CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Vice-Governor Dennis Pineda called on poultry raisers and owners to support moves to federalize the poultry industry here on Monday, September 4.
Pineda called for the move to come up with a unified organization of the poultry industry in Pampanga during Poultry Stakeholders Forum at the Benigno Aquino Hall on Monday.
Pineda said that this would enable the government to respond to the bird flu virus and other similar problems affecting the poultry industry.
The move is also seen as an effective way of coordinating fast and efficient response to such problems.
The federated organization of poultry stakeholders will also enable the government to effectively address the needs of the poultry industry.
"The poultry industry is something that we should not take lightly. When there is a problem affecting the industry it affects many people," Pineda said, adding that the recently contained bird flu outbreak in San Luis town are a lesson learned for Pampanga.
Pineda also promised to explore possible funding from the provincial government from the poultry industry sector.
Pineda also assured those affected by the recent culling operations of the support of the Provincial Government.
The vice governor said that there is a need now to strengthen the biosecurity protocols of Pampanga.
Pineda said that they are also looking at sending one provincial board member to China to look at best practices in containing bird flu outbreaks.
“What I ask from the poultry sector is to keep united so that we can address problems more effectively,” Pineda said.
It could be remembered that some 37,000 birds have died from avian influenza subtype H5 in what has been declared as the first bird flu outbreak in the country.
The deaths were recorded in six farms in rural San Luis town. Infections were also reported among fowls in two towns of Nueva Ecija.
More than 500,000 birds have been culled in quarantine operations in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.
All of the reported outbreaks have been contained by the Department of Agriculture.