THE FORUM

Study on 'darag' chickens receives 2 best paper citations

Christopher M. Millora

Former West Visayas State University Director of Research, Dr. Crisanto S. Lopez Jr. hits two birds with one

stone when his study on 'darag' chickens won a Best Paper and a 2 nd Best Paper award in two different

competitions.

Aptly titled “Assessment of the Naturally-Occuring Feed Resources Available to Free-Range 'Darag' Chickens in

Region VI”, Lopez' research bested other participants from Regions VI, VII and VIII after winning the Best Paper

Award during the 2007 Philippine Society for Animal Science Scientific Convention, Visayas State University,

Baybay City, Leyte, August 16-18.

Moreover, the same study also received a 2nd Best Paper Award during the Western Visayas Agriculture

Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) – Regional Symposium where it won over

other entries coming from various member schools in Region VI. The consortium was held at Aklan State

University, August 22-23.

The paper aimed to asses the naturally-occuring feed resources available to indigenous 'darag', or commonly

known as 'native' chickens, for improved production. According to Lopez, the demand on native chicken is so

high that there is a need to concentrate on the production techniques of these chicken to meet the rising demand

of the commodity.

When asked about his edge against the other participants in the competitions, he said, “I put my heart into what I

am doing, paying particular attention to all the rudiments of the study.” It took one year for Lopez to complete the

multi-awarded paper.

Lopez is presently a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and a teacher at the College of Education

Graduate School.