Latest news with #DepartmentofAgriculture
GMA Network
12 hours ago
- Business
- GMA Network
DA, PNP boost anti-smuggling campaign
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is intensifying its anti-smuggling campaign after discovering the sale of suspected smuggled onions in Paco Market in Manila. On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA will partner with the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the crackdown against smuggled agricultural products they discovered smuggled onions being sold in the market. The imported red onions are larger and cleaner than local varieties. It also surfaced in markets despite the absence of import permits, he added. 'We did not give any permits to anybody since early this year. Lahat ng imported onions sa lahat ng palengke ay smuggled iyan,' said Laurel Jr. 'It's the directive of President Bongbong Marcos to stop smuggling—that's why we now have this law,' he said. The DA will conduct lab testing of seized onions to ensure they are not a public health threat. Previous inspections found traces of E. coli and heavy metals in smuggled white onions. 'But of course, our target remains the so-called 'big fish.' We will raid warehouses with the help of the PNP,' said Tiu Laurel. Meanwhile, the DA said they are also eyeing to train police officers to distinguish between locally produced and imported agricultural products, including pork, as part of efforts to strengthen the government's anti-smuggling campaign. In October 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12022 into law, which repeals the 2016 Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act and introduces tougher, more comprehensive enforcement mechanisms.—VAL, GMA Integrated News
IOL News
a day ago
- Health
- IOL News
South Africa partially lifts poultry import ban from Brazil, producers rejoice
Poultry products producers and agriculture associations have welcomed the news by the Department of Agriculture to partially lift the ban on imports of poultry and poultry products from Brazil from Thursday. Image: supplied Poultry product producers and agriculture associations have welcomed the news by the Department of Agriculture that it has partially lifted the ban on imports of poultry and poultry products from Brazil from Thursday. The ban was imposed due to an outbreak of Avian flu in Brazil. The Department of Agriculture has since said that the ban has been contained to one state in Brazil. Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen announced that South Africa will partially lift the suspension on imports of all poultry and poultry products from Brazil, effective on Thursday. 'This decision follows the receipt of a second report from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, confirming that the outbreak has been contained to a single state,' Steenhuisen said. 'However, this partial lifting remains conditional and may be revoked if the outbreak is found to have spread to other states within Brazil.' Georg Southey, the manager at Merlog Foods, said this decision was a welcome and necessary move. 'The partial lifting of the import ban will be applied to all other states of Brazil, aside from the Rio Grande do Sul region, where the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, was detected mid-May," Southey said, "The decision to partially lift this ban could not have come at a more critical time. South Africa has been losing over 100 million meals per week due to the ban, putting pressure on food affordability and security, especially as Stats SA reports that up to 30% of households in some provinces face regular hunger.' Brazil supplies 95% of South Africa's mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a key ingredient in everyday staples like polony, viennas, and sausages. Southey explained that these affordable proteins are essential to school feeding schemes and low-income families, and no other country could fill the gap. He said, "I commend the Department and the Minister of Agriculture for responding swiftly to industry concerns and for engaging constructively with Brazilian authorities to implement a regionalisation protocol. By allowing imports from unaffected areas of Brazil to resume, this decision strikes a vital balance between biosecurity and national food needs.' Arnold Prinsloo, the CEO of Eskort, too welcomed the "speedy response from the government", but said South Africa was by no means out of the woods yet. 'Although the Department of Agriculture has agreed to a partial lifting of the suspension, the process is as follows: Brazil has to send a certificate to the government, and together they need to agree on legalities and wording," he said. Prinsloo explained that once that certificate is in place, South Africa can only then place orders to Brazil. Production has stopped in Brazil, so there will be a two-week lead time on production. Then orders will take six weeks to get to South Africa, and then one to two weeks to clear customs. 'Thus there will still be an impact on consumers and business and food security at large. We do have stock in place, but many of the smaller suppliers are in trouble and will remain so,' Prinsloo said. The South African Meat Processors Association (Sampra) also welcomed the announcement, saying it will avert significant shortages of affordable protein such as polony, viennas, and braai wors on South African shelves. Gordon Nicoll, the chairperson of Sampra, said, "We are grateful for the urgency displayed by the Department of Agriculture in averting the full-scale social and humanitarian crisis which the ban imposed on 16 May threatened to unleash. 'While it will take some time for imports of MDM to reach our shores, the situation could have been significantly worse.' Francois Rossouw, the CEO of Southern African Agri Initiative, said the decision by the Department reflects a much-needed shift towards a science-based and internationally aligned approach to managing animal health risks through regionalisation. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
