DA Partners With Private Sector To Counter ASF

In its continuing efforts to revive the country’s hog industry gravely affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF), the Department of Agriculture (DA) is partnering with the private sector to produce needed swine breeders to jumpstart and sustain the government’s hog repopulation program.

Photo Insert: Over the weekend, Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the groundbreaking of a 5,000-sow level breeder nucleus farm, of JG Agroventures, Inc. and Pig Improvement Company (PIC), in Barangay Sta.Rita, Quezon, Nueva Ecija.

Over the weekend, Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the groundbreaking of a 5,000-sow level breeder nucleus farm, of JG Agroventures, Inc. and Pig Improvement Company (PIC), in Barangay Sta.Rita, Quezon, Nueva Ecija.

Once operational, the state-of-the-art facility will be stocked with PIC great grandparent (GGP) breeders, whose offsprings or grandparent (GP) piglets will be sold and distributed to commercial and clustered backyard swine raisers in Nueva Ecija and the rest of Luzon.

“We are initially committing P80 million for this laudable project that will help us speed up our hog repopulation efforts under the DA’s Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) program,” said Secretary Dar.

He instructed the DA’s National Livestock Program (NLP), headed by Dr. Ruth Sonaco to draft a memorandum of agreement to formalize the partnership with JG Agroventures and PIC. To bankroll the project, JG has applied for a P2.5-B loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).

“We envision JG Agroventures to supply the DA initially with 1,000 GP quality breeders for every farrowing, which we will distribute to commercial and clustered backyard swine raisers, and farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) participating in our INSPIRE program,” said the DA chief.

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