Press Release
April 16, 2018

Senator Cynthia Villar's Opening Statement for the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Hearing

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

I now call this meeting of the committee on agriculture and food, jointly with the committees of ways and means and of finance, in order.

I would like to acknowledge the presence of __________.

We are here to tackle the development of the country's livestock sector in general because of the very low level of production, inventory and industry support particularly to backyard raisers by government. We shall look into the situation of the Dairy, Carabao, Cattle, Hog, Goat, Chicken, and Duck and Chicken and Duck Eggs.

The country has not been self-sufficient in many agricultural commodities, especially in livestock. The Philippine Statistical Authority reports that from 2010-2015, the country imported a yearly average of

  • 164,000 m.t. of pork,

  • Some 55,000 m.t. of beef,

  • 37,000 m.t. of carabeef, and

  • 128,000 m.t. of dressed chicken.

Roughly 22% of our beef/carabeef, 9% of pork and 11% of the poultry are supplied from other countries.

Ninety nine percent (99%) of our milk and dairy products are sourced from abroad.

The country imports between US$3-4 billion dollars of livestock commodities annually.

The hogs and chicken subsectors have been growing at roughly 3-4% yearly since 2010, because of the aggressive investments coming from large corporations.

Yet, the rest of the livestock sector, including backyard farming of hogs and chicken, have been mostly stagnant in terms of production volume and value.

I believe that the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) should be reinvigorated and reorganized to provide stronger focus on development of the livestock industry, by helping upgrade industry's forward and backward linkages, and boosting conditions of players in the value chain in terms of farm technologies, logistics, financing, processing and overall capability building.

The occasional but limited livestock dispersal programs of the Department of Agriculture in past decades have not been sustainable.

Budget support for livestock has been averaging at only 2% of the yearly appropriations for agriculture. The DA has not created a broad-based, organized, effort to develop the livestock industry in general in the country maybe because of the mandate given to BAI.

The greater part of the BAI's mandate has always been towards the regulation with very limited focus in livestock development.

But in the areas where legislation has provided the impetus to hasten development, it seems that the record of performance has been one of dismal failure. Take the case of the National Development Authority created by the National Dairy Development Act of 1995 or Republic Act No. 7884. It is mandated to ensure the accelerated development of the Philippine dairy industry through policy direction and program implementation. It is an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture.

Thus I filed Senate Resolution No. 685 directing the committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, to determine the current state of the national dairy authority and the effectiveness and efficacy of its policies on the development of the dairy industry in the country.

This is because it has been 23 years since this agency was created. The government has literally poured in billions of pesos for the purpose of creating a thriving dairy sector to increase milk production in the Philippines.

Yet, after more than two decades of its operations, the national dairy authority has yet to make a dent on the level of importation of milk by the country. We continue to import over ninety nine percent (99%) of our milk requirements which has ranged between US$700 to US$876 million in the past five years alone.

The Philippine Statistics Authority tells us that "in 2015, milk production in the country was 20.39 million liters for the whole year. Yet, this is nothing compared to the daily milk production in our neighboring Indonesia which is at 1.68 million liters per day!1

Our problem is also one of very low productivity: a report from the NDA in 2017 states that the annual milk production is 22.76 TMT (thousand metric tons) only due mainly to poor feed and management practices as well as high production costs and a lack of adequate dairy infrastructure. In India, the average daily milk production is 42 MMT per day, or 7 kilograms per cow per day in the Philippine milk production per animal is 8 liters/day which remains low due mainly to poor feed and management practices as well as high production costs and a lack of adequate dairy infrastructure. By comparison, the average daily milk yield in the Thailand is 3 kilograms per cow /day and about 4.2 kilograms of milk per day per cow in Vietnam. (1,000 kilograms/cubic liter) According to the NDA, the average farmgate price of milk increased slightly from P31.54/liter ($0.65) in 2015 to P34.75/liter ($0.68) in 2016.

We are so proud of our 44,432 heads of dairy animals, but in Thailand they have almost 400,000 heads of dairy production stock.2

Are the NDA policies and projects the correct strategies to develop the dairy industry? What policies should be in place? Do we continue pouring in hundreds of millions of pesos to the National Dairy Authority knowing that the results that we have had so far is nothing but "spilled milk"? NDA has been in operation for twenty three years.

