Comparative Analysis of Poultry Feed Ingredient Preferences in ITOGON and TUBA Municipalities: A Cross-Sectional Survey

This cross-sectional comparative survey examined poultry feed ingredient preferences among smallholder farmers in the mountainous municipalities of Itogon and Tuba, Benguet, Philippines. Seventy farmers (n = 35 per municipality) completed structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions; field observations supplemented self-report data. Descriptive analyses identified ten commonly used ingredients, with corn (75.7% overall), banana peel (54.3%), and rice bran (48.6%) being the most dominant in feed formulations. Farmers used an average of 3.26 ingredients in Itogon and 3.66 in Tuba. Comparative inferential tests (chi-square of independence: x2(9) =11.65, p=0.234 ; independent samples t-test: t (18) = -0.38, p = 0.707, found no statistically significant association between ingredient preferences and municipality. Effect sizes were small to negligible (Cramér’s V = 0.2194; Cohen’s d = -0.1803), and the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference ([-8.21, 5.41]) included zero. Notable local differences—higher adoption of earthworms/insects in Tuba (42.9% vs. 17.1% in Itogon) and greater rice bran use in Itogon (57.1% vs. 40.0% in Tuba)—did not translate into overall significant divergence. Findings indicate broadly similar feed ingredient landscapes across the two municipalities, driven by availability, affordability, and established local practices, and suggest that a unified set of extension recommendations emphasizing optimized use of locally available ingredients (including safe incorporation of agricultural byproducts and alternative protein sources) may be appropriate. Limitations include cross-sectional design, modest sample size, reliance on self-report, and absence of nutritional analyses of formulated diets. Future research should use longitudinal, larger-scale, and mixed methods approaches and include nutritional and economic assessments to inform resilient, context-appropriate feed formulation and extension strategies.