FARMERS and livestock raisers need to look toward mechanization and new technologies to up their production and meet new demands.
A study published by the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center, through the FFTC Agricultural Policy Platform, revealed that livestock and poultry industries have been better performing than crops and fisheries, meeting requirements of the Philippine Development Plan 2013-2017 of the National Economic and Development Authority. FFTC, however, sounded the need for more mechanization for farmers.
The decline in agricultural manpower may induce increases in agricultural mechanization and lead to improvement in agriculture productivity. Sustained increases in food demand may induce farmers to seek productivity to improve technologies and practices, most already available but with limited adoption, the FFTC study said.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in its statistics for the economic performance of agriculture in 2018, indicated a positive growth in agriculture at 0.56 percent (P521.2 billion). All components of this sector posted a higher performance compared to the previous year’s.
“Livestock contributed 17.74 percent of total agricultural sector. Carabao, hog and dairy came up with output gains in the fourth quarter of 2018. At current prices, the value of livestock production reached P91.9 billion, up by 7.42 percent from the previous year’s level. From January to December 2018, livestock production went up by 1.89 percent,” the PSA reported.
The report also cited the expansion of poultry by 5.75 percent in 2018 which had a value of P60.7 billion at current prices.
Fishery production also went up by 1.93 percent in the last quarter of 2018 which value was at P73.3 billion.
The FFTC cited other areas of
improvement for the agricultural sector; apart from mechanization, stimuli like
improving access to other economic opportunities and livelihoods for farmers,
improving access to innovative financing and credit provision, strengthening
linkages between production areas and markets, new marketing schemes and
diversification of products.
At Livestock Philippines Expo 2019, more than 280 exhibitors from over 30 countries will offer countless business, technologies, new methodologies and networking opportunities in the industry. Slated from June 26 to 28 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, the biggest livestock-focused event of the country will also feature seminars and talks from agriculture experts and thought leaders.
The three-day business event is organized by UBM Asia, a part of Informa Plc., a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B events organizer in the world.
Feeds Philippines Expo, PhilMeat 2019, and Aquaculture Philippines are also colocating this year’s Livestock Philippines Expo and Forum as a one-stop shop—from livestock production and nutrition, processing to packaging.