Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Oro slated to host national hog convention
AFTER 10 years, Mindanao will again be host to the biggest annual exhibit and gathering of the hog industry in the country.
Industry players are gearing up for the 15th National Hog Convention and Trade Exhibits to be held in Cagayan de Oro City on April 28 to 30, 2006.
Fortunato O. Veñegas, president of the Northern Mindanao Hog Raisers Association Inc., said Limketkai Center is main venue where there would be indoor exhibits and seminars at The Atrium and outdoor exhibits at the Limketkai Grounds.
Seminars on new technologies on commercial and backyard hog raising would have national and international resource persons.
The event is open to the public free of charge.
Fellowship and business development activities are also planned for registered members of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI).
The hog raisers’ association is the host for this year's convention with Veñegas as Convention Chairman.
Albert R. T. Lim Jr., federation president, explained the hog industry in the Philippines is a P120-billion industry and ranks second to rice in the agri-fisheries sector.
Zoning ordinance
He said there are 3.5 million direct and another 3.5 million indirect players in the industry.
"Around 77 percent of hog raisers are considered backyard. We have about 12.5 million hog population, with 9 million plus of these contributed by backyard raisers. We now are at 1.2 million sow-level," Lim said.
Lim added that Mindanao is the second biggest producer of hogs after Southern Luzon.
"Mindanao has been declared as free from Food-and-Mouth Disease and this is a big advantage," he said.
Lim opined that Mindanao should now be preparing to export meat cuts, breeders, and semen of boars for breeding.
He said these are the reasons why Hypor, a Bulacan-based company headed by Edwin G. Chen, is expanding its operations in Bukidnon.
Chen, who is also the President of the Alliance Swine Producers Association, said that by January 2006 he is importing from Canada 250 heads of great-grandparent stocks to uplift the breeding stock in Mindanao.
"Aside from being bio-secure, Bukidnon has substantial supply of corn and its local government units are strictly implement zoning ordinances and supportive to investors like me. These are the key reasons why I decided to invest in Northern Mindanao," Chen explained.
With all the exciting developments in production technology and market prospects, Veñegas said the forthcoming 15th National Hog Convention and Trade Exhibits is expecting to attract scores of commercial producers and backyard raisers.
Likewise expected to attend are technology-providers, service suppliers, buyers, extension workers, executives from local government units, policy-makers, and support agencies.
NorminHOG recently signed a contract with Southland Events, Inc. (SEI) for the latter to provide the professional event management services to ensure that the convention will be of world-class status.
SEI is the only professional congress organizer in Northern Mindanao accredited with the Department of Tourism.
Interested participants, sponsors, exhibitors and advertisers are advised to contact Anna Marie J. Medes, Managing Director of Southland Events, Inc. at the 2nd Floor, METZ Arcade, Capt. Vicente Roa corner Jose Agudo Streets, Cagayan de Oro City. Telefax 088-8564499, mobile number 0917-6200712, and e-mail at southlandevents@yahoo.com.
(February 8, 2006 issue)
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