• Headlines
  • City/Region News
    • Covid-19 Advisory and Updates
    • Baguio City
    • CAR
    • Nation
  • Sectoral news
    • Elections
      • Elections – 2022
      • Elections – 2019
    • Agriculture, Fishery and Pets
    • Business and Livelihood
    • Education, Arts & Culture
    • Environment and Disaster Management
    • Science, Health, and Welfare
      • covid-19 advisory and updates
    • Tourism, travel and Events
    • Other Lifestyle
    • Police Beat
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Timek Ti Umili
  • Sports
    • Sports (Home)
    • Sports (Special Feature)
  • Other sections
    • Features
    • Photos/Videos
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Words for reflection
    • Sponsored articles
    • Jobs in Baguio
    • Elections
  • Ads & Notices
    • Obituaries
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Directory
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Contact Us
HERALD EXPRESS | News in Cordillera and Northern Luzon
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Headlines
  • City/Region News
    • Covid-19 Advisory and Updates
    • Baguio City
    • CAR
    • Nation
  • Sectoral news
    • Elections
      • Elections – 2022
      • Elections – 2019
    • Agriculture, Fishery and Pets
    • Business and Livelihood
    • Education, Arts & Culture
    • Environment and Disaster Management
    • Science, Health, and Welfare
      • covid-19 advisory and updates
    • Tourism, travel and Events
    • Other Lifestyle
    • Police Beat
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Timek Ti Umili
  • Sports
    • Sports (Home)
    • Sports (Special Feature)
  • Other sections
    • Features
    • Photos/Videos
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Words for reflection
    • Sponsored articles
    • Jobs in Baguio
    • Elections
  • Ads & Notices
    • Obituaries
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Directory
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Headlines
  • City/Region News
    • Covid-19 Advisory and Updates
    • Baguio City
    • CAR
    • Nation
  • Sectoral news
    • Elections
      • Elections – 2022
      • Elections – 2019
    • Agriculture, Fishery and Pets
    • Business and Livelihood
    • Education, Arts & Culture
    • Environment and Disaster Management
    • Science, Health, and Welfare
      • covid-19 advisory and updates
    • Tourism, travel and Events
    • Other Lifestyle
    • Police Beat
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Timek Ti Umili
  • Sports
    • Sports (Home)
    • Sports (Special Feature)
  • Other sections
    • Features
    • Photos/Videos
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Words for reflection
    • Sponsored articles
    • Jobs in Baguio
    • Elections
  • Ads & Notices
    • Obituaries
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Directory
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
HERALD EXPRESS | News in Cordillera and Northern Luzon
No Result
View All Result
Home Agriculture, Fishery and Pets

Am-Iyoung’s yuyu farm: Preserving heritage, one yuyu at a time

--- by ---
February 4, 2023
in Agriculture, Fishery and Pets
Reading Time: 4 mins read
6 0
0
More rice farmers use RCM to increase production
3
SHARES
33
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

To protect the rich cultural heritage of the rice terraces in Ifugao, a group of young farmers is trying to revive the production of Japanese loach in their community.

Recently, there has been an increasing demand for Japanese loach, locally known as “yuyu,” in the town of Am-iyong in Hungduan, Ifugao. Responding to this call, the team of Josephine Guimangal, Lovely Joy Paddapad, and John Mark Daping established a business they coined “Am-Iyoung’s Yuyu Farm,” which was also their entry for the Young Farmers’ Challenge (YFC) 2022 competition of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The trademark name “Am-Iyoung” is a wordplay of “Am-iyong” and “young,” which means “young farmers of yuyu from Am-iyong.” The trio touts the enterprise as “the one and only yuyu project in the province,” which aims to produce sustainable and organic yuyu for consumption and propagation. 

RelatedPosts

Benguet cold chain facility upgraded to boost agricultural productivity

Fisherfolks in Bontoc receive tilapia fingerlings

PhilGAP inspects 46 farms in Mankayan, Benguet

“We chose yuyu as our enterprise to bring back the extinct yuyu in our municipality and to address the high demands for yuyu fingerlings. [The enterprise] also aims to increase the productivity and income of rice farmers,” Guimangal said.

