Pork Industry in Daet Camarines Norte: Raising, Processing, Production, and

Marketing

King I. Geda
Hannah Pauline M. Jamito
Kaye O. Bravo
Rovie Joy Q. Villegas
Jovy Ann Lausin

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Camarines Norte State College - Labo Campus

2022
 CASE STUDY

I. INTRODUCTION

a.) Statement of the problem

The swine industry in the Philippines is a huge business as livestock in the

Philippines. Based on the article of Aris Acosta in Veterinaria Digital, about 55% of

the of the total animal industry accounts making it as the biggest contributor.

Additionally, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released report of the swine

situation in our country from the month of April to June, 2022. Hog production in the

span of 3 months from April to June in the current year was recorded at 418.40 thousand

metric tons, liveweight, which indicates that there was an increase of about 3% relative

to its previous year’s level of 406.07 thousand metric tons. Moreover, according from

the PSA data, the total swine inventory as of June 2022, it reached 9.94 million heads

which is also 3% higher compared to last years record. 70% of the country’s swine

population came from backyard farms, while the remaining 30% is from the

commercial farms.

The industrial sector has helped in contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of

the Philippines, government are still making its efforts to attract foreign direct

investment by improving the infrastructures. In addition, there are two major industries

in the Philippine country including the manufacturing and agribusiness. Therefore, the

world bank considers the Philippine as a developing country having relatively lower

per-capita GDP whereas less developed level of industrialization and technological

process, and lower human capital index (HDI) in comparison to core state countries.

The industry is necessary in terms of local food as it contributes approximately 20%

of the Gross Domestic product (GDP). The local food supply has benefits for different

aspect of society, including social, economy and environmental. Locally grown food

provides several benefits such as improved nutrition for delivering a high nutrient

content, improves food safety as a major concern for people as it is risky if the food is

contaminated and pass to several hands before it reaches the food consumers.
Moreover, it helps in preserving the small land farmers, attracting other types of

biodiversity, and promotes accountability among sellers in the market. In terms of

economic aspect, it keeps the money in the community as the small-scale vendors are

prospering due to community people’s support. Furthermore, local farmers make more

profit and creates job for the jobless.

Entering the new administration under Marcos leadership and the ongoing effect of

the pandemic greatly affects the livelihoods of the local hog raisers and sellers. One of

it is the high inflation which rises up to 8%, feed prices increased and high vaccine

prices. In addition, the impact on communication that must be strengthen for

information dissemination by creating group of farmers to extend help to one another.

Thus, having improved communication can build trust and can increase effectiveness

of programs. Moreover, educating farmers regarding hog raising is necessary to

improve their skills and be knowledgeable on how to properly take care of hogs and

mitigate the possible risks from ASF or African Swine Fever as it may affect their day

to day lives.

b.) Presentation of the problem

Daet is a coastal municipality in the province of Camarines Norte. It serves as

the provincial capital. As the first-class municipality of Camarines Norte, it is where

establishments are located such as malls, convenience stores, business firms, public

markets, etc. Thus, residents from other towns tend to go in there to buy meat products

for their consumption, some are for their businesses whereas meat is the main dish.

Buying high-quality meat products attracts more customers in business, it helps in

having an increase income as well as for the capital used for raising hogs. Therefore,

meat as one of the foods being consumed mostly by people, the main reason for

conducting this case study is to have an access in the pork industry of Daet, Camarines

Norte that will try to identify the strength, weaknesses, threats and opportunities among

hog raisers and sellers.

The purpose of this case study is to determine the following to improve the

livelihood of the farmers in pork industry specifically in Daet, Camarines Norte.

• To determine the challenges faced by the pork sellers and hog raisers in

Daet, Camarines Norte.

• To determine the impact of inflation to livelihood of pork sellers in the

Municipality of Daet, Camarines Norte.

• To determine the strengths and weaknesses of engaging in the pork industry

in Daet Municipality.

