The livestock industry in the Philippines has two distinct sectors. The small-scale semi-subsistence sector and the commercial sector. The commercial sector relies on the importation of feed and generally operates intensive production systems involving poultry, pigs and beef feedlot production. In the beef feedlot industry virtually all the feeder animals are imported. The bulk of the feed used to supply the pig and poultry industries is also imported. Pork is the most popular meat and 60-65% of meat eaten in the Philippines is pork
Large ruminants
The large ruminant industry has three components: (1) buffalo (draught, milk and meat); (2) beef cattle; and (3) dairy cattle. The buffalo or carabao industry is composed of 97% backyard farming and 3% commercial farming. Backyard farmers use buffaloes for draft(95%), milk(5%) and meat. Buffaloes are required to be over 7 years old before slaughter if male and over 11 years if female.
The industry has shown negative growth rates. However, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) says that this was reversed recently, with numbers adjusted up to 2.8 million. The Carabao Center was created in 1982 and until 1993 received support from UNDP. Inadequate breeding stock requires importation to upgrade and increase numbers. However, a need exists to increase support services as reduced numbers and high slaughter rates threaten draught power availability.
About 85% of the cattle in the beef industry are comprised of backyard enterprises. This will require regional restructuring due to spreading urbanisation. Backyard growers rely on farm waste for feed supplies. Feeds used by the commercial beef raisers are based largely on silage (75 day corn chop), sugarcane tops and chopped sugarcane with rice bran and copra meal, tapioca, pineapple pulp, local cotton seed meal, wheat pollard and brewery spent grain. The amounts fed fluctuate with price availability and acceptance by the cattle, the feeds being introduced slowly and continually monitored for performance and rations being modified to ensure at least 1 kg/day growth.
All feedlot cattle are imported and fed over a period from 90 to 120 days. They are sold when they reach 380-400 kgs. Cattle over 450 kg are penalised in the market place as they become difficult to process.
A 1996 study of the Institute of Agribusiness Development and Policy, University of Asia and the Pacific forecasts a continuing 4% increase in demand for beef but growers will have to rely on imports as few local cattle are available. Locally bred cattle appear to be finished for slaughter on the property of origin. The owners make use of feeds, often to supplement sugarcane tops or growing and cutting Leucena as a supplement.
With the decline in cattle numbers in Luzon and generally in commercial herds, feedlots rely virtually totally on imports of Australian steers for fattening. Approximately 192,000 heads of cattle were imported in 1995 for feedlot production
Factors that contribute to low cattle numbers are land tenure insecurity, inadequate support systems, marketing and transport infrastructure. Local feed resources are not well exploited although industrial byproducts, sugarcane tops and other crop residues are used widely. There is also inadequate population livestock base for breeding, which leads to the inability of natural increases to keep pace with the high level of marketing. The livestock are of generally poor quality, including the imports
The dairy Industry is 65% smallholder and 35% commercial dairy. Domestic production accounts for is less than 1% of supply. The industry is practically non existent except in the highlands where the local demand is met by some small dairy enterprises.
Markets are poorly developed and there is virtually no marketing as there is a very large import of milk products from Australia and New Zealand. Cooperatives exist and there is substantial unused capacity in the local processing industry.
Swine industry
The swine industry produces 1.2 million tonnes of pork annually. The backyard industry accounts for 83% of the swine population and commercial operators account for 17%. Swine marketing needs to be overhauled as "agents" now move about buying individual animals, often not giving a fair price. If FMD is declared in a region, agents focus on that affected region and substantially devalue prices.
The commercial enterprises are intensive, and have high turnovers with tight profit margins usually integrating feed supply, processing and marketing with production. There is concern about rising costs of feeds, leading to efforts at seeking feed substitutes and liberalisation of imports of livestock feeds. Some operators allegedly escape duties on feeds by using grains imported free of duty for human consumption. They are also seeking exemption from CARP to establish more stable sources of local feed supply.
Poultry industry
The poultry industry is largely composed of small scale producers. It is estimated that 70% of the birds are kept in backyard enterprises and 30% in commercial operations. In general commercial broiler operators are contracted by feedmills to raise the birds.
Native chickens are used by the smallholder farmers and hybrids by commercial intensive farmers who integrate feed supply, processing and marketing with production. Feeds are virtually fully imported, being yellow maize and soybean meal, although copra meal and rice bran is substituted to some extent
Concerns are about rising costs of feeds and competition with imported birds from Thailand; the lack of development of local feed supplies and the consequent efforts at liberalisation of imports of feeds. Poultry disease management is also a concern; village and smallholder chicken farmers suggest the use of V4 Newcastle Disease Vaccine.
Ducks are commonly a part of mixed farming enterprises. They are used to gather grain from rice fields after they are harvested.
Small ruminants
Small ruminants, particularly goats, are either kept by smallholder farmers or more intensively on government farms. The goat population has shown a steady rate of increase (a five-fold increase since 1961), following an increase in market demand for goat meat as well as its milk and fibre. They are used extensively by the backyard enterprises and the rural poor who make use of marginal lands so that health management is often at a low standard. Improved support services with improved quality breeding stock are required. Heifer International and other NGOs have a programme where they provide good quality goats, specifically 6 does and a buck, as a model. Feed and housing have to be available and the repayment consist of two kids per doe. Goats are generally grown on slats or tethered out.
