Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol talked to the stakeholders of the Committee on Poultry, Livestock and Feed Crops on December 5, 2016 at Apacible Conference Room in Quezon City to tackle issues and concerns confronting the industries.

Organized by PCAF, the meeting was an offshoot of the Joint NSCs and RAFC Officers Dialogue with Sec. Piñol last November 17, 2016 in the same venue.

Representatives from concerned DA offices, bureaus and attached agencies, government organizations and various private sectors were also in attendance.

Dr. Arnulfo Frontuna of the Philippine Veterinary Drug Association (PVDA) clarified the issue on the cancellation of Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) import clearances whether it is applicable to meat products only or to all agricultural products.

Sec. Piñol explained that the cancellation is a misnomer since it is actually a revalidation of the SPS permits.

He added that the revalidation of the permits is needed for the DA to determine the volume of agricultural products entering the country and the number of SPS permits that have been issued.

The Committee and Sec. Piñol agreed that the revalidation of the SPS permits is until December 15, 2016 otherwise, DA would consider them cancelled. The Secretary later on extended the deadline on December 31.

He also suggested that PCAF should pass a resolution to conduct a nationwide study to gather agricultural data from the grassroots as a basis for coming up with appropriate agricultural importation decisions.

To effectively address unfair trade and smuggling, the committee adopted a resolution recommending the DA Secretary through the DA – Policy Research Service (PRS) to institutionalize a trade data system in the DA in all agricultural and fishery products whether locally produced, imported and for export and re-export.– LC