The high cost of producing animal feed is not just a burden on farmers and feed millers—it also affects Filipinos’ everyday lives.

Soybean meal, one of the main protein sources of animal feed, remains limited and predominantly imported in the country. Despite this challenge, local business owners remain determined to offer affordable and high-quality products to feed millers and farmers to support local agriculture. Among them is Judit Alday-Mangmang, business development head of the Batangas Egg Producers Multipurpose Cooperative (BEPCO).

BEPCO is based in San Jose, Batangas, also known as the “Egg Basket of the Philippines.” The cooperative supports 56 farmers, feed miller-members, and associate members, all of whom are crucial to meeting the country’s growing demand for eggs.

In 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that each Filipino consumed an average of 85 pieces of chicken eggs per year. The estimated total consumption in the country in 2018 was .93 billion kilograms of chicken eggs. In 2025, it is estimated to have risen to 1.42 billion kilograms and is predicted to be at 1.88 billion kilograms by 2030.

Technology transfer of the Protein Enriched Copra Meal

To meet these rising demands, BEPCO partnered with the UPLB National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) to adopt the Protein Enriched Copra Meal (PECM) technology.

PECM is an alternative to soybean meal in livestock and aquaculture diets. According to studies conducted by BIOTECH, it offers a more sustainable source of protein in feeds. Research and development on PECM started more than a decade and a half ago at BIOTECH in 2008, led by Dr. Laura J. Pham and her husband, Dr. Pham Binh Chay.

The technology was developed and commercialized through vital support from government funding agencies, including the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). DOST-PCAARRD funded PECM’s research and development and supported the establishment of its Bioprocessing Plant at BIOTECH. PECM’s commercialization, meanwhile, was initiated and supported by the Department of Agriculture’s National Livestock Program (DA-NLP).

DOST-PCAARRD-UPLB BIOTECH Bioprocessing Plant for PECM.

According to Mangmang, the idea of adopting PECM for their cooperative emerged from the global logistic supply failure experienced by the industry in 2020 as they sought to find a cheaper alternative source of protein for feeds. PECM technology ticks all their boxes since it uses byproducts of coconut oil extraction as well as local resources.

In August 2023, UPLB licensed PECM to BEPCO and Sta. Catalina Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Pres. Roxas, Cotabato, through a project by the DA-NLP. The collaboration sought to commercialize PECM and expand the technology’s reach and benefits to more Filipinos.

With help from the DA-NLP project, a BEPCO Fermentation Facility was established and inaugurated in San Jose, Batangas in October 2024. As part of its licensing agreement, BIOTECH arranged for the training of BEPCO personnel to enable them to produce high-quality PECM.

BIOTECH Director and Scientist Fides Marciana Z. Tambalo highlighted the potential impact and contribution of PECM on local agriculture, citing the technology’s utilization of agricultural waste.

“PECM is a technology that can utilize the millions of copra meal waste generated by our local coconut industry. It can transform the landscape of this million-peso industry by providing a more sustainable source of protein for livestock,” she said.

“The transfer of this technology demonstrates the UPLB-BIOTECH and BEPCO’s profound belief in the power of local solutions to address local and global challenges – in this case, the challenge of having a more sustainable, less expensive source of the key building block of protein for our livestock,” she added.

Scaling up the production of local technology

With a licensing agreement and production facility in place, UPLB-BIOTECH and BEPCO arranged for the cooperative’s personnel to be trained on the production of PECM on February 13 and 19, 2025. PECM project leader Nico G. Dumandan and University Research Associate Annie Cita T. Kagaoan served as resource persons and guided the cooperative in holding a trial production run of PECM.

According to Mangmang, the training shifted BEPCO’s focus on streamlining PECM production efficiency. “We’re very eager to learn how to speed up the process [of producing PECM] while attaining the same quality, but at a shorter time. We also want to increase the volume of production,” she said.

The training proved to be a learning experience for BEPCO. “We found the differences in our initial assumptions and the actual needs of the process. But we are also keen to find ways to improve the technology. At the same time, we really appreciate BIOTECH’s assistance. What matters is our continuous collaboration for the improvement of this technology,” said Mangmang.

“The initial training for the transfer of knowledge on the production of PECM, of course, has its challenges,” said Project Leader Dumandan. “But it also gave us valuable insights on how adaptable and scalable the process can be under different production conditions. It allowed us to identify critical control points, optimize fermentation parameters, and tailor-fit protocols based on the licensee’s available resources and operational setup. This kind of hands-on collaboration is essential not only for effective technology transfer but also for building a shared vision for innovation.”

Aside from undergoing training, the cooperative is also preparing other necessary support for its production and marketing of PECM, such as obtaining a license from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to manufacture feed ingredients and offer outsourced processing services and other documentary requirements.

UPLB-BIOTECH and BEPCO conducted a production trial run of PECM at the Fermentation Facility in San Jose, Batangas, in February 2025 as part of transferring the technology from the University to the cooperative.

UPLB-BIOTECH and BEPCO personnel during the PECM technology transfer training in February 2025 at the BEPCO Headquarters in San Jose, Batangas.

What PECM means for farmers and consumers

The Philippines has been reported to be one of the top importers of soybean meals for feed ingredients in the country’s livestock industry. While this has been the scenario for years, UPLB-BIOTECH researchers focused on the waste product of another major industry in the Philippines—coconut, particularly copra, which is also an abundant yet relatively cheaper commodity.

BIOTECH’s PECM research increased the value of copra.  PECM can boost crude protein content by up to 36% on a dry weight basis, reduce fiber, and enhance amino acids (e.g., lysine, methionine, and threonine) to up to 95%.

Following BEPCO’s significant move to adopt PECM technology, the cooperative will continue to work with UPLB, animal nutritionists, and key stakeholders who are supporting the livestock industry of San Jose, Batangas, with the aim of delivering a more cost-effective product to the farmers. “Quality and (lower) costs are our primary indicators for the success of PECM,” said Mangmang.

BEPCO envisions producing cost-effective poultry feed, with PECM technology incorporated into the finished feeds. “From a producer’s cooperative, PECM is highly relevant in our value chain, [as it provides] the local proteins that we can supply to our farmers”, said Mangmang. “The main objective is to give our farmers affordable and (high) quality ingredients that can be part of a sustainable livestock industry.”

As BEPCO and UPLB-BIOTECH pursue their shared goal and work towards the optimum production of PECM, a more sustainable animal feed protein source with less input costs can soon be more accessible on the Philippine market. Indeed, as proven by the case of PECM, supporting and adopting local technology can shape the future of sustainable agriculture in the Philippines. (Florence Gayle O. Borja, Sophia M. Mercado, and Arnold T. Abuyog)

This article was originally published in UPLB Horizon on 11 April 2024.