DA Secretary Arthur Yap said the subsidy program for the livestock industry will be implemented in Central Luzon and Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), to help backyard growers acquire healthy piglets and the required feeds for their animals.

Of this amount, P50 million will be used to bankroll the piglet dispersal plan and the remaining P20 million will used for the animal feed subsidies.

Yap said during the recent national gathering of hog raisers that the piglet subsidy and feed support project will be implemented and bankrolled under the DA’s Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Livestock Program.

The DA will also include in its rehabilitation package for the livestock sector animal health programs and laboratory services, he said in a speech during that gathering that was read for him by Director Davinio Catbagan of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

He said the DA will also undertake a massive vaccination program, worth P30 million, to protect the country’s hog population against possible Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and other emerging diseases.

“The program is targeted to benefit thousands of small backyard farmers in Regions 3 and 4-A, where we aim to vaccinate the backyard population—to ensure the production of healthy piglets that will grow in time to satisfy the high demand for pork during the 3rd and 4th quarters of the year,“ he said.

Catbagan said the vaccination program will also be financed under the GMA-Livestock program, and spearheaded by the BAI, in tandem with the concerned local government units, particularly through the Office of the Provincial and Municipal Veterinarians in Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

“We are not standing idly and simply watching prices of pork further shoot up,“ Catbagan said. “We are set to embark on a rehabilitation program meant to assist not only livestock and hog raisers, but also farmers and fishermen in 11 affected regions, in tandem with the DA Regional Field Offices, LGUs and the private sector.“

Even before the onslaught of typhoon “Frank,“ he said that consumers were already faced with high meat prices, which was why the DA is encouraging concerned and qualified groups to avail themselves of their Minimum Access Volume (MAV) allocations for this year of 42 million kilos to help ease the tight pork supply situation.

Last year, total hog production reached 1.9 million tons worth P134 billion at current prices. For the 1st quarter of 2008, production totaled 440 tons worth P35 billion, Catbagan said.

He noted that despite its temporary setbacks, a bright future lies ahead for the Philippine hog industry, as the Philippines will soon send pork shipments to Singapore after complying with the island-state’s stringent requirements, which includes an assurance that Philippine pork is free from veterinary drug residues.

According to Catbagan, the Singapore ’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority recently accredited the Matutum Meat Packing Corporation in Polomok, South Cotabato as the sole processor of pork exports to that country.

The DA will inaugurate this month a P50-million meat inspection laboratory constructed in Polomolok to complement this export drive.

Moreover, the certification of qualified swine farms is ongoing, as part of ongoing efforts to allow local hog raisers to finally ship “pork-in-a-box“ to Singapore within the year, Catbagan said.