By Warren Elijah Valdez  DAVAO CITY - A city councilor here is planning to propose legislation that will limit the number of chicken and pig being raised backyards. Councilor Ralph Abella, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, plans to create a team that will oversee the implementation of an ordinance on “Odor-Free Hog and Poultry Raising in Davao City”. The legislation, once approved, will also prohibit the feeding of swill to hogs being raised by farmers in the city. This will also serve as a mitigating measure to the recent outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF) here which recently affected three barangays in Calinan District. In an interview last week, Abella said the measure aims to protect the general public, including the hog and poultry industry. The lawmaker, who was also former chairman of Barangay Vicente Hizon Sr. in Buhangin District, cited that there have been complaints lodged against hog and poultry raisers by their neighbors due to the foul odor of these farms. He underscored that these complaints must be addressed "so that residents can live harmoniously". He added the measure also aims “to promote the general welfare and protect the health of the people with thorough emphasis on minimizing, if not eliminating, foul or unpleasant odor and water pollution.” The ordinance will also be instrumental and supplemental in ensuring the growth of the hog-and poultry- raising livelihood in the city through standardized management and administration. Abella also noted that those farmers, or individuals engaged in the hog raising, must have a garden with at least three pots of vegetables per hog or 16 kinds of plants planted in a plot with a size of at least 6x10 feet for every eight heads in rural areas and 2x10 feet for urban areas. Meanwhile, in terms of limiting the number of hogs, urban raisers can only have eight maximum heads for fattening and four mother pigs in piglet production. In the rural area, a raiser can only have a maximum of 16 heads for fattening and 10 mother pigs in piglet production. Community hog raising will only allow piglet production, with 20 maximum heads in both urban and rural areas. Free range pigs will only be allowed in fended properties in rural areas, with a maximum of 20 heads for fattening or piglet production. For poultry, urban raisers can only have a maximum of 20 heads for meat production and 100 for egg production. For rural raisers, it will be fixed at 30 heads for meat production and 150 for egg production. Community hog raising will only allow 150 maximum heads for meat production. Abella said there should be no hog and poultry production within 50 meters away from any food establishment. Aside from limiting the number of hogs raised, Abella also plans to set qualifications for those seeking to be hog raisers. He said raisers must always observe proper sanitation of their pig pens and chicken cages and their surrounding at all times. The animal waste must be properly disposed of, and composted in a closed container with pinholes or any nylon sack and should be used as organic fertilizer or soil condition in gardening or farming. The lawmaker also wants hog raisers to use environmentally-friendly enzyme in the fermentation of feeds for feeding and drinking of the animals and in cleaning the pens and cages. The slaughtering, he said, must not be done by the livestock hog raisers, as it must be done only by legitimate and duly accredited slaughterhouses. In line with this proposed legislation, a house-to-house visitation was recently conducted by Councilor Abella together with the City Veterinarian's Office (CVO) for an odor-orientation, hog products sample distribution, orientation on ASF. A livestock forum and public consultation was also conducted last Feb. 15 where backyard hog raisers were gathered to discuss, among others, the proposal. Abella said consultation with the hog raisers association, city veterinarian, city agriculture, city health, city planning, and other concerned parties will be undertaken during the committee hearing once the proposal is docketed and approved on first reading by the Council.