unacceptable because it allows for the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, the gruesome and fatal neurodegenerative disorder more commonly known as mad cow disease. While

77

poultry litter is mainly a combination of feces, feathers, and uneaten chicken feed, it could also contain antibiotics, heavy metals, disease-causing bacteria, and even beef protein, including ground-up meat and bone meal. Meat and bone meal containing infected bovine protein is the chief culprit behind the spread of mad cow disease. Because of this, in the year 2003, animal re-feeding of poultry has been banned. Results indicated that the poultry farms in General Santos City do not practice the use of poultry litter for biogas production. Biogas production is a relatively new method of poultry litter and manure disposal. Additionally, out of the 19 poultry farms interviewed, only 1 poultry farm or 5% said that they use poultry litter for biogas production while the other 18 poultry farms or 95% said that they do not observe this particular solid waste disposal method.

As

presented in Table 8, the local poultry farmers have admitted that they lack the knowledge or information about poultry solid waste disposal. Seeing that biogas production requires specialized knowledge, the local poultry farms do not practice it. Additionally, while biogas production is a good source for cleaner energy, it requires specialized equipment. According to Fullhage (2008), the generation of methane gas from poultry litter gives solutions to two problems: energy shortage and negative environmental impact. However, biogas generation requires big investments in money and management and is therefore not an option that farmers would readily take. The highest rated solid waste management practice is burying poultry litter and carcass because it is easy and simple to do. The local poultry farms’ concern

78

in this practice is the burial space or area. It does not require any special training or knowledge whatsoever. Whereas the lowest rated practice is using the poultry litter for biogas production, this is so because it requires specialized knowledge and equipment which the poultry farms in General Santos City do not readily have. Overall, the respondents sometimes observe waste management practices. This shows that only a few of the waste management practices are being done particularly the burying of the poultry litter and carcass. Liquid Waste Management This part of the study illustrated the data concerning the liquid waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City. The respondents’ ratings on the questionnaire of 4 and 3 were interpreted as for those waste management methods that they do follow and the ratings of 2 and 1 were for those methods that they do not practice.From this, the percentage of those farms observing or not observing a particular method was determined. Table 7 on the next page illustrated the practiced in the poultry farms. 7 out of 19 or 37% poultry farms manage their waste by letting the liquid waste flow to drainage canal with the highest weighted mean of 2.68 and that is moderately practiced. This is to prevent contamination. Meanwhile the remaining 12 out of 19 or 63% practiced different liquid waste management methods. According to Cavestany Farm, drainage canal channels the liquid wastes extracted from cleaning the coop to the field that nourishes the crops. Drainage canals may be important components of upland development. Drainage is

79

factored into the build of the floor, with a slope to remove wastewater and promote good drainage. Drains and gulleys are situated in processing areas and passages, where easy access for regular cleaning reduces the level and subsequent risk of contamination. Waste water and small eggshell particles are washed away effectively (Pas Reform, 2012). Table 7 Liquid Waste Management n=19 Determinants

Weighted Mean

Interpretation

2.68

Practiced

1.58

Not Practiced

1.63

Not Practiced

1.00

Not Practiced

1.16

Not Practiced

1.32

Not Practiced

1.37

Not Practiced

1.42

Not Practiced

Applying liquid waste on to the land

1.89

Slightly Practiced

Open Gutter Drain Method

2.32

Slightly Practiced

Letting liquid waste flow to drainage canal Releasing liquid waste unto bodies of water (e.g. rivers, lakes, creeks) Storing liquid waste in a waste basin Using furnace to heat the waste to produce steam to run a turbine generator Using an in-line composter to stabilize the waste Vacuum extraction system Using settling tanks for poultry liquid waste Utilizing treatment lagoons and ponds

Results further showed that 5 or 26% out of 19poultry farms manages their liquid waste though open gutter drain method and the remaining 14 or 74% are not, and applying liquid waste to the land are 4 or 21% of 19, and 15 or 79% are not; and are considered as slightly practiced in poultry farms. Gutter drain method is like drainage canals but elevated from the land.Some poultry farms

80

said that they simply let the liquid waste to flow in the land since it is only in minimal amount and would just evaporate. Gutters and downspouts - the vertical sections that send runoff down to the ground and the ends of the downspouts run to a suitable drainage system or absorbent, properly graded soil (Vandervort, 2012). According to Wang 2007, Land application is the method most widely used by the food processing industry to dispose of agricultural wastes. Application of such wastes to crop land is often the most affordable waste management alternative as properly applied waste can provide plant nutrients and act as a soil conditioner. Sustainable land application systems should aim to maximize nutrient use while minimizing environmental impact. The out of 19 poultry farms, 1 or 5% said that they manage their liquid waste by releasing liquid waste unto bodies of water,1 or 5% use vacuum extraction system,and1or 5% utilize treatment lagoons and ponds, and95% said they do not practiced the aforementioned determinants, and are notconsidered as not practiced in the poultry farms. Sedimentation tank, also called settling tank or clarifier, component of a modern system of water supply or wastewater treatment. A sedimentation tank allows suspended particles to settle out of water or wastewater as it flows slowly through the tank, thereby providing some degree of purification. A layer of accumulated solids, called sludge, forms at the bottom of the tank and is periodically removed (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). Most agricultural treatment lagoons are anaerobic lagoons. Anaerobic lagoons are earthen structures, which look at first glance like farm ponds. These

