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INTEGRATED LIVESTOCK-FISH PRODUCTION
SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES

In the 1970's local researchers have

experimentally demonstrated that there is a
decidedly higher economic benefit from the
integration of livestock and fish production
systems than from specialized livestock or fish
farming only. Still, in spite of the relatively
well-developed poultry and swine industries
and fairly-developed inland aquaculture in the
country, integrated livestock-fish production
system has so far been rarely practised in the
Philippines either among smallholder or large
commercial farming operations.
Among the agri-business enterprises in
the Philippines that have established
fishponds to integrate livestock and fish
production systems are the Maya Farms
and Yaptenco Farm each representing a
different approach to integration. The
Maya Farms utilizes livestock manure for
biogas generation and then applying the
liquid sludge as fertilizer for its
fishponds. On the other hand, the
Yaptenco Farm allows the raw pig manure
to flow directly into the fishponds. These
two farms have, so far shown to
Research and Extension
Researchers at the Central Luzon State
University conducted studies to determine the
fish yields in ponds directly manured by pigs
and ducks at different livestock-fish stocking
rates (Hopkins and Cruz, 1982). They have
shown that in pig-fish, or duck-fish
integration, significant increase in fish yield
over two successive 90-day cropping periods
could be obtained. Considering the amount of
dissolved oxygen that were observed in the
pond after the second 90-day growing period,
the authors concluded that the optimum
stocking rate was 60–20,000 for the pig-fish
combination and 750 – 20,000 for the duck-
Because of the nature of the production
system in livestock-fish farming,
apprehensions about public health
hazards have sometimes been raised
particularly when incidence of diseases
or death due to eating of fish from
contaminated waters were reported.
Velasquez (1980) reviewed evidences of
potential public health hazards from
some organisms that are borne by both
livestock and fish particularly in a mixed
or combined livestock-fish farming
system.
These diseases include those arising
from bacterial infection such as
erysipelas, leptospirosis salmonellosis;
protozoal infections such as amoebiasis;
helminth infections such as
schistosomiasis and heterophydiasis;
and nematode infections such as ascaris
and angiostrogyliasis. In this review, the
author noted that the farmers'
responsibility in maintaining sanitation
and hygiene cannot be overlooked and
strong government regulations
regarding health measures are required.
In the meantime, she recommended
that further study on the disposal of
human and animal wastes, use of
treated manure as fertilizer or animal
feed to fish, immunization and public
health education should be further
studied in relation to the integration of
livestock and fish production systems.
Commercial Pig-Fish Production System
Model: Yaptenco Farm
Located near the UPLB campus, the Yaptenco
Farm occupies a two-hectare land with an
irrigation canal beside the property. While its
design was patterned after the CLSU
livestock-fish polyculture model, two
important operational modifications were
incorporated. The first modification is the
provision of controlled but continuously
flowing water into the pond. By tapping water
from a nearby irrigation canal and
construction of a network of distribution and
drainage canals, good water quality in the
ponds is maintained even with a higher fish
The second modification is the transfer of the
male fish from the manured ponds at two
months old and growing them in non-
manured ponds during the last 30 days of
growing. This operation, while requiring
additional labour, serves two purposes: it
allows more space for the fish to grow to the
desired market size of 200 to 300 grams and
removes the objectionable odour and taste of
fish which is often characteristic of those
grown in manured ponds. Dr. Yaptenco notes
that even with the additional cost of
transferring of the fish and addition of
commercial fertilizers to non-manured ponds,
it is worthy because he is able to market
With only about one meter deep of
water in the pond, Dr. Yaptenco claims
that he is able to stock up to about 80
fattening pigs and 50,000 fish per
hectare per 90-day cropping. At this
stocking rate and with the current price
of 72 pesos per kilo for pork and 62
pesos per kilo for tilapia, Dr. Yaptenco
claims to be making good profit out of
his operation.
Integrated pig-fish production system:
Yaptenco model.
Commercial Livestock-Biogas-Fish
Production System Model: Maya Farms
Maya Farms is a large integrated farm
located some 40 km from the city of
Manila. It maintains some 60,000 pigs,
120,000 egg-type chickens and a few
hundred heads of cattle. Soon after the
oil embargo in 1973, Maya Farms
started experimenting on the industrial
uses of biogas generated from the
manure produced by their livestock.
It developed systems that enabled the farm to
use methane gas from the manure as
substitute for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
and as source of energy to run internal
combustion engines that power its deep-well
water pumps, feed-mixers and generators
and some other electric equipment in the
farm. With its success in the efficient
generation of biogas, in 1982 Maya Farms cut
off its electrical connection from the Manila
Electric Company and has since been running
the farm on self-generated power thus saving
millions of pesos annually on electric bills.
Integrated livestock-biogas-fish
production system: Maya farms model.
1. What is the Name of Farm?______________
2. Who is the Owner of the Farm?___________
3. Where it be found?_____________________
4. What is its area?_______________________
5. What is designed of the farm? Or where is
it patterned?___________________________
6. What is its two important operational
modification?
a.____________________________________
b.___________________________________
7. What is its purpose?