BACOLOD CITY — The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) here is working with hog raisers in Negros Occidental to develop a local feed formulation to save on production cost.
PVO head Dr. Renante Decena on Monday said up to 80 percent of the raisers’ expenses goes to feeds thus, they should be equipped with knowledge and skills on utilizing readily-available ingredients for animal feeds to reduce production spending.
Negros Occidental is the country’s number one producer of backyard swine based on the data obtained by the PVO from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in March this year.
In 2016, the province has produced 448,657 heads of backyard swine.
To jumpstart efforts on developing local feeds, the PVO joined the three-day Swine Feed Formulation Seminar organized by Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office 6 on November 15 to 17 at the Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City.
About 50 participants, including members of the Association of Hog Raisers in Negros Occidental, district veterinarians, and personnel of PVO, attended the seminar which invited resource speakers from the Bureau of Animal Industry and International Training Center on Pig Husbandry.
Decena said commercial feeds are efficient, but these entail higher production cost.
“Feed formulation using local raw materials would really help local hog raisers increase their income,” he added.
Decena also said the training prepared Negrense hog raisers for the DA’s PHP10 million in feed mill projects to be implemented in the province this year.
When these projects arrive, the raisers will already have knowledge and skills, particularly on feed components needed for formulation depending on the age of animals, he added.
Decena said that among the ingredients that can be sourced locally include root crops like cassava as well as corn, wastes like “ipa” (chaff) and “tiki-tiki,” and recycled food commonly known as “laon.”
Aside from having lesser handling cost, these raw materials are also natural and organic, he added. (PNA)