81

lagoons are designed to provide biological treatment and long term storage of animal waste. Anaerobic lagoons are larger thanmanure storage basins, which do not provide significant biological treatment or long storage periods, but smaller than aerobic lagoons (Animal Manure Management, 2015). It is a sewerage system which uses differential air pressure and gravity to rapidly transport sewage in a network of essentially empty pipes from Collection Pits to a central collection tank and then to a point of discharge (Flovac, 2016). The suction pressure necessary for removing wastewater and cleaning sewer networks is provided by vacuum pumps. The contaminants in the wastewater are sucked in and can be flushed out periodically by means of pumps. With the use of central vacuum systems the disposal of wastewater can be effected at the same place. The wastewater can be collected, drained and disposed of in complete housing areas at the same time. With the use of vacuum up to 97% of the wastewater can be transported uphill (Gardner Denver Inc. 2015). Storing liquid waste in a waste basin, using settling tanks for poultry liquid waste, using furnace to heat the waste to produce steam to run a turbine generator, and using an in-line composter to stabilize the waste were rated 1-3 in the scale and are considered not practiced. These practices are not available in the area because of the availability of the materials and lack of technological advancement The heat generated by the following wastes can be used directly to warm homes and buildings or to generate electricity using a steam turbine, or both,

82

through combined heat and power systems: direct combustion (incineration) of dry biomass waste such as wood; waste, straw and poultry litter; he biomass part of municipal waste; some commercial and industrial wastes; some construction and demolition wastes. Where waste is combusted in a combined heat and power unit, it is possible to produce both heat and power at greater efficiencies (Guidance, 2013). Overall, poultry farms managed their liquid waste by letting the liquid flow to drainage canal since it is more convenient and practical. Releasing liquid wastes in bodies of water, the use of vacuum extraction system and treatment lagoons and ponds are less preferred since the equipment and procedures are not yet available in the area or it is hazardous to the environment. Poultry farms in General Santos City has lesser or does not have liquid waste for it is only produced after the harvest from cleaning the chicken coop. Problems and Challenges This part of the study showed the data concerning the difficulties poultry farms commonly encounter in their waste management practices. Table 8 on the next page illustrated the various problems and challenges that the local poultry farms faced in the disposal of their solid and liquid wastes. The most prevalent problems in terms of their waste management practices were identified and ranked in order as follows: insect infestation, irrigation schedule, lack of facilities/no proper construction of drainage system nearby, unavailability of transport vehicle to disposal sites, delay in collection of

83

waste and animal carcass, inadequate government agencies support system, water contamination and budget. Table 8 Problems and Challenges n=19 Frequency (f)

Ranking

Unavailability of transportation vehicle to disposal sites Long distance from disposal sites Delay in collection of waste and animal carcass Lack of facilities/no proper construction of drainage system nearby Lack of farmer's knowledge of poultry waste management Insufficient waste disposal space Inadequate government agencies support system Foul odour

3

4th

2

9th

3

4th

4

2nd

1

12th

2

9th

3

4th

2

9th

Insect infestation

5

1st

Water contamination

3

4th

Irrigation schedule

4

2nd

Irrigation

1

12th

Budget

3

4th

Variables

Others:

According to the local poultry farms, the most prevalent problem that they have faced is insect infestation. This occurs because the waste is harvested on a per-cycle basis usually from three to six months. It is not being cleaned right away. It is left to accumulate to save time and effort. In effect, the smell attracts the flies and other animals.

84

According to the managers of RVM Farm, J.A. Romero Farm and Cavestany Farm, the local poultry farm’s regular customers for its litter are neighbouring farmers and compost manufacturers who pick up the wastes on a regular basis, which is usually as soon as the cycle ends. According to Axtell (2003), populations of pests such as house fly and several related species, such as cockroaches, and rodents are largely determined by the housing, waste, and flock management practices. Axtell further states that an integrated pest management approach, tailored to the different production systems, is required for satisfactory poultry pest control. A study by Dogra (2010) revealed that poultry farms are associated with high fly density and high infectious morbidity suggesting that monitoring and regulations for poultry manure management practices and insecticide use practices have to be strengthened. Based on Table 3, most of the local poultry farms have capitalizations of 1 000 000 to 3 000 000. Of these amounts, a part goes to the purchasing of the poultry, salary of personnel and basic structures such as cages. With this, it can be inferred that not all of the local poultry farms have complete facilities to handle the disposal of their solid and liquid wastes efficiently. These problems force the poultry farms to dispose of the liquid waste directly onto the ground. The liquid waste in poultry is called effluent; it refers to the water that the farm owners use to clean off the droppings of the birds. According to the manager of Bodani Farm and NVM Farm, the liquid waste of the poultry farms ismainly the water that they use after cleaning the

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cages of the poultry after the animals have been harvested. This liquid waste is mainly composed of bird droppings and chemicals that are used for cleaning. Most of the time, the liquid waste is disposed of directly onto the ground. According to Moreki and Keaikitse (2013), the lack of properly constructed drainage systems results to the waste water being disposed of on the bare ground or in constructed pits located within farms which also produced unpleasant odours. Disposal sites are often located in remote areas to avoid spreading contamination and other diseases to people. According to the managers of Jocils Farm and Jun Salazar Farm, the transportation vehicle is not readily available because even though some of the poultry farms do own a transportation vehicle, it serves another purpose, for example for the delivery of the poultry and therefore it cannot be used for the transport of the wastes. According to Moreki and Keaikitse (2013), dumping sites and/or landfills are situated far from poultry operations resulting in infrequent collection of poultry waste making it difficult for farmers to maintain hygiene on farms, thus compromising bio security. As discussed previously, the poultry farmers mainly sell the poultry litter to farmers and compost manufacturers or use it as fertilizer. The poultry litter is being collected on a per cycle basis, which is usually 3 to 6 months long. The waste is allowed to accumulate until the end of the cycle to save on time and effort. According to the local poultry farmers, it is rather inefficient to collect the waste on a per-day basis. This practice is being confirmed by Sarker (2008), who states that poultry farm owners stack their crop residue, cow dung, poultry litter

