by Manny F. Piñol / August 15, 2007

Farmers from North Cotabato will show off their best goats as they participate in the Kadayawan Festival display of Mindanao's best agricultural products at the SM Davao Grounds in Ecoland, Matina, Davao City.

Led by Vice Governor Manny Pinol, one of the country's top breeders of the famed Boer Goats, the North Cotabato delegation will also include Vice Mayor Vicente Doletin of Midsayap who breeds Anglo-Nubians and Pigcawayan Councilor Greg Saljay, Jr. who also breeds Anglo-Nubians and Boers.

Vice Governor Pinol, who owns the Braveheart Farms in Kidapawan City, started breeding Boer Goats in 2003 as a hobby. Today, he has nearly 200 heads of fullblood Boers, at least 50 of which as imported breeding stocks.

Boers originate from South Africa and are considered to be the best meat goats in the world today. They are extensively bred in the US, Australia and New Zealand where periodic shows are held to identify the best goats in different categories.

In the last National Goat and Sheep Congress of the Philippines (NGSCP) goat show in Cagayan de Oro in March this year, Vice Governor Pinol's goats won all of the four categories -- Best Buck, Best Doe, Best Junior Buck and Best Junior Doe.

The winner of the Best Buck plum, a goat named 70 Rocky is now being extensively bred in the Braveheart Farms and is valued at P300,000. His younger brother, Rawhide Riggin who at 14 months old weighs 100 kilos, will be displayed during the Kadayawan Festival.

The winner of the Best Doe category, BHF Vina, will also be shown during the Kadayawan Festival along with at least 6 other fullblood or pure Boer goats bred by Vice Governor Pinol.

Vice Mayor Doletin and Councilor Saljay will also display Ango-nubians which are actually milk goats.

The Province of North Cotabato has embarked on an aggressive small ruminants program distributing breeder goats to farmers to improve their level of income from their farms.

Under Governor Jesus N. Sacdalan and Vice Governor Pinol, North Cotabato hopes to increase its goat population to over 1 million heads to surpass the human population of the province.