The Department of Agriculture (DA) is optimistic about the recovery of the local hog industry in one to two years but said the current protocols to control the further spread of African swine fever (ASF) need to be amended.
Ruth Miclat-Sonaco, DA national livestock program director, said in a roundtable discussion hosted by Cargill Philippines in Paranaque City yesterday latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed since the second quarter of 2022, hog inventory and production have been going up from “very low negative growth rate” in the last two and a half to three years.
“Since the second quarter of 2022, we (have been) having positive growth. We’re talking about one to three percent growth in terms of inventory and volume of production,” Sonaco said.
However, Sonaco noted the need to improve the government’s response in hog repopulation efforts and control of ASF.
“I am on the position that we have to re-evaluate how we do our ASF control and prevention and it’s also the call of private sector and the DA… Hopefully (it can happen) within the next few months,” Sonaco added.
Meanwhile, Rolando Tambago, Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. president, said the group is hopeful local hog growers will be encouraged to use modern technology.
“While there is no available vaccine yet…modern farming using latest technology on genetics, housing, biosecurity — that’s the way to go to bring back the glory of the industry,” Tambago said.
Sonny Catacutan, country president of Cargill Philippines and managing director for Cargill’s animal nutrition business in the Philippines, said modernization will help the industry to recover faster.
Catacutan said among the practices that should be considered by local hog growers are the use of modern methods around biosecurity as well as modern feeding and digitalization.
Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry as of April 11 showed active cases of ASF were recorded in 7 regions, 10 provinces, 35 cities and municipalities and 78 barangays.
Batad in Iloilo and San Ildefonso, Bulacan had the most number of ASF affected barangays with 9 each.
Cumulatively since 2019, ASF has affected 17 regions, 63 provinces, 816 cities and municipalities as well as 4,422 barangays .
DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region yesterday showed prevailing per kg retail price of pork kasim ranges from P300 to P360 and pork liempo at P360 to P420.