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and other bedding materials from cattle shed up to 6 months and then use it in the field as organic manure or sell it to other farmers. Sometimes, when the collection of the poultry litter gets delayed, it gives rise to unpleasant odor that could attract flies and other insects. The smell and sight of poultry waste are offensive and often become breeding ground for a variety of pests, rodents and also generate polluted runoff into water ways and to the environment (Zeeuw, 2000) The local poultry farms indicated that one of their problems in poultry waste disposal is the inadequacy of government agencies support system. According to the manager of J.A. Romero Farm, the local government occasionally visits the poultry farms to inspect them at most twice a year. The inspection is done to ascertain whether the local poultry farms are complying with environmental requirements. The poultry farms in General Santos City are issued an environment compliance certificate, the violation of which would mean the closure of the business such as in the case of a farm in Albay which spread a lot of flies which alarmed the locals because the flies could be carriers of dangerous diseases. (Philippine News Agency, 2015) As identified previously, the most prevalent problem of the local poultry farms is insect infestation which is due to the fact that the waste is allowed to accumulate and is then harvested by the end of the 3-6 month cycle. Moreover, the local poultry farms see this as a problem because the government extends support on other areas such as food safety but not much on the solid and liquid waste disposal of the local poultry farms. According to the

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press release by President Benigno Aquino III on June 2015, the Philippines has been performing very well in terms of food safety which caused the World Health Organization to accord it the highest level of recognition as a country free from the poultry and livestock diseases that attacked its neighbouring countries, the most notable of which is Foot and Mouth Diseases and Avian Influenza. However, not much was mentioned on the different ways by which the management of poultry solid and liquid waste can be improved. The local poultry farms also indicated that water contamination is also a problem for them in disposing their solid and liquid waste. As presented in Table 7, the local poultry farms practice applying liquid waste onto the land. This practice is harmful because the liquid waste could seep into the water source under the ground which could in turn contaminate it. Additionally, as presented in Table 6, the local poultry farms also practice land application of poultry solid waste. According to Williams (2012), most poultry manure and litter are applied to land near poultry production farms. Such land management of poultry byproducts brings the risk of surface and groundwater contamination from potential pollutants contained in the manure and litter. The local poultry farms indicated that budget is a problem for them in disposing their solid and liquid waste. For instance, the local poultry farms vary in the amount of capitalization and scale of operations. For the larger poultry farms, they have facilities for disposing their solid and liquid wastes whereas for the smaller ones, they lack those particular facilities. It is the smaller poultry farms who admitted to having budgetary problems in terms of their solid and liquid

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waste disposal. Budgetary problems do not exist for the poultry farms with larger operations. These budget constraints lead to the rise to all other problems such as the unavailability of transportation vehicle to disposal sites, lack of facilities/no proper construction of drainage system, and insufficient disposal space. Furthermore, the following were identified by the local poultry farms as their least prevalent problems: long distance from disposal sites, insufficient waste disposal space, foul odor, lack of farmer’s knowledge of poultry waste management and irrigation. As previously discussed in Table 6 wherein the solid waste management practices of the poultry farms were presented, according to the poultry farms, they bury their poultry litter and carcass but when insufficient space is available, they burn the poultry waste instead and because the landfills and other disposal sites are constructed far from the areas where the local poultry farms are located, they resort to selling the poultry litter or turning the poultry carcass into compost instead. As the poultry litter is being collected in a per-cycle basis, it is stored until picked up by the farmers and compost manufacturers. The smell and sight of poultry waste are offensive and often become breeding ground for a variety of pests, rodents and also generate polluted runoff into water ways and to the environment. (Zeeuw, 2000) Moreover, the local poultry farms identified irrigation and lack of farmer's knowledge of poultry waste management as dominant problems that they are facing. The local poultry farms identified irrigation as problem which refers to their lack of facilities. In these particular problems, the budgetary constraints of the

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smaller farms play a major role. The larger farms can provide proper training and guidance to its employees which is something that the smaller farms cannot readily do. As discussed previously, these budgetary constraints also result to the lack of the local poultry farms’ facilities. According to Moreki and Keaikitse(2013), the lack of properly constructed drainage systems result to the waste water being disposed of on the bare ground or in constructed pits located within farms which also produced unpleasant odours. Out of the 19 respondents, one of the poultry farms admitted to having lack of knowledge regarding poultry waste management. This could be interpreted that the farmer knows only one or two methods of poultry waste disposal. According to Adamu (2015), one of the reasons behind the dramatic rise of poultry farming is the non-dependence on educational background. Every citizen can practice the occupation, irrespective of his or her educational status. Overall, the respondents ranked insect infestation as their most prevalent problem and the lack of farmers’ knowledge and irrigation as their least prevalent problem. Insect infestation ranked first because almost all of the local poultry farms experienced this problem particularly because in poultry raising, foul odour is common and it usually attracts flies and other pests. While the lack of farmers’ knowledge and irrigation ranked last because these problems were encountered by the poultry farms with smaller operations. In these problems, budgetary constraints played a major role.

