Since the African Swine Fever hit the Philippines in 2019, the government has been implementing measures to alleviate its effect on the livelihood of the Filipinos and to the hog industry. One of the programs being implemented is the integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) Program as a repopulation effort of the Department of Agriculture. Through this project, the DA-RFO-CAR has already established 56 INSPIRE projects all over CAR. Looking forward to when all these projects come into full operation and considering the other projects being given aside from INSPIRE there will be lots of supply for pork and could be an opportunity to add livelihood for these raisers and venture into meat processing. As a result of this, the Regional Training Center of the Agricultural Training Institute in the Cordillera conducted a Training of Trainers on Meat Processing held on April 15-19, 2024 at the Benguet State University College of Home Economics.
Participants enriched themselves in the different topics regarding meat processing, particularly on the Principles of Meat Processing; Meat Processing Technologies with Hands-on Activities covering curing, salting, fermentation, and smoking techniques; Packaging, Labelling, and Pricing; and Meat Safety and FDA Requirements.
During the Closing Program, Ms. Sandra S. Astudillo, Report Officer of MLGU San Isidro, Abra thanked ATI-Cordillera for the invitation extended to them. She pointed out that the training was very useful because of the swine movement restrictions due to ASF cases in Abra. She hoped to share the knowledge and skills gained with her constituents.
A total of 21 participants representing various Provincial Veterinary offices accompanied by livestock focal persons from the different MLGUs of CAR. They are expected to work together to conduct training on meat processing for farmer clienteles.// With reports from Ms. Lorna Sawac-Alboc
