Bacnotan: A 28-year-old farmer has improved his father's farm in Bacnotan, La Union by innovating duck meats and turning them into unique products. Geneva Ga±alon, daughter of a farmer who raises ducklings, thought of adding value to the farm's products and concocted what is called "duck binagoongan".

According to Philippines News Agency, Ga±alon observed that her father's farm lacked processed duck products, which led her to develop the unique duck binagoongan. This product serves as a sauce, dipping sauce, or even a standalone viand, and it boasts a shelf life of one year, thanks to natural preservatives. Ga±alon, a recipient of the Gawad Saka award, also participated and won in the Department of Agriculture's Young Farmers Challenge Program in 2022.

In 2022, she established G's Duckery, which evolved into an integrated farm and food processing center. The grants she received were instrumental in enhancing the farm's operations. Her farm raises ducks from ducklings using natural feeds like golden kuhol, a snail considered a pest in farmlands, which she purchases from local farmers.

Ga±alon emphasizes the social enterprise aspect of her business, stating that they buy ducklings from community farmers for processing due to insufficient duck production for their processed goods. The farm's products are displayed at trade fairs, available in select schools and the Hive Pasalubong Center of Bacnotan, and can be ordered online via their Facebook page.

The farm produces between 600 to 1,000 bottles of duck binagoongan per month, with plans to explore export opportunities. Besides duck products, they also offer pastries and 'dinakdakan', an Ilocano delicacy. Additionally, Ga±alon's farm produces honeybee products in partnership with the Bacnotan Beekeper Agriculture Cooperative, supplying them to Pasalubong Centers.

Ga±alon attributes the rapid growth of their industry to support from the government and local government units, highlighting the novelty and innovation of their products.