BAYBAY CITY, Leyte – Twenty-six farmers and agricultural extension workers from Samar participated in the five-day Training of Trainers (TOT) on Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP)-Anchored Native Cattle Production and Management held February 9–13, 2026 at the CCE Building, VSU Campus. The training aimed to equip participants to become effective trainers and resource persons in promoting GAHP for native cattle.
Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP) is a certification program of the Department of Agriculture that promotes food safety, animal welfare, farm biosecurity, proper waste management, and responsible use of veterinary drugs. In the Philippines, GAHP serves as a benchmark for ensuring that livestock and poultry products are safe, traceable, and produced in accordance with national standards. For the native cattle industry, GAHP plays a vital role in improving herd productivity, reducing disease risks, and increasing market competitiveness for smallholder raisers.
Sessions covered the regional cattle industry situation, breed identification, GAHP certification requirements, record-keeping, biosecurity, nutrition, breeding, and pest and disease management. Participants also engaged in hands-on activities, including UMMB and silage making, proper animal identification, veterinary drug administration, and safe restraining techniques. The activity was CPD-accredited, granting 11 units to licensed agriculturists.
As an Agricultural Technician in Allen, Northern Samar, Ana May Gubat expressed her gratitude for being a part of the training. For her, the knowledge she gained will be a great help to the farmers who are beneficiaries of the CFIDP program. “We are all blessed to have attended this training. May we also be blessings to others as well.”
By the end of the training, participants expressed readiness to promote safer, more sustainable, and more productive native cattle production systems in Samar. With this, ATI-RTC 8 underscores that empowering local trainers is key to strengthening the region’s livestock sector, ensuring that good animal husbandry practices are not only understood in theory but applied consistently on the ground.
