Agriculture dep’t forms working group to study concerns of broiler industry

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it created a technical working group to study the problems of broiler poultry farmers.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar signed Special Order No. 197 on March 3 creating the Technical Working Group on Broiler Concerns.

Mr. Dar said the group will collate and analyze data on the industry, including supply and demand, production costs, development plans for the sector, consultation with industry stakeholders.

The group is also authorized to make policy recommendations for the industry in coordination with other DA agencies.

“The technical working group was created… to ensure that the broiler sector’s concerns are proactively and adequately addressed,” Mr. Dar said in the special order.

Gregorio A. San Diego, Jr., chairman of the United Broiler Raisers Association, said in a mobile phone message that the DA should also develop a road map for the industry to give the working group a starting point.

“If there is no road map for the broiler sector, what will be the guide during industry consultations? Not having that might cause confusion among the parties and the discussions will have no order,” Mr. San Diego said.

According to the DA, the technical working group on broiler concerns will be chaired by Rene C. Santiago, assistant director for production and research of the Bureau of Animal Industry.

In a virtual briefing Thursday, Agriculture Spokesperson Noel O. Reyes said the DA’s road map for the broiler sector is being formulated, but did not give a timeline for its completion.

“The DA will give updates regarding the road map plan in the succeeding days,” Mr. Reyes said.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Philippine chicken inventory as of Jan. 1 was 179.78 million birds, up 0.9% from a year earlier.

The broiler chicken inventory as of Jan. 1 was down 4.7% year on year at 53.72 million birds. The PSA said layer chicken numbers rose 4.2% year on year to 42.93 million birds. Native chicken inventory rose 3.1% year on year to 83.14 million birds. —