Cooperation between DA, hog farmers a must

Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban in a forum recently with the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) invited the hog farmers to "focus their modernization efforts on ensuring food security for all our people, increasing on-and off-farm jobs for the rural communities and Improving rural incomes and quality of life for our farmers and fishers."

NFHFI national chairman Nemesio G. Co welcomed Panganiban’s offer of cooperation. He said "they can increase production that will result later on in lower farmgate prices. NFHFI president Albert R. T. Lim Jr. said Panganiban’s offer of good governance, anchored on the principles of transparency, accountability, consistency, participation and partnership will result in more production.

Although the hog industry is already well-developed there are still old and new challenges. These include high prices at the markets. Wholesale price of a pig’s head (sabit ulo) is now pegged at an average of P115 while retail price of a kilo of "liempo" hovers around P145.

All these result from high cost of production. The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) places hog production cost at P74.41 per kilo with stocks (piglets) at P23.53 per kilo (32 percent and feeds at P33.28 per kilo (46 percent for a total of P56.81 (78 percent).

The NFHI is the largest association with 34 member associations across the Philippines of commercial hog raisers. Eighty percent of all hog raisers in the industry are backyard raisers.