Villar says raising of native animals needed to address growing consumption of meat among Filipinos

Sen. Cynthia Villar said government program should now turn to the raising of native animals in order to address the growing consumption of meat among Filipinos.

Villar, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, presided over the hearing on Senate Bill 144 or the "Philippine Native Animal Development Act," which seeks to promote the scientific propagation, processing, utilization and development of native animals.

"I really think we should turn to native animals development to help us feed our growing population. Our cattle growers are also encountering problem in raising imported cows because our climate is changing and those animals cannot adapt. Whereas iyong ating native animals, syempre akmang-akma sa kanila ang climate dito sa atin. So, mas madali at mas mura ang pag-raise ng mga ito," Villar said.

The Bureau of Animal Industry has also observed that majority of the animals which survived Typhoon Yolanda were native animals. During the budget hearing on the proposed P50.5-budget of DA, Sec. Emmanuel Piñol said Filipinos' consumption of meat rose from 15 kilos per person to 35 kilos per person, and the inventory of 2.5 million cattle is not enough to feed the 105 million population.

The United Kingdom-based think tank Chatham House also shows that Filipinos are among the fastest-growing meat eaters in the world. It says that the Philippines has "one of the highest continuing growth rates with compounded manual growth rate from 2011 to 2021 predicted to be over 30 percent a year for pork, chicken and beef".

The DA, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, native animal growers' cooperatives and organizations, LGUs and the private sector, shall formulate a 20-year Framework for Development to be validated and updated annually.

The framework will serve as a guide in implementing programs, plans and projects. It will also provide for investment promotion and facilitation, production support and extension, R&D, market promotion and development, quality assurance, infrastructure development among others.

"With native animals, hindi na bibili ng feeds kasi they can feed on grass that local raisers can plant. In effect, para sa mahihirap nating mga magsasaka, mas makakabuti. It will be more sustainable and they will save on expenses, magtatanim na lang sila ng mga damo to use as feeds," Villar said.

To bring the development of the industry closer to the stakeholders, the bill also seeks to create one native animal center in every region of the country that will be called Native Animal Regional Center. The active participation of farmers is also encouraged under the bill. Farmers' associations and cooperatives will serve as the focal point for government assistance in the propagation and dispersal of Philippine native animals and dissemination of technology on native animals.

Piñol has also expressed support to the proposal of Villar, saying the bill is part of DA's legislative agenda.

"Native animals can also be seen as a potential niche product patronized by Filipinos around the world, especially with native chicken inasal and native pig lechon gaining popularity. Gusto rin natin tangkilikin at i-promote pa ang native animal farming dahil sa ito ay sariling atin," Villar said.