• To identify suggestions from the respondents on how the concerned

stakeholders address issues regarding to hog raising, processing, production

and marketing.

d.) Importance of the case study

This case study focused on the pork industry of Daet Camarines Norte

which will benefit the following such as consumers because they will have a better

understanding behind the increasing prices of meat products in the market and will

be able to know the challenges hog raisers and sellers faced in this kind of

livelihood. In addition, this will be of great benefit to the local hog farmers as this

will serve as an additional informative material on ensuring and securing food

production, they also play a vital role in the food resources and businesses as part

of the basic needs of people, also local hog farmers who uses traditional raising of

hogs as they will benefit in this study through acquiring knowledge to improve

production of high-quality meat products. Further, this will also benefit the pork

sellers as it will help them in choosing market because it has an impact on producers

specifically in health aspect. Moreover, this study will be of great benefit to the

Town of Daet, Camarines Norte because it is one of the largest places where people
 buy or consume pork or meat in the establishments. Lastly to future researchers as

this study will serve as a reference or source of information in conducting further

similar study regarding the pork industry.

e.) Definition of terms used in the case study

The following terms used in the case study are conceptually defined to have a

deeper understanding of the study as a whole. Pork refers to the fresh or salted flesh

of swine when dressed for food (Merriam Webster dictionary, 2022). Pig industry

or Pork industry refers to the people and activities involved in making pork products

(Collins Dictionary, 2022). Small scale vendors refer to less capital investment, a

smaller number of labor and fewer machines to operate is known as a small

business. Small scale Industries or small business are the type of industries that

produces goods and services on a small scale. (BY JU’s, 2022) Furthermore, ASF

define as a highly contagious viral disease of pigs. In its acute form the disease

generally results in high mortality. ASF is a different disease to swine flu. The virus

does not affect people and there is no impact on human health. (DAERA, 2022).
II. BODY

a.) Background of the case study

Based on the literature of Professional Pig Community (2022) the USDA

predicts that the pork production in the Philippines will reach 1.025 million MT

due to increased herd repopulation efforts of both large and small-scale

businesses. Nonetheless, ASF of African Swine Fever remains the primary

cause of hindrances in the hog sector. In relation to the present study, according

to the gathered data, pork seller expressed their dismay whenever there is

disease which can affect their livestock as well as their livelihood. Because they

save money for the capital and for the feeds of the hogs, but due to spreading

diseases, it could result in loss of profit. The Central Luzon region, historically

the Philippines’s top pork producer, plunged 71%, heavily affected by ASF.

(Professional Pig Community, 2022) The Philippines is the 10th largest

consumer, 8th largest producer, and 7th largest importer of pork worldwide.

Pinoys consume around 25 kilograms of meat yearly, including 15 kgs of pork

according to the literature of Pilmico (2020). Filipinos are indeed loves to eat

and can consume a lot of meat; it is part of their daily dish as they love to eat

foods that is high in protein. Historically, meats are of ritualistic importance.

Long before the country was called the Philippines, pork was already a well-

favored food source. Pigs are known to be indigenous in our country. The word

“baboy” in Tagalog resembles Indonesian and Malaysian names for pork such

as “babi” and “bawi” respectively. This proves that pork is a pre-colonial food

source in Southeast Asian countries. Swine production plays a major role in

ensuring the country’s food security by providing about 60% of the total animal

meat consumption of the Filipinos. (Special Area for Agricultural

Development, 2022). The farmers are eager to know the latest practices in

raising hogs as well as the technologies that may help them in their livelihood,

they are willing to attend seminar or training which will equip them with the
necessary skills and knowledge, also how to mitigate the potential risks of

spreading diseases for their animals. In relation to the study, one of the

respondents suggested that LGU must implement more programs, seminars and

trainings in hog raising to produce a high-quality meat. Swine production in the

Philippines is a P191-billion industry and is the largest among the livestock and

poultry industries of the country. It ranks next to rice with 18.28% contribution

to the total value of agricultural production. Swine production plays a major

role in ensuring the country’s food security by providing about 60% of the total

animal meat consumption of Filipinos. The Philippine swine industry is ranked

eighth in the world in terms of the volume of pork production and number of

breeding sows. However, majority or about 65% of the pigs in the Philippines

are kept by small hold pig raisers. (DOST-PCAARRD, 2022) Despite of living

in the technological world, Philippine country is not that much outdated when

it comes to technology however, the local pig industry is still confronted with

inefficiency of production, high mortality because of the inefficient diagnostic

tool. This relates to the present study as the result of the conducted interview in