We have yet to notice bigger strides in the production and support for our native animals subsector.

The second part of the agenda is to restructure and rationalize the livestock, poultry and the dairy industry. This was the consensus reached during the public hearing held on November 23, 2016 and during the a Technical Working Group Meeting in the Senate on March 9, 2017 for Senate Bill 144 (Villar) and 1344 (Angara) for the Philippine Native Animal Development Act of 2017.

It is the committee's intention to incorporate the development of the native animals together with the strategies to development the country's livestock sector.

This is why I filed senate bill number 1758 entitled "an act to restructure and rationalize the livestock industry in order to strengthen its development, protection and regulatory functions, including the promotion of dairy and native animals and to provide for a livestock development fund, and for other purposes".

The bill seeks to address the very problems of the livestock sector as a whole, beginning with the disparate/uncoordinated efforts of government, the lack of integration, and the limited budgetary support provided to the livestock sector through the years.

In short, government has had only limited support in the development of our livestock industry. And we need to see and address the concerns in a more holistic manner.

The concerns of the sector include -budgetary support and dispersal programs, lack of quality genetics or breeds, cost of animal feeds, naturally grown forage, strengthening disease resistance and prevention, efficiency in reproduction, science based - technical assistance and extension and material support for animal adaption, from government among others.

We have models to look at and may be learn from -

Thailand

Fifty years ago, it was believed that dairy farming was not possible in Thailand with its tropical climate and traditional use of cattle as draft animals and sources of meat.

To date, however, dairy farming in this neighboring Southeast Asian nation has been developed into a profitable venture for Thai farmers.

Thailand has a relatively short history of dairy farming, having only started in the 60s after a royal visit of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit to Denmark in 1960.

Seeing for themselves how a dairy industry can potentially spur growth in the countryside, the Thai government sought technical assistance from Denmark for the establishment of a fledgling Thai dairy industry.

In 1962, the Thai-Danish Farm began operations as the first dairy cooperative in Thailand through a royal grant. In 1972, it was handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and became the state-controlled enterprise now known as the DPO.

The DPO manufactures the Thai-Danish milk brand that is used in the government school milk feeding program.

The DPO operates now as it did back then. It provides training for farmers on dairy farming techniques, cross breeds milk cattle suited for the Thai climate, produces dairy products from raw milk, and promotes milk consumption in Thailand.

VIETNAM

There is no historical tradition in Viet Nam for the production or consumption of dairy products. For centuries, cattle were used for draught power, manure and meat production. Colonials brought the first dairy cows to Viet Nam at the end of the eighteenth century, with scattered imports of animals from various sources (Australia, China, Cuba, France and the United States). After the wars and during the nationalization and collectivization period, there emerged large state-owned dairy farms, mainly in the North and central region.

The Doi Moi (economic reform) in 1986 initiated a new era of dairying in Viet Nam, with the privatization of the production (smallholder private farms) and marketing sector (emergence of the informal sector as well as the private and semi-private formal sector), accelerating a rapid development. The current dairy development in the country is rooted in the National Dairy Development Plan (NDDP) and reinforced by Government Decision No.167, with provincial authorities providing follow-up support.

Decision No.167 (October 2001) is a policy to develop milking cow husbandry to a production target of 350 000 tonnes of fresh milk by 2010, or about 40 percent of domestic demand, to reduce the dependence on the world milk market but also to save foreign exchange.

Through the NDDP, the total dairy cattle herd population increased from only 35 000 head in 2000 to 113 200 heads in 2006 and some 19 800 dairy farms, with an average of 5.3 head per household (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2007).

National milk production has been significantly growing as a result, from 12 000 tonnes in 1990 to 215 900 tonnes in 2006, with annual milk gains variable. The largest jump in production was in 2002, with output rising over 60 percent, attributed to gains in both dairy cow numbers and productivity. High demand for fresh dairy products, particularly in Viet Nam's big cities, drives production. In 2005, per capita fresh milk production reached 9 kg, a 29 percent increase over the year before, though it is still low in comparison with other countries in the region (FAO, 2006).

