The province of Negros Occidental will have sufficient meat supply for the duration of the 14-day enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) brought about by the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Dr. Renante Decena, head of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), said on Monday they provided Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson a copy of the situational analysis on meat supply from March 30 until April 14.
“In general, we have enough supply of meat products during the two-week ECQ,” he added.
Negros Occidental has a stable supply of pork and chicken as well as carabeef or carabao meat, which is an alternative to beef, and also has a surplus in goat meat.
“In live sales during auction market, we have plenty of animals for sale,” the PVO chief said.
Decena said the province has a deficit in eggs by almost 40 percent in commercial production, but backyard raisers also augment local supply with free-range chicken eggs.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas issued food pass and food lane vehicle pass cards to suppliers and farm producers in the region, including Negros Occidental.
The move aims to ensure the unhampered movement of all cargoes, agriculture and fishery inputs, food products, and agribusiness personnel in Region 6 during the community quarantine period.
Still, Decena said the province maintains its African swine fever (ASF) quarantine checkpoints in seaports and in Kabankalan City in the south because the food lane is open for animals and meat supply.
Negros Occidental has banned pork, pork products, and live pigs from Luzon and Mindanao to protect its PHP6-billion hog industry from the dreaded swine disease. (Erwin Nicavera pna)