Daet, Camarines Norte, one of the respondents suggested to improve the use of

technology in helping them in raising hogs. “FAS Manila maintains 2022 pork

production at 1 million MT. Industry is continually hesitant to rebuild stocks

despite the government’s best efforts to encourage repopulation amid the

continuing threat of ASF infection and the absence of a locally-available

vaccine,” the agency said in its latest Global Agricultural Information Network

(Gain) report. Because of this, the Philippines will rely more on imported pork

products to plug the domestic supply shortfall and temper rising prices for the

second consecutive year. (Business Mirror, 2022) One of the objectives of this

present study is to identify suggestions from respondents, in relation to this

literature, respondents expressed that government should limit the importation

of meat from foreign countries as it affects their livelihood, people should

specifically in the pork industry if Daet, Camarines Norte.

b.) Description of the elements

Participants Number of Age Gender Type of Hog

26 Male =I Backyard=III

29

45

Sellers 4 28 Female = II

18 Male = II

59

30

As shown in the data above are the relevant elements in the pork industry.

Target participants are farmers and sellers to determine the different

perspectives in terms on pork industry in Daet, Camarines Norte. Ages of

farmers are from 26 years old to 51 years old, three of the farmers are female

while the other one is male. Based on the record, three of the farmers are raising

their hogs in their backyard while one of them are raising hogs in the farm.

Moreover, sellers are also included as the target participants for conducting this

study, there are also four participants ages from 18, 28, 30 and 59 years old,

having equal number of 2 males and 2 females.

Farmers were asked regarding on how ASF affects their business, the

summary of their answers are it could affect other farmers when the diseases

started to spread due to lack of mitigation process, moreover, the climate change

also affects the health of their hogs. Aside from that is the profit loss, and the

high price of feeds.

market. Most of the seller answered that their income is affected by the ASF for

their day to day living.

In terms of production, they face challenges when the pig is having

miscarriage which affects the livelihood as well as the meat production.

Moreover, the high price of feeds for the hogs are painful for the farmers as it

cost too much in raising hogs. The sellers bring their pigs in the slaughter house

to chop the pig and sell it in the market. In addition, they also face challenges

based on the behavior of their consumers. Aside from that is the continuous

importation of foreign meats which affects the market of pork industry in Daet,

Camarines Norte.

c.) Presentation of data

The following are the response of the target participants for the present case

study, as well as the relevant information from the LGU of Daet, Camarines

Norte.
III. CONCLUSION

a.) Results and discussion

Upon interviewing both the farmers and sellers, the different perspective was

presented. Based on their responses, labor is one of the challenges when raising

hogs as the feces in the backyard have to be clean up to remove the foul odor as

well as for the neighborhood to not complain about it as it would also affect the

business. Most of the participants are raising hogs in their backyard, one of them

uses traditional way, some uses feeds. However due to increasing prices of the

products, sustaining this kind of business is costly. Both sellers and farmers

expressed that importation of meats from foreign countries must be lessen in order

to maintain the affordable price of the meat. Therefore, it would be beneficial for

both the sellers and consumers, as meat is the most common used for cuisines.

LGU must encourage local farmers to engage in the activities relating to agri

farming to help them improve their livestock. Moreover, proper dissemination of

information must be executed so that everyone who are willing to join can

participate. There should also be support from the local government to help farmers

in terms of using advance technologies, or vitamins that would help domestic pigs

to become healthy to produce a quality meat in the market. Educate the farmers

regarding the diseases in raising hog to help them mitigate the risk and sustain the

livestock. In addition, strengthen the livelihood programs of LGU in terms of

farming and provision of incentives for farmers.

b.) Conclusion

Due to inflation of 8% increase in the Philippine economy, people barely buy

meat for their meals, some changed their course of dish into chickens as it is less

costly than pork’s in the market. Support from the government is indeed necessary

to help farmers in the sustainability of livestock and their livelihood. Moreover,

because of the climate change, it affects the domestic pigs, therefore proper housing

for raising pigs is also necessary.

The Local Government Unit must strengthen the communication and adapt

bottom-up approach of communication where the farmers will be given voices

to express themselves as they have the first-hand experience in raising hogs.

Therefore, they know what they need and they know what measures should be

taken to address the issues on increasing prices of feeds. Moreover, to be

inclusive in providing seminars, trainings, and implementing programs to the

farmers whether small- or large-scale farming as they envision the same goal in

improving the livestock as well as the livelihood.

In addition, help farmers to appeal on the Department of Agriculture to

provide the use of technology to improve the production of high-quality meat.

Adapt technological advances as both farmers and consumers will benefit from

it.
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