Conducted by VSU
, Started on 2023 -
Completed on 2024
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The domestic mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) is widely distributed throughout the world, with
tremendous economic importance in Southeast Asian countries, mainly China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh,
Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, and India. As per FAO (2017), there were 1.15 billion ducks (Anas spp.) worldwide,
and 1.0 billion (89 percent) were in Asia. In the Philippines, duck production is an important agricultural activity,
especially in the rural areas, and is a source of income for more than 500,000 families in the form of eggs and meat.
The total duck population of the Philippines reached 14.43 million birds in 2024, and about 66% of its total inventory
came from smallhold or backyard farms. Central and Eastern Visayas combined with only 4.12% distribution at the
national level, while mainly managed by smallhold farmers (PSA, 2025).
As global demand for animal protein rises, so does the demand for sustainable poultry production. As a source
of eggs and meat, duck production in the Philippines is second only to chicken production in terms of its economic
importance (Lambio, 2009; PCARRD, 2010). Duck raising is a thriving industry in the Philippines, with many
stakeholders benefiting, including breeders, duck raisers, egg processors, hatcheries, vendors, and rice farmers
(Santiago et al., 2022). Philippine mallard ducks, locally known as itik or itik Pateros, are the primary egg-type breed
raised for the production of balut (cooked embryonated eggs) and salted eggs (Lambio, 2004). Although local mallard
ducks are widely available and require few inputs in the tropics, their productivity and reproducibility are low due to
factors such as a lack of quality breeder stocks, predation, disease, feed scarcity, and very limited genetic improvement
schemes in most rural populations (Lambio, 2009). Furthermore, little is known about the evolutionary relationships
and genetic diversity status of these populations on a global scale, more so at the local level. Hence, this research
project focuses on the molecular genetic characterization and diversity study of local mallard ducks in Central and
Eastern Visayas, in order to provide baseline genetic information of this local poultry resources for future genetic
improvement and conservation efforts, particularly in the rural areas of the Visayas region.