By region, the average number of dairy cows per household is 3.7 in the North, 6.3 in the South and 3.6 in the central area. Each region has one zone, set up by provincial governments with provisional support for initial phases of development, for concentrated industrial farms (with 1 000-2 000 head), such as Tuyen Quang in the North, Thanh Hoa in the Central area and Ho Chi Minh City in the South. There are two main dairy production systems in Viet Nam: Private production, which includes small- and medium-scale producers who are mostly private farms, private domestic or joint venture companies. This system generates 95 percent of the total milk production in the country.

India

The country is the worlds largest milk producer, accounting for more than 13% of the worlds total milk production. It is the world's largest consumer of dairy products, consuming almost 100% of its own milk production. There are many Opportunities And Challenges in The Indian Dairy Industry.Dairy products are a major source of cheap and nutritious food to millions of people in India and the only acceptable source of animal protein for a large vegetarian segment of the Indian population, particularly among the landless, small and marginal farmers and women. Dairying has been considered as one of the activities aimed at alleviating the poverty and unemployment, especially in the rural areas in the rain-fed and drought-prone regions. In India, about three-fourth of the population live in rural areas and about 38% of them are poor. In 1986-87, about 73% of rural households own livestock. Small and marginal farmers account for three-quarters of these households owning livestock, raising 56% of the bovine and 66% of the sheep population.

According to the National Sample Survey of 1993-94, livestock sector produces regular employment to about 9.8 million persons in principal status and 8.6 million in subsidiary status, which constitute about 5% of the total work force. The progress in this sector will result in a more balanced development of the rural economy.

We have among us today the following resource persons who were invited to share with us their views on these initiatives of the senate, as follows:

[Acknowledge the invited guest who are present]

PART I. THE PHILIPPINE DAIRY ROAD MAP

In July 28, 2017, The Secretary of Agriculture, Emmanuel Pinol announced that the DA is crafting a five year road map for livestock dairy . The road map, he said, particularly aims to increase the national cattle population from 2.5 million to five million, and raise milk production from one percent to 10 percent of the national requirement. It also promotes backyard hog-raising.

It is expected to roll out starting 2018, with the training of identified beneficiaries in cattle-raising, forage, and milk production.

By 2019, the DA will build multiplier farms in at least 1,000 communities in the country especially where feeding materials are abundant. These will also serve as the training centers for milk production.

The Secretary who was then in Rome, Italy to lead the 40th United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), said the program earned the support of the government of Brazil.

He said Brazilian State Minister for Agriculture Blairo Borges, during a bilateral meeting with the Philippine delegation, has committed to import breeds of cattles and develop forage in the country. The Secretary was quoted that the Brazilian State Minister is willing to share outstanding breeds of cattle, especially the proven Girolando, which is a cross-breed of the Brazilian Gyrolando and Holstein ideal both for milk and meat production in tropical climates. Secretary Pinol is here can we get an update of this livestock and dairy roadmap and where is DA at the moment in the development of the livestock and dairy sector. (https://news.mb.com.ph/)

(Let us call on Secretary for his report)

PART II. NATIONAL DAIRY AUTHORITY

1. For the Head of the National Dairy Authority, Ms. Marilyn Mabale, can you please explain to the body the reasons why NDA has not been able to deliver its mandate of increase income to farmers in the dairy industry, increase production of milk and increase the number of dairy animals and ensuring consumers safe and quality milk and milk products?

2. Who monitors the dispersal program and who determines the beneficiaries of the program? The COA recommended that a team to monitor the animal dispersal program be organized? Was this done? What is their report? What are the accountabilities of the beneficiaries of the dispersal program to government?

3. Artificial insemination is a program of NDA to hasten the multiplication of dairy animals, as of December 31, 2016, there is COA report that says there are 24,547 unused semen straws. Why did this happen?

4. Is AI as method successful? How many were impregnated?

5. What are the sources of revenues of NDA? Why was there a remarkable drop in its revenue report from 50.2M in 2016 to 13.5M in 2017?

