DA-EV drafts roadmap on livestock sector

By Aurora J. Casimpan

Friday 25th of May 2012

Tacloban City, Leyte, May 25 (PIA) -- The region can achieve self-sufficiency in meat by 2016 following the newly drafted livestock and poultry roadmap. With the roadmap in place the Eastern Visayas region can supply the meat requirements in other regions in the next ten years.

Thus informed Department of Agriculture regional executive director Antonio Gerundio stressing on the region’s need to give attention on the livestock sector as said industry is less vulnerable to risks of global warming unlike crops. He pointed out that animals can be raised in one’s backyard lessening exposure to nature.

It was learned that the roadmap aims to eliminate barriers to the growth of the industry in the region. The barriers include low breeder base, high cost of breeder and commercial stocks, poor access to technology, high input cost, diseases incidence, influx of cheap imports, smuggling, and wide gap between retail price and farm gate price.

Accordingly, the roadmap will focus on disease control and eradication, genetic resource improvement, meat safety, and quality capability development and stranger public and private partnerships.

Data from the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) as of mid-2011 shows the region has 306,966 carabaos; 14,596 cattle; 86,694 goats, 636,179 hogs, and 3.08 million heads of chicken.

With the roadmap, DA aims to increase the number of existing counts of livestock to 316,000 heads of carabaos; 23,000 heads of cattle; 186,000 heads of goats; 900,000 heads of hogs; and 4.5 million of chicken. (PIA 8, Leyte)