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Chapter V SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter summarized the findings of the study. Also, this presented the conclusions drawn from the results and afterwards, recommendations to the findings of the study were also presented. Summary of Findings On the Profile of the Respondents: 1. Forty seven percent of poultry farms (9 respondents) in General Santos City have been operating for five years and below while only five percent have been operating for sixteen to twenty years and another five have been operating for twenty-one years and above. 2. Majority of the respondents hired five to ten employees with the highest frequency (5 respondents) and percentage of thirty seven percent. Only five percent of the poultry farms employ eleven to fifteen employees and five percent of the poultry farms have sixteen to twenty employees. 3. Fifty percent of the poultry farms (9 respondents) had capitalizations of P1 000 000 to P3 000 000, eleven percent had less than a million capital and six percent of the poultry farms had P3 000 001 to P5 000 000. 4. Majority of the respondents (16) produced broiler at eighty four percent while sixteen percent of the poultry farms produced layers. Most of the respondents were engaged in contract farming whereby agricultural production was being carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer and farm producers.

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5. Forty two percent (8 respondents) of the poultry farms in General Santos City produced 20 001 to 50 000 heads while eleven percent produced 50 001 to 80 000 heads and another eleven percent produced 110 001 heads and above. On Waste Management and Practices: 6. On solid waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City, majority of the local poultry farms bury poultry litter and carcass with the highest weighted mean of 2.92 which was agreed by 10 out of 19 available respondents. 7. On liquid waste management practices of poultry farms in General Santos City, majority of the local poultry farms let liquid waste flow to drainage canal with the highest weighted mean of 2.68 which was agreed by 7 out of 19 available respondents. On Problems and Challenges: 8. Poultry farms in General Santos City identified insect infestation as their most prevalent problem with a frequency of 5 out of 19 respondents who answered. Conclusions The researchers concluded that majority of the local poultry farms in General Santos City were operating five years and below. These poultry farms usually had five to ten employees and mostly produced broiler chicken and majority of them were conventional poultry farms. Thus, they had the option to continue leasing or not.

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Local poultry farms in General Santos City had a minimum of one million pesos as amount of capitalization. Heads produced are usually 20,001-50,0000 which meant that local poultry growers were producing large amount of chicken which were usually being supplied to food and beverage giants in the country. Moreover, local poultry farms have identified insect infestation as the most rampant problem because in poultry raising foul odor is common and it usually attracts flies and other pests. The recommendations given by the researchers were designed to improve the waste management for both solid and liquid waste. Such items or methods were: creating their own compost pits, continuing sales of poultry litter, more frequent removal of waste, and the use of chemicals as treatment for waste to avoid contamination. Recommendations Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following were recommended: 1. Poultry farms must create compost pits to be able to reuse their poultry waste by turning them into compost fertilizer and thereby lessen the occurrence of flies and communicable diseases. 2. Poultry farms must continue selling their poultry litter to buyers to generate income and lessen the waste to be disposed within the farm area. 9. Poultry farms should remove their poultry litter more frequently instead of allowing them to accumulate first. This could be done at least once a week so that it would not attract insects or create strong foul odor.

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10. Poultry farms must use chemicals as treatment for waste to avoid contamination and to make the liquid suitable to be reused for other purposes such as water for crops. 11. From

problems

and

challenges,

poultry

farms

should

allocate

transportation equipment into disposal sites, should have a schedule for waste disposal collection, must raise concerns into government and organizations concerned, and must build a sustainable water drainage method to further avoid contaminations. 12. Poultry farms must also use settling tanks to dispose their waste. This will allow the separation of solid and liquid waste. 13. Poultry farms should regularly use vacuum extraction system to clean the chicken house. This method is more effective in waste eradication rather than manual cleaning procedure. 14. In an interview, some of the poultry workers recommended that poultry owners should also employ bio-security on their farms to avoid diseases, losses, and hazards on humans working inside the vicinity. 15. Future studies may also be conducted to analyze the relationship between waste management practices and their effects on the health of poultry farm workers and animals.

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Bibliography Adamu, T. (2015, March). Top 5 Reasons Why Poultry Farming is so Lucrative in Nigeria [Web log post]. Retrieved July, 2016, from http://mynaijanaira.com/top-5-reasons-why-poultry-farming-is-so-lucrativein-nigeria/ Adedayo, V. (2012, July 15). Poultry Waste Management Techniques in Urban Agriculture and its Implications: A Case of Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved February, 2016. Adeoye, P., Hasfalina, C., Amin, M., Thamer, A., & Akinbile, C. (2014, February 7). Environmental Implication of Poultry Waste Generation and Management Techniques in Minna, Semi-arid Region of Nigeria. Annual Research & Review in Biology. Retrieved from www.sciencedomain.org. Axtell, R.C., 1999. Poultry Integrated Pest Management: Status and Future. Integrated Management Reviews. Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, USA. Retrieved July, 2016 from http//:www.link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A%3A1009637116897 CDM Project Potential In the Poultry Waste Management Sector In Bangladesh (Rep.). (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2016, from Waste Concern website: www.wasteconcern.org/Publication/Poultry Final.pdf Christensen, E. R., (2010). Waste, Toxic. In Campton’s Encyclopedia, (Vol. 19, pp. 75-76) USA: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. Collins Jr, E. R., and Ogejo, J. A., (2009). Storing and Handling Poultry Litter. Virginia Cooperative Extension, Retrieved from http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/442/442-054/442-054.html Environmental | ElmoRietschle. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://www.gd-elmorietschle.com/article.aspx?id=9712 Garrigus, W. P., (2016). Poultry farming. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/topic/poultry-farming Generating energy from waste, including anaerobic digestion. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2016, from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/generating-energyfrom-waste-including-anaerobic-digestion 2013 Gerber, P., Opio, C., & Steinfield, H. (n.d.). Poultry in the 21st Century (Canada, Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization).