6. Expenditures of the NDA increased from 177.9M in 2016 to 239.1M in 2017, thus revenues decreased while expenditures increased, why is this so?

7. What is the percentage of fund utilization of NDA in 2016 and 2017?

8. Can we call on the supervising auditor of the NDA of their findings on the financial and performance audit of NDA?

9. Can we hear from the representatives of the DOST PCARRD, Dr. Synan Baguio OIC Livestock Development and Mr. Amado Angeles of the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI), of the UPLB regarding the dairy development in the Philippines, is this feasible? If yes, how?

10. If F/Sen. Jun Magsaysay will come, please also ask him to speak about how to improve the dairy industry.

11. May we hear from the Head of the Philippine Carabao Center of the programs and success stories of carabao dairying in the country if there are any?

PART II - LIVESTOCK, POULTRY AND NATIVE ANIMALS DEVELOPMENT

(Statement of the Chair: As of January 1, 2017, the total Cattle inventory was estimated at 2,547,643 heads. Around 94 percent or 2,389,191 heads were raised in backyard farms and the remaining 6 percent or 158,452 heads were found in commercial farms.

Total volume of production of cattle in 2016 was estimated at 270.42 thousand metric tons live weight. This was 1.32 percent higher from last year's output of 266.90 thousand metric tons, live weight.

The annual average farm gate price of cattle in 2016 was PhP 95.59 per kilogram, live weight or 3.80 percent higher than of last year's average farm gate price of PhP 92.09 per kilogram, live weight

The total number of imported live cattle in 2016 was 15,934 heads. This was 37.42 percent lower than 2015's record. There were 240 heads of breeder stocks and 15,694 heads of feeder stocks imported in 2016.

In 2016, the volume of beef imports was approximately 73,944.15 metric tons valued at 239,294.09 thousand US$ CIF. The volume and value of beef imports increased by 14.74 percent and 13.74 percent, respectively, compared with 2015 levels.

Our import dependency for cattle is at 27.6%.

The largest volume of beef imports was registered during the fourth quarter of 2016 at 19,977.94 metric tons or 20.31 percent more than previous year's import.

The 2016 annual average farm gate price of cattle was PhP95.59 per kilogram, live weight. This was 3.80 percent higher than the 2015 average farm gate price of PhP92.09 per kilogram, live weight.

Farm gate price was highest in December 2016 at PhP98.77 per kilogram, live weight. In Metro Manila, the annual average wholesale price of beef in 2016 remained stable at PhP215.42 per kilogram.

The 7 highest number of backyard cattle raisers are in located Ilocos Region, CALABARZON, Northern Mindanao, Central Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN. Next would be Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley Regions. The commercial farms are in Bicol Region, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon.

(https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/Cattle%20Situation
%20Report%2C%20January%20to%20December%202016_0.pdf)

FOR MEAT IMPORTATION CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Philippine meat imports in 2017 rose by nearly 7 percent to a record-high volume of 691,462.564 metric tons (MT) due to the growing demand of Filipino consumers for processed-meat products.

Data released by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) showed that total purchase of meat abroad last year surpassed the 646,503.7 MT recorded in 2016.

BAI data indicated that bulk of the country's meat imports were pork, accounting for about 44.18 percent of the total volume purchased last year. Pork imports in 2017 posted the highest increment, expanding by 10.65 percent to 305,479.806 MT, from the 2016 record of 276,066.999 MT.

"Pork cuts, bellies and deboned meat constituted about 30.19 percent or [92,234.802 MT], which are mostly used by meat processors, while the 69.81 percent equivalent to [213,245.044 MT] are commonly imported by meat traders, which includes fats, rind/skin and other products according to BAI.

Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that offal accounted for the bulk, or 43.17 percent, of the country's pork imports last year. Pork offal imports in 2017 went up by 11.61 percent to 131,896.656 MT, from the previous year's 118,180.154 MT.

Germany remained as the Philippines's top source of pork and other meat products last year, according to BAI data. The country's total pork imports from Germany last year slightly declined to 77,452.402 MT, from the 2016 record of 77,797.212 MT.

Data from the BAI also showed that total chicken imports last year grew by nearly 4 percent to 244,104.419 MT, from the previous year's 234,742.766 MT.

