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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Swine vaccine drive pushed
VETERINARY officials in South Cotabato have launched a vaccination program for backyard swine or hog raisers to help maintain the quality of hog stocks in the area.
Provincial veterinarian Dr. Lorna Lamorena said they are currently monitoring the operations of the province's backyard hog raisers that is now among the steady sources of hogs being shipped to Manila and other key meat markets in the country.
From being mere suppliers of local wet markets and small food establishments, she said meat shippers are now tapping the backyard hog growers.
"These small backyard raisers have been producing quality stocks and we want to maintain that to ensure good markets for them," Lamorena said.
Lamorena said they are closely monitoring the occurrence of various animal diseases such as hog cholera and foot and mouth disease (FMD) although Mindanao has been declared FMD-free.
Lamorena said the vaccination program is also aimed at encouraging more residents to set up backyard farms and the expansion of the existing ventures.
"We are advising local hog growers to immediately avail of the provincial government's vaccination program to avoid the occurrence of the destructive animal diseases in the future," Lamorena said.
The province is considered as among the country's major sources of hogs, comprising over 250,000 heads that is about 50 percent of the entire Region 12 or Soccsksargen Region's stocks.
According to the National Statistics Office, the region's 114,700 farms reared at least 494,00 hogs. (Allen V. Estabillo)
(October 17, 2005 issue)
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