Albay to Host National Livestock Summit

LEGAZPI CITY, Aug. 18  -- Albay province will host the National Livestock Summit set on September 16 to 18 this year at the Albay Astrodome, this city, a provincial agricultural officer said on Tuesday.

The three-day summit with a theme "Coping with Emerging Challenges to Livestock and Poultry: Climate Change, Global Trade, Emerging Diseases and Food Security," will be a joint project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the provincial government of Albay.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said he looks forward for a positive outcome in addressing various issues and concerns of the country's livestock industry, including climate change and global trade.

"What is worrisome is the lifting of the tariff on imported chicken and hogs by next year, this is in compliance with Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA), this will greatly affect our local livestock farmers as the prices of their produce would be higher than the imported once," Salceda said.

He said with the lifting of tariff on imported meat products "imported chicken from Thailand is 41 percent cheaper than our local chickens so you can imagine what would happen to our local livestock growers."

During the upcoming summit, these issues and concerns would be presented and appropriate resolutions are expected to be drawn up recommending appropriate action to be taken, Salceda said.

Jojo Elvira, provincial agriculture and rehabilitation consultant, said the summit intends to address issues and concerns pertaining to: food security and national competitiveness, climate change, inter sectoral linkages and international trade.

Issues on emerging livestock diseases, animal welfare, rural development, research and development and biotechnology would also be discussed at the summit.

Elvira said the livestock summit was designed to clarify and articulate all livestock issues specifically how does it affects food security and how the industry could cope with challenges on global market competition and climate change.

He said the summit would expect some 1,000 participants from national and local government organizations, non-government organizations across the country.

Invited to grace the national livestock event are Vice President Noli de Castro, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Senators Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Mar Roxas, and Loren Legarda.

Resource persons on the field of livestock, food security, climate change, international linkages, trade, animal welfare, emerging diseases, rural development, research and biotechnology will give their inputs at the summit. (PNA)