Yuyu has become an important part of indigenous rice farming and aquaculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region. Also known as jojo, panispis, or pikaw in some places, it has become notably abundant after the Japanese occupation and has become a major source of fish protein in the region, particularly in many areas beyond the reach of fresh fish from the coasts.

This freshwater fish prefers muddy substrates and a subtropical climate (between 5 and 25°C). Therefore, it is no surprise that yuyu has found an ideal home in the rice terraces of the Cordilleras and has been practically a carefree aquaculture species, fully integrated with the organic farming practices in the region over several decades.

“Since yuyu is purely organic, we also use organic materials, such as weeds, as their feeds. We also employ traditional methods of harvesting such as fish traps. This way, it won’t hurt the yuyu, the farm, and the biodiversity—unlike using electric shocks or poison,” Guimangal explained.

However, the introduction of some freshwater species and some changes in farming practices are believed to have contributed much to the decline and seem to threaten the survival of these fishes in the rice fields.

The team’s efforts to restore yuyu, coupled with their one-of-a-kind business model canvas (BMC), helped them bag the YFC National Level Competition championship, making them one of the 12 Outstanding Youth Agribusiness Models in the Philippines. They received the award during the 2nd National Young Farmers Summit and Awarding Ceremony last December 15, 2022, at Laoag City in Ilocos Norte.

“We feel blessed and honored. Of all the contenders, our enterprise was chosen to be one of the winners,” Guimangal expressed.

Despite their efforts, Guimangal admitted that the scarcity of yuyu is still their problem. When they were starting to establish their business, they needed to go to other municipalities just to order yuyu fingerlings.

“It’s really an effort because we need to wait for the yuyu suppliers to produce the number of fingerlings that we are asking,” Guimangal narrated.

“After the implementation [of the project], we also had a problem with the water source that is always being cut off. That’s why we always make sure that there is a continuous flow of water,” Guimangal added.

Regardless, the farming of yuyu for them is easy since the practice has been passed down to them by their elders. 

“Back then, our parents would just leave and let the yuyu propagate in the rice fields. What we are trying to do now is to use a dedicated land as cultivation site. In that way, we can closely monitor and take care of the yuyu fingerlings,” Guimangal described.

Ifugao’s municipality of Hungduan is a tourist site. Besides Banaue, they are also famous for their scenic and sprawling rice terraces. With this, the team envisions making their yuyu farm an agri-tourism site where the visitors could experience catching yuyu.

“Through this, we can increase the income of the municipality and food establishment owners within the municipality by attracting tourists who want to taste and purchase yuyu, and those who want to experience catching yuyu the traditional way,” Guimangal said.

With the P100,000 grant from YFC provincial-level competition, plus an additional P30,000 out of their pockets, they were able to convert a 200-square meter idle land into a propagation site that houses around 500 to 700 fingerlings. Likewise, they also received P150,000 during the regional-level competition.

Now, with the additional P300,000 grant from YFC national competition, the team plans to expand their enterprise to meet the constant demands of yuyu fingerlings in the community.

Through this competition, the team received a total financial grant of P550,000.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We will expand our farm into a yuyu breeding site, purchase needed materials—like incubators—in order to sustain our yuyu farm and increase our production, and sell it to those who want to propagate yuyu for their own consumption and as a source of income for the future,” Guimangal said.

Ultimately, they are encouraging other aspiring young agri-preneurs to be persistent in achieving their goals for the success of their business.

“We must focus on our goals. Determine what would be the problems of our business and find a solution as soon as possible. It may not be easy in the beginning, but soon we’ll learn how to grow the business,” Guimangal said.

Through the years, there have been some efforts by the government to ramp up the production of yuyu. During the first Yuyu Congress in 2008, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Ifugao allocated some P300,000 for yuyu production projects. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources–Cordillera (BFAR-CAR), on the other hand, granted the province P200,000 for the establishment of a loach hatchery.

