Villar wants livestock, poultry, dairy sector reinforced

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Cynthia Villar is pushing for a measure that seeks to advance the development, promotion and competitiveness of the livestock, poultry and dairy (LPD) industries.

Villar said Senate Bill 2558, or “An Act Strengthening the Livestock, Poultry and Dairy Development,” rationalizes the organization and functions of relevant government agencies and creates a competitiveness enhancement fund for the sector.

“For the longest time, the LPD sector has been left to be run by the private sector, now with this Act, the government will actively support and participate in the development of the sector,” said Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture.

“These industries play a significant role in food security and account for more than a quarter of agricultural output in 2023,” she added.

Villar said pork and chicken account for approximately 29.8 percent of the Filipino protein consumption.

The high cost of these commodities, making them unaffordable to most Filipinos, may lead to protein deficiency and contribute to malnutrition.

The senator noted that imported milk accounts for 99 percent of the supply, which makes milk unavailable and unaffordable to the growing population.

Local milk production is struggling and needs a boost to be able to cope with and address local demand, especially in the milk feeding programs in schools and other institutions that take care of children, she said.

She added the hog sector in the country is still struggling with the African swine fever outbreak since 2019 and needs to bounce back through supporting backyard raisers and commercial farms. The ASF is responsible for losses amounting to P100 billion.

The poultry sector also needs sustainable inputs such as feeds, medicines against pests and diseases and more efficient production systems.

A mandatory review by the congressional oversight committee on agricultural and fisheries modernization and relevant agencies will be conducted to come up with an impact evaluation of the measure.