Sheep have a very small population base.
Livestock nutrition
Commercial pig and poultry feeds compete with the human population for cereals. The rations are composed mainly of 50% maize and 25% soybean. Yellow maize (5-8% of which is imported) at a cost of P5-8/kg while the entire soybean supply is imported. Soybean costs P 9-11/kg. Rice bran and pollard make up the rest of the diet with copra meal, fish meal being replacement components for soybean when available.
Fish meal is an offal by-product and is available at a reasonable price, but lacks in quality. Sorghum and canola meal have anti-nutritional factors so are fed in small amounts. Meat and bone meal, rendered poultry products, which include feathers, are used when available but rendering is not universally practiced due to energy requirements and cost.
Other feeds are corn gluten, wheat pollard, brewery grain and yeast. There is an increasing supply of tapioca, sweet potato and molasses as sources of carbohydrate. Banana meal fibre and pineapple pulp, although sufficient in quantity, is more useful to ruminant nutrition. Backyard swine and poultry nutrition relies largely on swill and scavenging although ducks are commonly fed on rice stubble to eat snails and fallen rice heads and the manure is also seen as a benefit.
Swine raisers in different regions have buying advantages when it comes to stock feeds, for example, those in Central Luzon where Region II corners all the feed. Desiccated sweet potato is grown but is exported to Taiwan as it is owned by overseas interests. Substitutes for sweet corn are being sort and the Department of Agriculture has been approached to establish a laboratory process to test a mixture of sweet potato and copra cake and establish grower cooperatives to supply the product.
The expected yield of sweet potato is 20-40 tonnes/ha using developed varieties. To look at the feasibility and establish the process as a viable commercial enterprise as a corn substitute.
Conversion ratios achieved are 2.8-3.0 for swine and about 2.0 for poultry. Note that when village chickens give a very poor conversion which might mediate against intensifying village poultry without improving breed performance. Swine in prime condition sell for P55-60/kg liveweight while the culls sell for around P45/kg liveweight. About 15% of the swine meat is processed but as this is increasingly imported, this demand is falling off
Threats to the swine and poultry industry arise from uncertain costs of feed. The increase in corn production is 1.2% per year, while that from livestock (swine and poultry), 5-7%. A feedlot cartel is growing silage to reduce its need for corn
Animal health
Disease was not seen as a threat to the survival of either the swine or poultry commercial livestock industries as the level of management was able to combat all of the significant disease problems. The biggest problem identified was reduced profit margins due to increased animal feed costs Even in the backyard swine enterprises, disease was not seen as a priority as management systems were available to counter these. Diseases listed in order of priority were: (1) swine fever; (2) foot and mouth disease; and (3) pseudo rabies (Aujeszky's disease).
The backyard poultry industry has the following problems in order of priority: (1) avian pests and parasites,; (2) Newcastle disease; and (3) fowl cholera.
The backyard cattle industry faces the problems of (1) foot and mouth disease and (2) asteurellosis.
Pollution
Waste control is not an issue in the Philippines although two rivers have been declared officially dead. By-product rendering, although producing a valuable product, is not well established and there is a big variation in the quality of the product. An agency should look towards the more efficient utilisation of by-products. Liquid wastes do not receive enzyme treatment to reduce phosphates, and are therefore emerging as a serious problem.
Trade
Trade issues are emerging, with the WTO and GATT pushing for tariff reduction. Poultry from Thailand will be a threat to commercial producers unless the tariffs on feed imports are also reduced. Flour millers are able to import wheat with minimum tariff and this can find its way into substitute corn and soy but is supposed to be for human consumption.
Government policies
Government policies have not been able to assist livestock owners. In June 1988 the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) was introduced. Under this programme, landholders with more than 5 ha would have their land subdivided and given to the "landless." Due to lack of skills and resources on the part of the landless people, large tracts of land went out of production. Some of the new landholders speculated on their new land in the hope of quick financial gain. There is now legislation as CARL. Landholders in the more remote areas such as on Mindanao, away from government enforcement, can now protect their land more easily.
All the other ASEAN countries permit animal feed imports with low tariffs. Thus they are able to produce pigs and poultry at lower prices. Corn imported for animal feeds - that is, yellow corn - attracts a tariff of 35% if it falls within minimal access volume (MAV),. Beyond this, the tariff is 100%. The processing of sweet potato holds the greatest promise using 15% soybean meal for protein content. Rice hull chicken litter with 30% copra meal or rice bran has been used to feed cattle. This is fed with mineral premixes and molasses plus grass and rice straw have achieved weight gains of 2kg/day are achieved with a superior quality meat.
Constraints to livestock production in the Philippines
Constraints to improving livestock production are the following: (1) livestock nutrition with MAV applying to feed imports and not significantly more to establish substitute feeds; (2) livestock health and the need to eradicate FMD to permit the free movement of livestock from Luzon; (3) lack of security of land tenure; (4) urbanisation; (5) land use priority for cropping; (6) marketing and poor transport infrastructure; and (7) cattle rustling (theft).
Other concerns were the following: (1) fragility of the upland environments; (2) very poor infra structure support; (3) labour is moving to the cities; and (4) efficiency of national resource management.