Cognizant of the need to boost and reboot the country’s livestock, dairy, and poultry subsectors, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), together with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and selected Asian research institutions, is currently undertaking a collaborative study titled “International Benchmarking Study of the Philippine Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Industries” co-developed and funded by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The study aims to determine the Philippines and other Asian countries’ comparative advantages in terms of costs, production management, and marketing practices, as well as to identify and analyze key enabling policies that would strengthen the livestock, dairy, and poultry subsectors. With the Philippine government’s current agricultural initiatives and policies skewed towards rice and corn, this study has been deemed necessary and opportune.
The benchmarking study is divided into two components, local and international, which are being led by PIDS and SEARCA, respectively. Given its wide network in the Asian region, SEARCA has partnered with three key research institutions in the conduct of the international component, namely, Peking University, China; Kasetsart University, Thailand; and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD), Vietnam.
The project team for the international component is composed of selected staff from SEARCA’s Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD) including Dr. Pedcris M. Orencio, Program Head; Ms. Bernice Anne D. De Torres, Program Specialist; Ms. Rochella B. Lapitan, Senior Program Associate; Ms. Ruth Jazrel M. Bandong, Project Associate; and Mr. Xyrus Godfrey B. Capiña, Output-Based Project Associate; as well as industry experts from the Philippines, China, Thailand, and Vietnam, namely, Dr. Liborio S. Cabanilla, Cross-Country Study Leader; Dr. Jikun Huang, China Country Study Leader; Dr. Somkiert Prasanpanich, Thailand Country Study Leader; and Dr. Tran Cong Thang, Vietnam Country Study Leader, respectively. The local component, on the other hand, will be led by Dr. Roehlano M. Briones, Senior Research Fellow of PIDS.
The project was officially kicked-off last 30 June 2021 during the SEARCA-PIDS levelling-off meeting conducted via Zoom. A series of meetings with the project consultants were also conducted to discuss the data collection activity, schedules of deliverables, and expected outputs of the study.
The project will officially run from July to October 2021, and the results are expected to contribute to the development of national policies in support of the livestock, poultry, and dairy industries.