Bio-security audit set in Pampanga
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that a national bio-security audit is now being conducted in Pampanga to prevent another incident of bird flu outbreak in the country.
This is to ensure that farms conform with bio-security prot o co l s.
The program is expected to improve the poultry industry for a renewed confidence on the safety of poultry products in Pampanga and the whole country.
The move is also aimed at strenghtening of the bio-security program of the Philippines.
An evaluation of the recent outbreak will also be included in the audit.
“Faced with the problem of how to dispose of chicken dung which used to be sold to vegetable farmers in the Cordillera, a group of German and Colombian engineers have designed a facility which would process chicken dung into organic fertilizer and even produce power. They were engaged by a local company, Santa Rosa Farm Products in establishing the facility which in turn will enter into a supply and marketing agreement for organic fertilizer with Planters Products Inc., a farmers’corporation supervised by the Department of Agriculture. This is purely a private sector funded project,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said.
Pinol said he will ask Governor Lilia Pineda and Bacolor Mayor Jomar Hizon to turn the lahar-covered wastelands of Pampanga into a vegetable and cut-flower production area using the Greenhouse Technology.
“From the ashes of the lahar and the damage inflicted by the Bird Flu, Pampanga will rise and could become a major producer and exporter of quality organic vegetables and cut flowers. With the Clark International Airport nearby, the farmers of Pampanga could very well realize this,” Pinol said.