More than 300 exhibitors and 10,000 farmers, fisherfolk, traders, buyers, experts, policy and decision makers, and industry stakeholders around the world convened at the Livestock and Aquaculture Philippines 2023 to share their products, services, and best practices.
The three-day expo – the largest international trade fair for the livestock, poultry, and aquaculture industries – was organized by international events manager, Informa Markets and was hosted by the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) through the National Livestock Program (DA-NLP) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) with the goal of promoting the development of the Philippine agri-fishery sector.
Informa Markets Country General Manager for Malaysia and the Philippines Gerard Leeuwenburgh called for every industry player to “step up” by innovating and adapting new technologies, enhancing food production, reducing waste, preventing diseases, and showing genuine concern for environment “to ensure a sustainable production system” and “to be able to keep up with the competition in the [Asia-Pacific] Region.”
Now on its sixth installment, the Livestock and Aquaculture Philippines 2023 formally opened on July 5 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. personally leading the ceremony.
In his speech, the President and also concurrent Secretary of Agriculture acknowledged the vital role of the private sector in “realizing our dreams of progressively expanding and modernizing the poultry and livestock industries in the Philippines.”
He also emphasized the need to revitalize Philippine agriculture by addressing key issues such as food inflation, the need to boost food production and mobilization, the importance of enhancing profitability and other opportunities in agri-fishery-based livelihoods, the emergence of agricultural pests and diseases, and more.
“We will work to find ways to increase our farmers’ incomes so that they can lead a dignified and comfortable life and return to the profession a sense of pride that has been lost over the years. It is our hope to bring back nobility to a profession that has sacrificed so much to feed and to nourish us for many, many generations. Let us make the most of the knowledge and tools made available at this trade fair so that we can establish a more food-secure, sustainable, and resilient Philippines in the years ahead,” the President concluded.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform Chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar, House Committee Chairperson on Agriculture and Food Representative Mark Enverga, Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) Partylist Representative Nicanor Briones, Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano, and dignitaries from other countries.
Members of the DA family—namely the National Livestock Program (NLP), Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), National Dairy Authority (NDA), Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), International Training Center on Pig Husbandry (ITCPH), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and government financial institutions Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines—set up their booths at the DA Pavilion and the Aquaculture area of the exhibit to extend services to the general public. ### (Krystelle Ymari A. Vergara, DA-AFID)