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Gyeltshen, T., (2012). Understanding village poultry systems and exploring improvement options in Denchhukha and Yoeseltse geogs, Samtse, Bhutan. Wageningen Ur, Retrieved from http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Understanding-village-poultrysystems-and-exploring-improvement-options-in-Denchhukha-andYoeseltse-geogs-Samtse-Bhutan-Tshering-Gyeltshen.htm Hatchery Flooring and Drainage. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/2506/hatchery-flooring-anddrainage/ History of chicken. (n.d.) Retrieved http://extension.psu.edu/animals/poultry/topics/general-educationalmaterial/the-chicken/history-of-the-chicken

from

How Vacuum Sewerage Systems Work - Flovac Vacuum Sewerage Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://flovac.com/how-vacuumsewerage-works/ Iranpour, R., et al., (1999, July). Environmental Engineering: Energy Value of Replacing Waste Disposal with Resource Recovery. Science, 285 (5428), Retrieved from http://science.sciencemag.org/content/285/5428/706 Jacobson, B. (2013, December). We Feed Cows Chicken Poop. Retrieved July, 2016, from http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/12/we-feedcows-chicken-poop Johnston, P. N. (2001). Poultry. In World Book Encyclopedia, (Vol. 15, pp. 720721) Chicago, NM: World Book Inc. Kafuku, S., (2012). Impact of District Agriculture Development Plans (DADPs) Chicken Improvement Programme on production, consumption and income in Southern Tanzania. Wageningen Ur, Retrieved from http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Impact-of-District-AgricultureDevelopment-Plans.htm Kelleher, B., Leahy, J., Henihan, A., O'Dwyer, A., Sutton, D., & Leahy, M. (2008). Advances in poultry litter disposal technology – a review. Bioresource Technology. Retrieved July, 2016, from www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096085240100133X. Liquid Manure Treatment Lagoons - eXtension. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://articles.extension.org/pages/13276/liquid-manuretreatment-lagoons Moreki, J., & Keaikitse, T. (2013). Poultry waste management practices in selected poultry operations around Gaborone, Botswana. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. Retrieved January, 2016.

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Naguit II, E., and Zapatero, M.J (2012). Design and contruction of methane gas collecter: mixture of Chicken manure, rice hulls as a source. Okun, D. A., (2004). Wastewater. In Encyclopedia Americana International Edition, (Vol. 28, pp. 425-428) USA: Scholastic Library Publishing Inc. Paraso, M., Espaldon, M., Alcantara, A., & Sevilla, C. (2010, December). A Survey of Waste Management Practices of Selected Swine and Poultry Farms in Laguna, Philippines. Journal of Environmental Science and Management. Retrieved February, 2016. Poultry Waste Management. (n.d.). Retrieved infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/05/04702/pwm.pdf

February,

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Sedimentation tank. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2016, from https://www.britannica.com/technology/sedimentation-tank Vandervort, D. (2012). Gauging gutters. Retrieved 2016, from http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,214030,00.html Williams, C. (2012). Poultry Development Review (United States of America, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). Retrieved July, 2016, from www.fao.org/docrep/013/al717e/al717e00.pdf

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Appendix A Survey Questionnaire General Direction: Please provide the following basic business information below. Questionnaires will be gathered soon as it is already available. Rest assured that any information supplied will be treated with the greatest confidentiality and anonymity. Part I. Profile of Poultry Farms in General Santos City.These items relate to the number of years in operation, number of employees, amount of capitalization, types of products offered, and number of poultry heads produced by the local poultry farms. General Instructions: Please put a check mark () to indicate your response for each item below. Name of the Business (Optional): _____________________________________ 1. Number of Years in Operation  5 years and below  6 to 10 years  11 to 15 years

 16 to 20 years  21 years and above

2. Number of Employees    

Less than 5 employees 5 to 10 employees 11 to 15 employees 16 to 20 employees

 21 employees and above

3. Amount of Capitalization  Less than P1 000 000  P1 000 001 to P3 000 000

 P5 000 001 to P7 000 000  P7 000 001 and above

 P3 000 001 to P5 000 000 4. Types of products offered  Layer  Broiler  Cull

 Others: _________ _________

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5. Number of Poultry Heads Produced  Less than 20 000  20 001 to 50 000  50 001 to 80 000

 80 001 to 110 000  110 001 and above

Part II. Waste Management of Poultry Farms in General Santos City.These items relate to the solid and liquid waste management practices that are employed by the local poultry farms. General Instructions: Please put a check mark () to indicate your response for each item below. Rating Scale 4

Verbal Description Highly Practiced

3

Practiced

2

Slightly Practiced

1

Not Practiced

Interpretation Waste management practices are observed at all times Waste management practices are observed Waste management practices are observed rarely Waste management practices are never observed

2.1Solid WasteManagementrefers tochicken manure, poultry litter orany garbage, refuse, sludge from a poultry farm under their operations. Determinants 1. Buryingpoultry litter and carcass 2. Collection of poultry litter and carcass by the LGU 3. Burning poultry litter and carcass 4. Openly dumping poultry litter and carcass (i.e. indiscriminate disposal of waste) 5. Storing poultry litter and manure in a compost pit 6. Selling poultry litter and manure to fish feed companies 7. Selling poultry litter and manure to compost manufacturers 8. Selling chicken litter and manure to cooking fuel companies

4

3

2

1

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9. Sellingchicken manure as fertilizerto farmers 10. Land application to enhance crop production 11. Animal re-feeding (i.e. to be used as feeds after pathogens are neutralized) 12. Using poultry litter for bio-energy production

2.2 Liquid Waste Management refers to poultry (broiler litter) or any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence in poultry farms. Determinants 1.

