Legislation to boost livestock, poultry, corn sectors backed
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has signified its support for the passage of several bills aimed at bolstering livestock, poultry and corn sectors which, if enacted, will improve local production and lower meat prices in the market.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the enactment of these pieces of legislation will address various challenges besetting the agriculture sector.
“We support and welcome these bills that specifically focus on the development and competitiveness of the livestock sector,” said Dar.
“Given the right budget allocation and support from [the] government, the livestock industry will bounce back, contributing its share in total agriculture sector growth,” he added.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported earlier the output of the country’s vital agriculture sector shrank by 1.7 percent in 2021 despite increased production in the last three months.
The livestock sector, which continues to reel from the adverse effects of the African swine fever outbreak, reported the biggest contraction at 17 percent in the previous year.
To revitalize this industry, Senators Cynthia Villar and Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay authored Senate Bill No. 139 which seeks to strengthen the livestock industry to promote its development, protection and regulatory functions.
It shall cover dairy and native animals, poultry and establishment of a livestock development fund to secure yearly government support.
Likewise, the DA backed SB 821, penned by Sen. Sonny Angara, which calls for the creation of the Philippine Native Animal Development Center to propagate, utilize and promote native animals such as native chickens, goats, pigs, cattle, ducks, sheep and horses using the appropriate technology.
The center, under the bill, shall undertake research activities in all disciplines that will result in the improvement of the overall productivity of native animals, as well as enable farmers, particularly smallholder farmers, to avail of good quality native animal stocks at all times and at reasonable prices.
SB 1048 of Sen. Ralph Recto intends to provide financial assistance to backyard raisers affected by major animal disease epidemic or transboundary animal diseases.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan’s SB 2176 calls for the creation of swine competitiveness enhancement fund.
Villar, who chairs the Senate committees on agriculture, food and agrarian reform, previously said the livestock sector has received limited attention and development assistance from the government for decades now.
