DA targets to gain over 440K hog breeders by 2023

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is eyeing to produce 440,563 hog breeders by 2023.

DA Secretary William Dar also announced in a press briefing on Wednesday that the estimated total output of the hog breeders will be 142 percent which is more than enough to offset the recorded 332,928 breeders lost due to the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

“By the end of the implementation of INSPIRE (Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion) Program in 2023, we will recover the more than three million hogs lost because of ASF,” he said.

INSPIRE is a three-year repopulation program of the DA which starts this year. The DA has partnered with the private sector to guarantee a bigger production.

From the government-initiated breeder farms, there will be a total of 225,103 hog breeders that will be produced while private-led initiatives will produce 215,460 breeders.

With a combined budget of PHP29.6 billion, INSPIRE and its concurrent program “Bantay ASF sa Barangay” (BABay ASF) aims to address the industry’s problem.

Recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the value of agricultural production, at constant 2018 prices, showed a -3.3 percent drop in the first quarter of 2021.

Livestock production, which shared 14.2 percent in the total agricultural output, contracted a -23.2 percent.

Dar has already vouched for a rebound in the livestock sector through the current repopulation and awareness programs of the DA.

This as President Rodrigo Duterte signed on Monday the declaration of state of calamity in the country due to ASF.

Presidential Proclamation No. 1143 which will be in effect for a year will enable a whole of nation approach to solve ASF.

The local government units will be able to utilize its standby fund and law enforcers can keep watch on the retail prices, among others.