4

3

Letting liquid waste flow to drainage canal

2. Releasing liquid waste unto bodies of water (e.g. rivers, lakes, creeks) 3. Storing liquid waste in a waste basin 4. Using furnace to heat the waste to produce steam to run a turbine generator 5. Using an in-line composter to stabilize the waste 6.

Vacuum extraction system

7.

Using settling tanks for poultry liquid waste

8.

Utilizing treatment lagoons and ponds

9.

Applying liquid waste on to the land

10. Open Gutter Drain Method

Part III. Problems and Challenges.These itemsrefer to the difficulties poultry farms commonly encounter in their waste management practices. General Instructions: Please put a check mark () to indicate your response for each item below. Unavailability of transportation vehicle to the disposal sites Long distance from disposal sites  Delay in collection of waste and animal carcass

Lack of facilities / no proper construction of drainage system nearby  Lack of farmer’s knowledge of poultry waste management

2

1

100

 Insufficient waste disposal space

 Insect infestation Water contamination

Inadequate government agencies support system

and

Irrigation schedule Others:

 Foul odor

Trade Name

Location

Jun Salazar Poultry Farms

Purok Nopol Brgy., Conel

J.A. Romero Farms

Prk. San Vicente, Brgy. Olympog

James Ang Farm

Prk. 6, Brgy. Katangawan

Bodani Farm Farmville Poultry Farm

Purok 4, Brangay Ligaya

RVM Farm

Prk. 9, Brgy. Katangawan

Jocils Farm

Prk. 2, Brgy Ligaya

Gensan Perfect Choice, Inc.

Prk. Ngilay Brgy. Tambler

Cavestany Farm

Sitio Guadalupe, Brgy. Conel

Herana Poultry Grower

Sitio Guadalupe, Brgy. Conel

Camille Farm

Prk. 1 Extension, Brgy. Conel

Gear Foods, Inc.

Prk. Malakas, Brgy. San Isidro

NVM Poultry Farm

Purok Guadalupe, Brgy. Conel

Eco Farms

Cabuay., Brgy. Sinawal

Badi Poultry Farm

Prk. Malinawon, Brgy. Conel

Jerif Poultry Farm

Prk. San Isidro, Brgy. Baluan

Trinity Farm

National Highway, Brgy. Sinawal

MLA Agri Business

Pao-Pao, Brgy. Sinawal

Grome Poultry Farm

Sitio Udagre, Brgy. Conel

Olayer's Poultry Farm

Prk. 5, Brgy. Batomelong

101 Appendix C List of Respondents

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Appendix E Published Article Kim John Coronado, Mohammad Shane Ishmael, Xelina Blanche Relunio, Ainee Joy Villares Business College, Notre Dame of Dadiangas University Marist Avenue, General Santos City, Philippines Abstract This study determined the waste management practices of local poultry farms in General Santos City by presenting their profiles, solid and liquid waste management practices and the problems and challenges they encountered in implementing such practices. The data from the questionnaires were analyzed and interpreted using frequency, ranking, and weighted mean. The findings of the study revealed that the poultry farms in General Santos City were operating for five years and below, mostly producing broiler with capitalizations of one to three million pesos. In terms of solid waste management, the local poultry farms bury poultry litter and carcass with the highest weighted mean of 2.92. While in terms of liquid waste, the poultry farms let their liquid waste flow to drainage canal with the highest weighted mean of 2.68. Furthermore, the results showed that the poultry farms identified insect infestation as their most prevalent problem. It was recommended that poultry farms must create compost pits to be able to reuse their poultry waste by turning them into compost fertilizer and thereby lessen the occurrence of pests and communicable diseases. Keywords: Waste Management, Poultry I.

Introduction

General Santos City, the tuna capital of the republic has now become one of the most competitive capitals in the nation perhaps on the best fish and agricultural producers thereto. The production of goods, agronomic machineries, and poultry raising activities that the City of General Santos yields over the years have become sustainable and developed by thorough market planning, feasibility structures, and capital investments of international and local industry players. With the abundance of resources, General Santos City is continuously making poultry commerce a primary source of income and employment mechanism within its constituents. Although this translates to greater income and employment opportunities, it has also been implicated in environmental degradation and pollution. Intensification of animal production is concomitant to key environmental issues such as higher production of waste products such as manure and effluent. (Paraso, et al., 2010) In connection with this, many water sources in SOCSARGEN have failed in some physical, chemical, and microbiological analysis. Silway River which drains into Sarangani Bay registered a 300,000 MPN (most probable number) per 100 millilitres (ml) coli form count which is higher than “permissible limit” of 5,000 MPN per ml. Coli form count indicates presence of faecal contaminant. Firms

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engaged in activities including poultry and livestock contributed significantly in water contamination. (Dave L. Llorito; Philippine Star) This research was undertaken in probing the current status of General Santos City poultry industry grower’s waste management practices. This is an initiative helping the community for their own welfare, safety, revenue gains, and output consummation on their products and services as poultry producers in General Santos City. A deep understanding on how the government and concerned business owners push towards the positive harvests as what we expect from such city poultry production and all related waste management practices. II.

