Animal products like chicken and pork form a big part of our basket of goods that affect inflation. Our population, despite slowing down in growth as I pointed out in my Aug. 5, 2025 column, still has a high demand for these two agricultural products. Rice and animal products are a vital part of the Filipino diet. Chicken is a major protein source, while pork is a protein and flavoring agent in many Filipino dishes.

In the Oct. 3, 2025 Manila Bulletin article by Dexter Barro, Republic Act 12308, or the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act (AIDCA) establishes a key measure called the Animal Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (AnCef), which will have an annual budget of ₱20 billion sourced from the tariffs collected from imported pork products. Twenty-six percent of this amount is allocated to herd build-up and improvement of breeding centers. It allocates 70 percent for hogs, 20 percent for poultry, and the balance for other animals. It aspires to improve the volume of production while increasing competitiveness for animal farmers. The article also mentions that the Department of Agriculture will eventually roll out the African Swine Fever vaccine.

I hope that the funds and programs included in RA 12308 will be thoroughly implemented. This will go a long way to build the animal industry’s competitiveness and keep the prices of pork and chicken stable and competitive over time.

Moving forward, I hope that this new law will spur deeper discussions at the regional level to encourage backyard raisers to expand their production, formalize their operations, and implement sustainability measures to manage waste and promote local sourcing of feeds and other inputs.

Local incentives can be deployed to attract such producers into properly zoned areas. This, in turn, creates a demand for local corn producers. When the animal industry expands, the rural employment and income generation potential is easily felt, since the agriculture sector employs the most among lower-income residents, driving local growth. This also adds value and bolsters the contribution of the Agriculture Fishery and Forestry (AFF) sector of the regional economy.

Taking this further, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Cooperatives Development Authority (CDA) can mobilize their respective resources to assist backyard raisers to scale up. Direct supply contracts can also be engaged with restaurants, hotels, credit cooperatives that operate coop stores, and even church groups for members. Local chambers of commerce can help match these businesses with each other. This demand increased partnerships that assure buyers a stable affordable supply of quality animal products and assures local producers of direct markets.

In Mindanao’s case, being the food basket of the country means we will need to be able to produce animal products at prices that can compete with global producers. The challenge is ensuring affordable transport of the products to Visayas and Luzon, where demand is high. Having more supply from Mindanao can reduce imports, and will help maximize the production potential. This will, in turn, create the opportunity to create jobs and income in the local economy.

We condole with those families who lost loved ones in the Cebu earthquake. We also thank all of you for helping our fellow Filipinos affected by the recent earthquake in Cebu. The recent arrival of aid and vehicles from Davao City and the assistance from numerous others is deeply appreciated. Let us continue to help each other recover from disasters.