LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Regulatory Division of the Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera (DA-CAR), in collaboration with Benguet Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) and La Trinidad Municipal Agriculture Office, held an orientation activity on October 25, 2022, in barangay Shilan, La Trinidad, Benguet, to inform stakeholders about Republic Act 1556, or the Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act.
RA 1556 makes it illegal and strictly prohibited to buy or sell adulterated or unlabeled feeds. In addition to the orientation, the team conducted an inspection and monitoring activity on the trading of adulterated feeds in the area.
Adulterated feeds may contain a poisonous or deleterious substance that is harmful to livestock health. Dr. Kevin Jim Luna, Head of the DA-CAR Quality Control and Inspection Section, explained that the office received several reports of trading adulterated animal feed known locally as “pagpag” feeds, prompting the monitoring activity to be carried out in collaboration with the concerned local government offices.
“Our initial monitoring and information, education and communication efforts to feed traders here in Shilan has been well accepted by the traders,” Luna said. “We will also be conducting similar activities in other areas to ensure that all stakeholders are well informed.”
Dr. Peter Canggat of the Benguet PVO also advised all local hog and poultry raisers that the continuous use of adulterated feeds is not recommended and may even pose a risk of disease transmissions such as Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever.
The orientation activity also reinforced the requirement for all livestock and feed traders to apply for a License to Operate as Animal Feed Establishments. Any individuals, groups, or establishments found in violation of the provisions of RA 1556 and its implementing rules and regulations face a fine of not less than P1,000, imprisonment for not more than one year and one day, or both, at the discretion of the courts.