Methodology

The researchers employed the descriptive method. Descriptive research provides conclusive quantifiable information that can be used for statistical inference on poultry waste management practices through surveys. The information was gathered and collected without manipulating anything. The focal point of this study is on the extent of practice as to the solid and liquid waste management of the poultry farms in General Santos City. Furthermore, the study determined the problems and challenges encountered by the local poultry farms. The researchers used survey questionnaires and interview guides in gathering the data for the study. The data collection instrument was based on published books and online sources. This was then validated by the advisers and evaluators. The questionnaire was divided into three (3) parts. The first part contained the profile of the local poultry farms which covered the number of years in operation, number of employees, amount of capitalization, types of products offered and the number of poultry heads produced. The second part included the waste management practices of the local poultry farms in terms of their solid and liquid waste. The third part contained questions on the problems and challenges encountered by the local poultry farms in terms of their solid and liquid waste management practices. To analyze the results of the study, a statistical data treatment was used by the researchers primarily utilizing frequency, weighted mean and ranking. III. Results and Discussion Forty seven percent of poultry farms in General Santos City have been operating for five years and below while only five percent have been operating for sixteen to twenty years and another five have been operating for twenty-one years and above. Most of the local poultry farms in General Santos City are commercially supervised and monitored by chicken processing giants in the Philippines (San Miguel, Magnolia, Bounty Fresh, etc.). Due to an increasing demand of chicken meat internationally, local industry players invested chicken production to aid these conglomerates in assuring a well-managed and diversified poultry farming. Most of the respondents are non-conventional poultry farms who decided to expand their operations usually through short-term sales projection. This is done to utilize their for more progressive and productive operational activities. Furthermore, majority of the respondents hired 5 to 10 employees with the highest frequency and percentage of 37%. In contrast, only 5% of the poultry

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farms employ 11 to 15 employees and 5% of the poultry farms have 16 to 20 employees. According to a study conducted by Stevenson and Schuster in the year 2003, poultry farms relied primarily on family labor, including husband and wife, children, nieces, and nephews, and hired labor. Taking into consideration that most of the poultry farms are microenterprise, having a capital of less than Php 3 000 000, they do not require numerous workers in their daily operations. By adding excessive manpower, microenterprises will face costly situation by incurring additional expenses which are unreasonable for their nature and size. Fifty percent of the poultry farms had capitalizations of P1 000 000 to P3 000 000, eleven percent had less than a million capital and six percent of the poultry farms had P3 000 001 to P5 000 000. General Santos City is the tuna capital of the Philippines, as such, its fishing industry serves as the main domestic pride of the city thus for the local players investment in poultry is a risk. Due to this fact, local poultry farmers shell out relatively small capital in order to test the profitability of the market. Moreover, majority of the respondents produced broiler at 84% while 16% of the poultry farms produced layers. Most of the respondents are engaged in contract farming whereby agricultural production is being carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer and farm producers. Most of them are in contract with some of the leading food corporations in the Philippines. The use of contracts has become attractive to many farmers because the arrangement can offer both an assured market and access to production support. Contract farming is also of interest to buyers, who seek supplies of products for sale further along the value chain or for processing. Processors constitute the main users of contracts, as the guaranteed supply enables them to maximise utilization of their processing capacity (Eaton and Shepherd, 2001). Eight or 42% of the poultry farms in General Santos City produced 20 001 to 50 000 heads while 2 or 11% produced 50 001 to 80 000 heads and 2 or 11% produce 110 001 heads and above. This is due to the fact that the number of poultry heads that can be produced may vary on the housing capacity of the farm as well as the amount of capitalization of the poultry farm. The larger the farms is, the more poultry heads it can produce. Furthermore, majority of the local poultry farms bury poultry litter and carcass with the highest weighted mean of 2.92 which was agreed by 10 out of 19 available respondents. It is fairly common for poultry animals to catch illnesses due to changing weather patterns; in the instance that poultry animals do get sick, they are often treated with some chemicals and medicines to cure them. However, when those treatments fail, and the poultry animal dies, the best method to dispose of the fatality is to bury it underground at least six feet deep into the ground to limit the possibility of stray animals unearthing the carcass subsequently exposing it to the environment where flies and maggots can feed on it and spread diseases (Paraso, et. al, 2010). Majority of the local poultry farms let liquid waste flow to drainage canal with the highest weighted mean of 2.68 which was agreed by 7 out of 19 available respondents. Releasing liquid wastes in bodies of water, the use of vacuum extraction system and treatment lagoons and ponds are less preferred since the

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equipment and procedures are not yet available in the area or it is hazardous to the environment. Poultry farms in General Santos City has lesser or does not have liquid waste for it is only produced after the harvest from cleaning the chicken coop. Moreover, the most prevalent problem identified by the local poultry in terms of their solid and liquid waste management practices farms was insect infestation. This occurs because the waste is harvested on a per-cycle basis usually from three to six months. It is not being cleaned right away. It is left to accumulate to save time and effort. In effect, the smell attracts the flies and other animals. According to Axtell (2003), populations of pests such as house fly and several related species, such as cockroaches, and rodents are largely determined by the housing, waste, and flock management practices. A study by Dogra (2010) revealed that poultry farms are associated with high fly density and high infectious morbidity suggesting that monitoring and regulations for poultry manure management practices and insecticide use practices have to be strengthened. It is important to understand these and find out answers through systematic solutions. This research was intended to help the poultry farms in General Santos City to determine the most efficient solid and liquid waste management practice and to provide recommendations to help improve their business. IV. Conclusions and Recommendations The researchers concluded that majority of the local poultry farms in General Santos City were operating five years and below. These poultry farms usually had five to ten employees and mostly produced broiler chicken and majority of them were conventional poultry farms. These local poultry farms had a minimum of one million pesos as amount of capitalization, usually produced usually 20,001-50,000 heads. Majority of the local poultry farms bury poultry litter and carcass and let the liquid waste flow to drainage canals. Meanwhile, the local poultry farms have identified insect infestation as the most rampant problem because in poultry raising foul odor is common and it usually attracts flies and other pests. The recommendations given by the researchers were designed to improve the waste management for both solid and liquid waste. Such items or methods were: 1. Poultry farms must create compost pits to be able to reuse their poultry waste by turning them into compost fertilizer and thereby lessen the occurrence of flies and communicable diseases. 2. Poultry farms must continue selling their poultry litter to buyers to generate income and lessen the waste to be disposed within the farm area. 3. Poultry farms should remove their poultry litter more frequently instead of allowing them to accumulate first. This could be done at least once a week so that it would not attract insects or create strong foul odor. 4. Poultry farms must use organic chemicals as treatment for waste to avoid contamination and to make the liquid suitable to be reused for other purposes such as water for crops. 5. From problems and challenges, poultry farms should allocate transportation equipment into disposal sites, should have a schedule for

