DA sets goals for poultry-livestock sector

Because of improvements in the production of poultry, pork and beef, imports of these commodities have become much less.

Poultry production is up from 533,118 metric tons (MT) in June 2000 to 627,105 MT halfway through 2003. Imports are down from 16,621 MT three years ago to 12,218 MT this June.

Pork output rose from 1.212 million MT in 2000 to 1.332 million MT this June. Imports are down from 41,338 MT in 2000 to 27,716 MT this June.

In June 2004, this is what the Department of Agriculture hopes poultry and livestock to achieve:

• In poultry, production level maintained at commercial farms. Backyard production to increase. Overall increase to reach 4.55 percent. Production: 655, 610 MT; imports: 12,200 MT

• Disease control and 10-10 programs will achieve overall increase of nine percent. Production: 1,455,574 MT; imports: 27,716 MT.

• Domestic production to increase by 3.14 percent. Production: 181,080 MT; imports: 37,000 MT.

The growth path towards 2004 will be sustained with disease control and eradication, alliances and partnerships, meat safety and quality and dairy expansion. The target is for the Philippines to be FMD-free by June 2002. At the moment, the DA through the Livelihood Development Council, National Meat Inspection Commission, Anti-FMD Task Force and other agencies are doing everything to maintain FMD-free status for Visayas, Palawan and Mindanao.

For hog cholera — a major cause of swine mortality at 40 percent of total — program components are in place. Ongoing activities are surveillance, massive vaccination, quarantine, information and education campaign.

New Castle Disease — responsible for 10 percent mortality in backyard poultry production — the problem is taken care of with surveillance, massive vaccination, quarantine, education and information dissemination.

With alliances and partnerships, the livestock and poultry road map is well defined towards excellent production. Value adding to hogs from live weight to carcass to specialized cuts and processed products. With Project 10-10, strategies will focus on economies of scale. Aside from import substitution strategy to sectoral growth through higher productivity to focused approach in integration of hog raising with meat processing.

To this end, initiatives have been worked out with PAMPI (Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc.), MITA (Meat Importers and Traders Association), TLC Beatrice, Vitalife and Bounty, auction markets and ACEF Livestock Hotel.

Partnership with corn producers and corn users is expected to spread out benefits to everybody in the business. Increased corn production, lower cost per unit, higher incomes for farmers with corn getting a good price ranging from P6.50 to P7.00 per kilo for good quality, enough supply and prices fair to everybody resulting in reduced feed costs in livestock enterprises.

In the end it also boils down to meat safety and quality. To this day, 24 regular and 5 halal abattoirs have been funded and being constructed; 19 more regular and 11 halal structures are proposed. Monitoring and inspection of meat plants for compliance with health and administrative rules is regularly done. So does accreditation of importers’ meat plants.