More government attention to the Philippine livestock and poultry industry will be a big help to smallholder farmers and micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), and will boost the sector’s export potentials, according to a new report from a state-run think tank.
Amid a slowly decreasing trend in the production value of agriculture, the livestock and poultry subsector “presents a glimmer of light in local agriculture,” projected to continuously grow in the next decades, said the report entitled “Review of High-Value Agriculture in the Philippines with Comprehensive Subsectoral Focus: Livestock Industries.”
“Focus of development interventions in recent years [has] been on crops, particularly on the major grain staples. Shifting attention to more competitive and higher value commodities like livestock would do much in enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, as well as MSMEs within the sector,” said the paper published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
The report pointed to statistics showing that the livestock and poultry industry has been consistently contributing positively to the economy even with less support from the government compared to other agricultural commodities.
From 1998 to 2016, the production value of the combined livestock and poultry industries grew from P163 billion to P262 billion, with hog and chicken as the biggest contributors, said the paper.
“The contribution of combined livestock and poultry industry to country’s output is bigger than other agricultural commodities although the sector is private driven with no or little support from the government.”
“There are currently no direct financial infusions to the sector. Furthermore, it was acknowledged that the private sector progresses with less help from the government which probably [is] an indicator as to how good the industry is performing.”
The report offers a number of recommendations to further improve the industry’s performance and competitiveness.
“Though the industry is private-led, there has to be a strong guidance and a functional enabling facility from the government. While the swine and poultry are big now, they could have been bigger and at par with neighboring countries if only the government has done its part,” it said.
Suggestions from the private sector should also be seriously considered when crafting agenda, projects, and programs. “Private sector involvement is important in terms of having an inclusive way of dealing with a vast number of stakeholders,” said the paper.
“The public sector sometimes is very keen on looking at what it perceives is right or best for the sector but the private sector is actually the one on the battleground facing the real threats and challenges,” it explained.
The study also cited the need to focus on augmenting policy on land conversion, noting that the “policy encroaching on production areas disallowing production of poultry and swine is currently one of the main threats in the industry.”
“There should be an instruction for the local government to not hasten the conversion of land,” it further declared.
It is likewise important to highlight biosecurity as a matter of policy. “It was mentioned that one of our competitive edges compared to our ASEAN counterparts is that we are able to maintain avian flu-free and FMD-free because of our geographic location,” said the study.
The beef cattle industry is currently surviving but prospects are a bit dim compared to the other subsectors. To invigorate this subsector, there is a need to create interventions which can only happen through partnership between government and private sector, the report continued.
Also, budget for the industry needs augmentation, as the study noted that this is smaller compared to other gricultural products.
Meanwhile, there are opportunities that are worth exploring.
Although the sector currently has minimal exports, the country has started exporting small volumes of chicken to Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. The report observed that, given the present local livestock and poultry production, “it is possible for us to export if the government would be able to put the necessary systems that would support exportation.”
It also pressed for the standardization of products. “The standards that we have now for meat products are only in terms of cuts but there is none when it comes to quality,” said the paper. “We should start introducing standards in relation to safety then gradually increasing quality standards.” - Philexport News & Features