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6. 7. 8. 9.

waste disposal collection, must raise concerns into government and organizations concerned, and must build a sustainable water drainage method to further avoid contaminations. Poultry farms must also use settling tanks to dispose their waste. This will allow the separation of solid and liquid waste. Poultry farms should regularly use vacuum extraction system to clean the chicken house. This method is more effective in waste eradication rather than manual cleaning procedure. In an interview, some of the poultry workers recommended that poultry owners should also employ bio-security on their farms to avoid diseases, losses, and hazards on humans working inside the vicinity. Future studies may also be conducted to analyze the relationship between waste management practices and their effects on the health of poultry farm workers and animals.

References Axtell, R.C., 2003. Poultry Integrated Pest Management: Status and Future. Integrated Management Reviews. Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, USA. Retrieved July, 2016 Dogra, V. And Aggar wal, A.K. 2010. Association of poultry farms with housefly and morbidity: A comparative study from Raipur Rani, Hyarna. Indian Commun. Med. 35(4):473-477 Paraso, M., Espaldon, M., Alcantara, A., & Sevilla, C. (2010, December). A Survey of Waste Management Practices of Selected Swine and Poultry Farms in Laguna, Philippines. Journal of Environmental Science and Management. Retrieved February, 2016. Moreki, J., & Keaikitse, T. (2013). Poultry waste management practices in selected poultry operations around Gaborone, Botswana. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. Retrieved January, 2016.

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Appendix F Documentation

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Appendix G Curriculum Vitae

Personal Information: Name:

Kim John Pitalgo Coronado

Date of Birth:

March 9, 1991

Place of Birth:

Polomolok, South Cotabato

Age:

25

Gender:

Male

Permanent Address:

Mars St., Sanchez Subdivision, Polomolok, South Cotabato

Father’s Name:

Reynaldo Coronado (Deceased)

Mother’s Name:

Cresencia E. Coronado (Guardian)

Educational Background: Tertiary

Notre Dame of Dadiangas University Marist Avenue, General Santos City 2013 – Present Ateneo de Davao University E. Jacinto St., Davao City 2007-2012

Secondary

San Lorenzo Academy of Polomolok Valencia Site, Polomolok, South Cotabato 2003-2007 (With Honors)

Primary

Polomolok Central Elementary School Barangay Poblacion, Polomolok, South Cotabato 1996-2002 (First Honors)

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Personal Information Name:

Mohammad Shane Ishmael

Date of Birth:

April 04, 1995

Place of Birth:

General Santos City

Age:

21

Gender:

Male

Permanent Address:

Barangay Banisil, Tambler, General Santos City

Father’s Name:

Datu Yahiya B. Ishmael

Mother’s Name:

Mildred C. Ishmael

Educational Background: Tertiary:

Notre Dame of Dadiangas University Marist Avenue, General Santos City 2014-Present Mindanao State University Tambler, General Santos City 2011- 2013

Secondary:

Mindanao State University-College of Education Training Department J.P. Laurel Avenue, General Santos City 2007-2011

Primary:

Banisil Elementary School Barangay Banisil, Tambler, General Santos City 2001-2006 Valedictorian

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Personal Information: Name:

Xelina Blanché Azucena Relunio

Date of Birth:

November 16, 1994

Place of Birth:

General Santos City, South Cotabato

Age:

21

Gender:

Female

Permanent Address:

24 Laurel St., Cor. Quirino Ave., Brgy. East, General Santos City

Father’s Name:

Dante P. Relunio

Mother’s Name:

Ivy A. Relunio

Educational Background: Tertiary

Notre Dame of Dadiangas University Marist Avenue, General Santos City 2013 – Present Mindanao State University Tambler, General Santos City 2011- 2013

Secondary

Mindanao State University - CETD Pres. Jose P. Laurel Ave., General Santos City, 2007-2011 (Academic Achiever)

Primary

Dadiangas West Central Elementary School Magsaysay Ave., General Santos City 2000-2007 (With Honors)

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Personal Information: Name:

Ainee Joy S. Villares

Date of Birth:

January 10, 1995

Age:

21

Gender:

Female

Permanent Address:

Bagacay, Alabel Sarangani Province

Father’s Name:

Victorino C. Villares

Mother’s Name:

Josephine G. Sabalde

Educational Background: Tertiary:

Notre Dame of Dadiangas University Marist Avenue, General Santos City 2013-Present Ateneo de Zamboanga University La Purisima, Zamboanga City 2011-2013

Secondary:

Alabel National Science High School Regional Science High School for Region XII Maribulan, Alabel Sarangani Province 2007-2011

Primary:

Alabel Central SPED Center Poblacion Alabel Sarangani Province 2007