Likewise, BFAR-CAR, with funding from Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan 2), is currently building a hatchery and training center for yuyu production in Mayoyao, Ifugao. With the project, about 300 to 350 fisherfolks in Mayoyao and its neighboring towns will be trained with loach breeding to achieve a projected annual production of 500,000 to 1 million fingerlings. The construction of the said facility began in 2021.

With a steep market price of P1,400 per kilo, these initiatives would make yuyu affordable to everyone, while at the same time, preserving Ifugao’s rich culture and tradition. By JBPeralta

Share1Tweet1Send
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Baguio ready for 26th edition of Panagbenga

Next Post

LTO to implements e-TOP in cordillera

---

---

Related Posts

Benguet cold chain facility upgraded to boost agricultural productivity

Benguet cold chain facility upgraded to boost agricultural productivity

by Press Release
March 28, 2023
0

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The provincial government and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) inaugurated the upgraded Benguet Cold...

FRONT PAGE PHOTOS – 2020

Fisherfolks in Bontoc receive tilapia fingerlings

by Christy Mae Che-es
March 27, 2023
0

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Five fisherfolks received a total of 4,000 Tilapia fingerlings and 44 sacks of feeds from the...

Backyard garden contest in city launched

PhilGAP inspects 46 farms in Mankayan, Benguet

by ---
March 26, 2023
0

MANKAYAN, Benguet – The Philippine Good Agricultural Practices (PhilGAP) inspection team composed of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region, Bureau...

Next Post
LTO-CAR lauds LGUs support to road safety awareness campaign

LTO to implements e-TOP in cordillera

PDIC QMS on core processes recertified to ISO 9001: 2015 standards

PDIC starts deposit insurance payments to depositors of the closed Rural Bank of San Agustin (Isabela), Inc.

Bike riders required to use reflectorized vests

Motorists urged to update registration status of vehicles

ADVERTISEMENT

Recent News

Over 300 kilos of shabu seized in Baguio City

Over 300 kilos of shabu seized in Baguio City

March 29, 2023
Top performing medical technology examinees cited

Cayetano, DSWD provide livelihood, medical assistance to Gawad Kalinga communities in Nueva Ecija

March 29, 2023
WAR ON DRUGS PUSHED

PH must learn from history, geopolitics to avoid conflict – Cayetano

March 29, 2023
DILG Cites 22 LGUs in Ilocos Region for Anti-illegal Drug Initiatives

DILG renews call for continued suspension of E-Sabong in Cordi

March 29, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
HERALD EXPRESS | News in Cordillera and Northern Luzon

Herald Express is a news organization based in Baguio City that has a weekly publication and an online news portal. The newspaper is circulated in the different provinces of Northern Luzon. The name of the fastest-growing publication in town is coined from the word ‘quick messenger’ which is self-explanatory.

Follow Us

Search

No Result
View All Result
  • Headlines
  • City/Region News
  • Sectoral news
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Other sections
  • Ads & Notices
  • About Us

© 2022 Baguio Herald Express - Website Design by Neitiviti Studios.

No Result
View All Result
  • Headlines
  • City/Region News
    • Covid-19 Advisory and Updates
    • Baguio City
    • CAR
    • Nation
  • Sectoral news
    • Elections
      • Elections – 2022
      • Elections – 2019
    • Agriculture, Fishery and Pets
    • Business and Livelihood
    • Education, Arts & Culture
    • Environment and Disaster Management
    • Science, Health, and Welfare
      • covid-19 advisory and updates
    • Tourism, travel and Events
    • Other Lifestyle
    • Police Beat
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Timek Ti Umili
  • Sports
    • Sports (Home)
    • Sports (Special Feature)
  • Other sections
    • Features
    • Photos/Videos
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Words for reflection
    • Sponsored articles
    • Jobs in Baguio
    • Elections
  • Ads & Notices
    • Obituaries
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Directory
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Contact Us

© 2022 Baguio Herald Express - Website Design by Neitiviti Studios.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Add New Playlist