From ruins to resilience: A young farmer thrives to meet half of Dinagat Islands’ egg demand
By Renelle L. Escuadro
After Super Typhoon Odette wiped out his poultry farm in 2021, Jonnel Alingco from Cagdianao town of Dinagat Islands rose from the setback. With the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) under the Upscale Category where he won P300,000 in funding, he rebuilt his egg-laying business, leveraging the demand on fresh and affordable eggs in the province and inspiring more youth to choose agriculture.
Alingco, owner of RL Layer Poultry, shared his entrepreneurial journey that started in 2021 when his interest in poultry farming began as he felt compassion to Dinagatnons who had to buy eggs in the market with prices thrice or more against their regular price because the province’s egg supply was dependent on importation from mainland Surigao and nearby areas. “I saw how hard it was for the Dinagatnons to buy expensive eggs in the market for consumption. This motivated me to dream and venture my own egg-laying enterprise to address this challenge.”
In the same year, he was inspired to join the DA’s accolade on YFC where he won P50,000 and used the fund to build his own poultry farm to help his family. However, months later, the super typhoon destroyed his poultry farm.
“Ang epekto ng STY Odette ay sapat na dahilan para tumigil ako sa pagtugon sa tawag ng buhay sa pagmamanok dahil hindi ito madalli. Pero para sa lupang bumubuhay sa atin, sa mga kabataang may pangarap na tulad ko, at sa kinabukasan ng ating bayan at sa islang aking sinilangan, hindi ko eto titigilan, magpapatuloy ako,” Alingco said as he manifested resilience in this endeavor.
(The effect of STY Odette was enough to end my dream of having my own poultry farm because it is not easy. But, my passion in the farm that feeds us, for the youth like me who has an ambition to have a better life, and to contribute to nation-building and the development of my island province, I decided not to stop and frail, but rather to continue).
Fueled by grit, he documented the damage to his farm and reported them to DA Caraga, hopeful that the government would give support to his enterprise to recover from the disaster.
Serving as fortitude in the most challenging time, DA Caraga under the Quick Response Fund, through the Agricultural Program Coordinating Office – Province of Dinagat Islands (APCO-PDI), it delivered 96 heads of ready-to-lay (RTL) chickens and cages to the farm of Alingco that brought hope and allowed him to recover his business.
By 2022, his flock grew to over 500 heads that paved the way for Alingo to supply eggs locally to wholesalers, bakeries, stores and direct consumers. He also learned new techniques to improve his egg-layering through research, training and seeking assistance from the experts. He also made natural concoctions for supplements of the chickens and as disinfectant in his poultry farm, cutting the cost of his business operation.
Today, RL Layer Poultry has 300 laying chickens and 207 RTL chickens. According to Alingco, the 300 heads alone can provide his family 87 to 90 percent production rate or an average net income of minimum of P20,000 monthly.
Meanwhile, to improve and expand the location of his farm, Alingco represented the town of Cagdianao during the ‘Anyag and Garbo sa Dinagat Islands 2024’, which meant beauty and pride, under the farmers and fishery sector where he won as Garbo nan Dinagat Islands. “Ang aking pagkapanalo ay nagbigay pagkakaton para makahingi ng backhoe assistance mula sa lokal na pamahalaan para sa hard filling sa lupa ng aking manokan at para mapaayos eto. (My victory in the competition allowed me to request assistance from the local government for backhoe assistance to provide hard filling to improve and expand the location of my poultry farm).”
In 2025, believing in second chances, he again joined the Young Farmers Challenge under the Upscale Category and won P300,000 at the regional level, allowing Alingco and his family to add 1,000 chickens.
He is also hopeful to win the national competition of the Young Farmers Challenge with P500,000 funding. This will allow his poultry farm to have an additional 2,000 heads, realizing their next goal of raising 5,000 hens to supply half of Dinagat Islands’ egg needs. This growth will ensure sustainable local supply of fresh and affordable eggs in Dinagat Islands, contributing to national food security and motivating the youth to take part in shaping the province’s agricultural future. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands with a report from DA Caraga)
