STO NINO, Cagayan— Life still finds a way to win — and in the typhoon-battered towns of Abulug, Alcala, Penablanca and Sto. Nino, it came on four legs.

The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office No. 02 (DA-RFO2), under its Typhoon Rehabilitation Program, distributed 70 heads of upgraded ewes to small livestock farmers whose livelihoods were wiped out by the successive onslaught of Typhoons Julian, Nika, Kristine, Leon and Pepito. The distribution, held this week in separate turnovers across the four municipalities, aims to restore livestock assets and provide a sustainable source of income for affected families.

According to DA-RFO2, the beneficiaries are members of registered farmers’ cooperatives and associations in Cagayan who lost small ruminants and other farm animals during the series of typhoons that submerged low-lying barangays, destroyed pastures, and swept away animal sheds from October to November last year.

The farmer-beneficiaries received upgraded ewes, a cross between native and Dorper breeds , known for faster growth, higher meat yield, and better resilience to local conditions. The package also includes initial veterinary support, deworming, vitamins, and technical guidance on small ruminant management. “These are not just sheep. These are hope,” said Ferdinand Arquero livestock program distribution team leader during the turnover in Sto Nino. “After the typhoons, many farmers told us they lost everything: crops, houses, animals. We want them to start again with something that multiplies. One ewe today can be a flock tomorrow.”

In Alcala and Sto. Nino, where floodwaters from the Cagayan River stayed for days, farmers said livestock was their first casualty. “Nauna naanod ang mga kambing namin bago ang palay,” shared one farmer from Sto Nino. “Mahirap magsimula ulit, pero kung may inahin ka, may pangarap ka ulit.”

The rehabilitation program prioritizes farmer-recipients who have existing forage areas, have undergone the DA’s livestock training, and are willing to adopt the “roll-over” scheme where the first offspring will be passed on to another typhoon-affected farmer in the community.

In Tamucco, Sto. Nino, PCapt Marlo Danao brought the problems of the farmer beneficiaries to Engr. Rosalie S. Tomaneng, who also sought assistance of the Livestock Program of DA RFO2. The area, newly cleared from insurgency has been recipient of many government interventions . Provincial and municipal agriculture offices, together with the Local Government Units, will monitor the health and reproduction of the distributed animals to ensure sustainability.

For the DA, the project is more than rehabilitation, it is resilience. “Typhoons Julian to Pepito took a lot from our Cagayano farmers, but we saw that they are like that seedling in the crack, they still find a way to grow,” he added. “Our duty is to give them the little crack of sunlight they need.”

The 70 upgraded ewes are expected to double in population within a year, seeding a new cycle of livestock production in northern Cagayan and proving once again that even after the strongest storms, life with a little help, still wins.

via Dr. Ferdinand Cortez