President Aquino encourages participants to
Livestock Philippines 2013 to make full use of expo events to ‘forge
partnerships that will spur growth of Philippine livestock and poultry
industry’
President Benigno S. Aquino III encouraged the
participants to Livestock Philippines 2013, the country’s international
livestock nutrition, health, production and meat industry expo and conference,
to make full use of the expo’s various events, exhibits and discussions to
“forge partnerships that will spur the growth of Philippine livestock and
poultry industry.”
The President said in his speech formally
opening Livestock Philippines 2013 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City
on Wednesday that this expo provides a “breeding ground” for bigger
opportunities in the industry.
“…events like this bring local and foreign
stakeholders together—hopefully, to forge partnerships that will spur the
growth of the Philippine livestock and poultry industry,” the President said.
“This event shows that government is not alone
in its efforts. The sheer number of attendees alone assures me that the Expo
and Conference is a breeding ground for even greater opportunities for the
industry. So I encourage you to make the most of this event: explore the
offerings of the different exhibitors, ask questions, build your networks, and
participate in the discussions that will take place in the next few days,” he
added.
The President pointed out that by sharing ideas,
views and technology on the livestock and poultry industry, we will be able to
improve the breeding of better livestock and poultry stock that will benefit
all.
“I am certain that we can all find ways to help
each other, and to profit at the same time. After all, in the same way that
cooperation between Filipinos and Americans allowed our country to surpass an
epidemic of Rinderpest (an infectious viral disease of cattle) in the early
20th century, so too will the sharing of knowledge and best practices in this
event allow us to surpass the challenges that remain, and to advance the
industry,” the President said.
Livestock Philippines 2013 will provide key
decision-makers including integrators, farmers, feed millers, manufacturers and
traders of feed ingredients, additives, supplements and premixes, meat and meat
products processors, farm equipment fabricators and suppliers, slaughterhouse
operators, veterinarians, veterinary drugs and products manufacturers, and
other industry stakeholders from across the country as well as other
neighboring countries with a preview of state-of-the-art technology, equipment
and machineries deemed to improve production efficiency for those in the
livestock industry.
This year’s theme is “Food Security through
Feeds Safety." PND (rck)
President Aquino declares August 16 as special
non-working day in Davao City in celebration of 'Kadayawan Festival'
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
August 16, which falls on a Friday, as a special (non-working) day in the city
of Davao in celebration of the “Kadayawan Festival.”
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 630 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on August 1, on request of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to enable the people to
participate in the event.
The famous Kadayawan Festival is a weeklong
celebration and thanksgiving for nature’s bountiful harvest. PND (js)
President Aquino says Department of Agriculture
drafting feed crops roadmap to ensure availability and supply of feeds
To ensure the availability, constancy and supply
of feeds for the livestock and poultry industry, President Benigno S. Aquino
III said on Wednesday that the Department of Agriculture is drafting the
Livestock, Poultry, and Feed Crops Industry Roadmap that will be completed by
the end of August.
In his speech keynoting the opening of the
Livestock Philippines 2013 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, the
President said the roadmap also aims to address the imbalance of feed millers
in the country which currently stands at: 332 in Luzon, 49 in Visayas, and only
66 in Mindanao.
“This is why, to develop the market for animal
feeds in the country and to ensure the availability and constancy of supply,
the DA is drafting the Livestock, Poultry, and Feed Crops Industry Roadmap,
which will be complete by the end of the month,” the President said.
“Through this roadmap, initiatives such as feed
farming-milling and livestock and poultry integration partnerships will benefit
more than 850,000 small corn farmers and backyard livestock and poultry raisers
in the first three years of implementation alone,” he added.
He said that other measures included in the
roadmap such as the Anti-Microbial Resistance Program, which will monitor the
use of antibiotics in feed and veterinary products beginning in 2014, “will
also help to ensure the safety of animal feeds.” PND (rck)
Government working to protect people of Mindanao
from attacks, says Palace
Malacanang made an assurance on Wednesday that
it is doing everything to protect the people of Mindanao in the midst of bomb
attacks in the south recently.
In a press briefing in Malacanang, Presidential
spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that security forces have intensified
intelligence gatherings and have been thoroughly investigating the bombing
incidents in Cagayan de Oro City, Cotabato City and recently, in Midsayap,
North Cotabato.
“We assure the public that we are looking into
all these situations,” Lacierda told reporters.
The government is well aware of the incidents
and he assured the public that government will intensify all its efforts to
identify the perpetrators.
Asked if there’s a need to deploy additional
troops in Mindanao, Lacierda said it’s up to the armed forces to decide whether
augmentation is needed to fend off attacks.
But the Palace official said there are several
commands in Mindanao and sending more troops may be unnecessary at this time.
The primary focus of the police and the military is intelligence gathering, he
said.
The investigation for the attacks in Cagayan de
Oro City, Cotabato City and North Cotabato are currently ongoing and the
government expects results soon, he said.
“They are all going to be investigated. The
Cagayan de Oro blast is being investigated right now. This morning’s bombing in
Midsayap and also in Shariff Aguak will also be investigated. We’re asking for
updates from the PNP and AFP,” Lacierda said.
The President said Tuesday that he was to meet
the Cabinet security cluster to discuss the spate of bombing in Mindanao.
Lacierda said he has no information on the result of the President’s meeting
with the security cluster.
The Senate is currently investigating the
Mindanao bombings. PND (as)
Palace welcomes Standard & Poor's report on
strong Philippine economy
Malacanang welcomed a report by Standard &
Poor’s (S&P) saying the Philippines has become the leading economy in
Southeast Asia, surpassing its neighbors.
“If you compared the economy to a pie, we are
very pleased that international media, and also ourselves, recognize that the
pie has grown,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing
with Palace reporters on Wednesday.
“Mahalaga na lumalaki ang ekonomiya, lumalaki
‘yung pie,” he added.
The administration is happy that the country’s
economy has grown under the Aquino government, he said, adding however that the
most important thing is to ensure that more Filipinos, especially the poor, get
a share of the robust economy.
“That’s why the President emphasized in his SONA
the various ways of achieving growth and making sure that all of our population
or all of our citizens will hopefully profit from that growth,” Lacierda said.
S&P, which recently upgraded the Philippines
to investment grade, said in a new report released Monday that the country has
taken over the Asean growth leadership role from Indonesia.
The Philippine economy would grow by 6.9 percent
this year, faster than other Asean economies, it said.
S&P sees Indonesia’s gross domestic product
(GDP) to grow 6.1 percent; Vietnam, 5.3 percent; and Malaysia, 5.3 percent. The
Philippine growth forecast is higher than that for China at 7.3 percent.
The gross domestic product or GDP is the amount
of final goods and services produced in a country. PND (as)
