NegOcc tops WV poultry inventory, earns P6.3-B a year

BY DANNY B. DANGCALAN

BACOLOD City — The Department of Agriculture 6 (DA-6) disclosed that Negros Occidental ranks first in the Western Visayas Poultry Inventory as of fourth quarter of 2009. The province recorded more than 6.5 million heads and earned P6.3 billion.

DA-6 Regional Director Larry Nacionales said the inventory accounts for 1.5 million heads of broiler earning P1.8 billion a year, more than 500,000 heads of layer chicken valued at P500 million, and more than 4.7 million heads of native chicken and game fowls at P4 billion.

Nacionales, who spoke at the first general membership assembly of the Negros Occidental Poultry Raisers Association at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol recently, shared the message of newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla that the poultry industry in Negros Occidental has a “pivotal role to the region’s agriculture sector.”

He thanked the various stakeholders, associations and government officials led by Gov. Isidro Zayco for their support to the industry and vowed to strengthen relations with them to increase productivity and the income of poultry growers and traders.

Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon Jr., president of the Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (NISARD) Foundation, said the foundation will continue to support poultry growers and urged them to continue their best practices to remain as the top growers in the region.

Meanwhile, the DA-6 said it will address the two problems confronting the poultry industry in Negros Occidental - the effects of the El Niño phenomenon on crops, livestock and poultry, and Provincial Ordinance 007 that bans genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products in the province.

He assured that the DA has enough stocks of vaccines. He said they have started distributing vaccines and biologics to poultry growers, and conducted information dissemination and monitoring of the effects of drought to the industry.

Nacionales said that since the anti-GMO ordinance has been put under moratorium for further study and review, the shipment of corn from other regions for feeds and research is now allowed which ensures sufficient supply of corn for feeds of the livestock and poultry sectors./PN