"The United States remained the biggest supplier of chicken meat contributing 39.73 percent, followed by the Netherlands with 20.87 percent, Brazil with 13.87 percent, Canada with 10.72 percent, Belgium with 10.63 percent," the BAI said.

"About 77.44 percent of the total chicken-meat volume was MDM [mechanically deboned meat], leg quarters accounted for 18.37 percent; chicken cuts constituted 2.82 percent, while offals, rind/skin and fats shared 1.38 percent," it added.

The country's chicken-meat imports from the United States reached 96,974.25 MT in 2017, 8.33 percent higher than the 2016 record of 89,513.061 MT.

Philippines would remain as a top 10 market as far as our broiler exports are concerned. The meat-processing association in the Philippines continues to develop new products, so we see growth in these markets.

The BAI noted that the common inputs for meat processing--MDM, fats and rind skin--accounted for the bulk, or 78.7 percent, of total chicken imports last year. Purchases of these raw materials from abroad reached 192,106.442 MT, 12.13 percent higher than the 171,316.846 MT posted in 2016.

The agency attached to the DA revealed that beef imports last year reached 102,920.016 MT, nearly 10 percent higher than the previous year's 93,721.925 MT.

"About 64.03 percent or [65,904.153 MT] of the total volume was for beef cuts, and the rest were distributed as choice cuts [6.56 percent], deboned [0.48 percent], fats [15.79 percent]and offal [13.14 percent]," the BAI said.

Australia remained the top source of the country's beef imports, accounting for 36.34 percent of the total volume imported in 2017, according to the BAI. Beef imports from Australia last year rose slightly to 37,396.409 MT.

Earlier, the Meat Importers and Traders Association said Philippine meat imports would hit another record high due to the sustained increase in demand for demand for processed-meat products.

(https://businessmirror.com.ph/phl-meat-imports-up-7-in-2017/)

The livestock subsector which shared 17.78 percent in the total agricultural production came up with a 1.84 percent output gain in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Hog production, which was the major source of subsector's growth, increased by 2.75 percent. The subsector grossed PhP85.5 billion at current prices, representing a 14.39 percent increase over last year's record. On an annual basis, the subsector's gross output was up by 1.12 percent in 2017.

Poultry production expanded by 4.73 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. It accounted for 15.40 percent of the total agricultural output. Except for duck, all components of the subsector posted output gains. At current prices, the subsector grossed PhP59.3 billion, or 15.22 percent more than the previous year's gross receipts. For the whole year of 2017, the gross output of the poultry subsector went up by 4.62 percent.

(https://psa.gov.ph/ppa-main/livestock-poultry)

12. May we hear from the representative of the Department of Agriculture as to their opinion with regards to our proposal to unify and give budgetary support to the livestock sector?

- DA highest Official
- Asec of Livestock
- BAI Head

13. May we call on the livestock sector representatives to hear their views of how the government can help them achieve better production and income -

The -
- Provincial Veterinarian of Laguna and
- Provincial Veterinarian of Quezon Province
- Mr. Chester Warren Tan of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc.
- Mr. Eliseo Yu, Chairman, Pork Producers of the Philippines and Mr. Edwin Chen, President
- Engineer Rosendo So of SINAG
- Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura
- Atty. Jose Elias Inciong, President of the United Broiler, Raisers Association
- Mr. Ferdinand Medina, CEO of Eco Pig Development Corporation
- Mr. Ian Cabrera, or his representative as Chairman, Philippine Native Pig Owner's Network Association - Dr. Rubina "Bing" Crescencio, Chairperson, Native Animals Cooperative who was former head of the BAI of DA
- Dr. Rene Santiago, National Swine and Poultry Research and Development Center

PART III

14. What will happen if the role of dairy development be placed under one government unit instead of two at the moment- NDA and Phil. Carabao?

Can we get the opinion of Justice Rudolf Jurado of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel. Can we also hear from the COA on this regard?

__________________

1 https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Dairy%20and%20Products%20Annual_Jakarta_Indonesia_10-17-2016.pdf

2 http://ap.fftc.agnet.org/ap_db.php?id=730

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