DA confronts the deadly poultry Newcastle disease

摘要

This is how Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. describe the prospects and problems of the poultry industry during the recent First Newcastle Disease Summit. Picture this: "Last Year, the country's poultry industry produced 125.25 million birds valued at P66.5 billion. The Figure forms 41.8 per cent of the poultry and livestock combined volume of production. Poultry eggs and meat provide the cheapest source of protein for Filipinos. The local chicken egg production accounted for 260.82 thousand metric tons with a per capita consumption of 3 kilograms (kg) eggs a year. Poultry meat production had increased to over 1,098.8 metric tons for a per capita consumption of 7.80 kg. But, with the 57 percent mortality rate of backyard/improve chicken for the year 2001, an estimated P6 billion was lost to the deadly Newcastle disease. This year, the same amount of losses are seen by industry leaders."