Agriland
a day ago
- Health
- Agriland
DAERA: Bluetongue disease ‘will arrive at some stage'
Bluetongue disease will, inevitably, reach the island of Ireland. And this may well happen sooner rather than later. This is the strongly held view of Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) deputy chief veterinary officer, Dr. David Kyle. He made the comments at the recent Northern Ireland Institute of Agricultural Science (NIIAS) annual conference. Dr. Kyle said: 'The disease carrying midges will arrive at some stage: we can't control the weather. 'DAERA is currently monitoring midge and virus populations, specifically in Irish Sea coastal areas.' The latest figures from Great Britain (GB) confirm the east/west march of the virus. However, to date, it has not reached those regions with high sheep populations. Once bluetongue reaches Irish shores, 20km radius incursion zones will be established in an attempt to get to grips with the disease, according to the DAERA deputy chief veterinary officer. Dr, Kyle referenced the future use of vaccines as a way farmers can get to grips with the problem within their own businesses. Chatting at the NIIAS conference, (l to r) Ian Stevenson, Dairy Council for Northern Ireland; and Dick Blakiston Houston, BlakistonHouston Estates According to the DAERA representative, a region's animal health status will have a direct bearing on its ability to export food products. In addition, disease has a direct bearing on animal performance and productivity. Illegal animal and food importations heighten the risk of new disease threats, and Dr. Kyle confirmed that DAERA has strengthened its presence at all of Northern Ireland's ports. He referred to the attempts that have been made by some people to smuggle live sheep into Northern Ireland as 'absolute folly'. The World Organisation for Animal Health lists 118 notifiable diseases. All of these are linked to international food trading conditions. Dr. Kyle said: 'Food exports are worth in excess of £6 billion to Northern Ireland's economy. So, protecting the future of our agri-food sectors is a key priority. 'And the same principle holds in the Republic of Ireland.' The DAERA representative referenced the triple threat of bluetongue, foot and mouth disease (FMD), and highly pathogenic avian influenza – or bird flu – as the key concerns for Ireland's agri-food sectors at the present time. While Dr. Kyle highlighted the tremendous efforts made by the poultry sector in keeping avian influenza at bay over recent times, he struck a cautionary note where FMD is concerned. This year has seen outbreaks of the disease confirmed in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia with two different lineages of the virus identified in these cases. However, when it comes to attributing the initial causes of the disease outbreaks, bio-terrorism has been one of the options followed up.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
TB forecasted to cost €130m in 2025
Dealing with the ongoing battle with Bovine TB will cost Ireland €130m this year with current disease rates, an Oireachtas committee heard. This proposed figure was presented at the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food meeting to discuss the eradication of TB. With the current disease levels, it was also estimated that the cost of the eradication programme could reach €170m in 2026. The meeting heard questions posed from senators and TDs to Conor O'Mahony from the Department of Agriculture, Dr Damien Barrett, Chief Superintending Veterinary Officer of the Department of Agriculture, and Michael Cronin, Chairman of the TB 2030 Stakeholder Forum. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Cathaoirleach, Deputy Aindrias Moynihan, said: 'Bovine TB continues to impact herds throughout Ireland. Since reaching a historical low in 2016, when herd incidence in this country fell to 3.27%, we have seen bovine TB levels increase year on year.' In his opening address, Conor O'Mahony presented the most recent TB figures. As of June 8, 6,500 herds have experienced a TB breakdown in the last 12 months. Within the same period, just under 43,000 reactors have been disclosed, a 35% increase on the figure recorded in the same period the previous year, which was just under 32,000 reactors. Mr O'Mahony also revealed that 10m individual animal tests were carried out in the 12 months up to June 8, 2025, an increase on the 9m individual tests carried out in the previous 12-month period. In Michael Cronin's opening address to the meeting, he highlighted that over 41,600 reactors were disclosed in 2024, which was a 44% increase in reactor numbers in 2023. Commenting on the addresses, Cathaoirleach Moynihan said: 'They're dramatic figures and it is a highly emotive issue.' Cathaoirleach Moynihan also posed the issue regarding the original target of TB eradication by 2030. Mr O'Mahony's response to the original target was: 'I don't think we can confidently say we are going to eradicate TB by 2030 given where our current disease levels are.' Questions were posed at the meeting regarding the new proposals and restrictions put forward at the most recent TB Stakeholder forum, and when they would be implemented. Currently, no timelines can be proposed by the Department as they are still waiting on the proposed measures to be fully agreed on by stakeholders and the Minister of Agriculture, Martin Heydon, but once finalised will be implemented as soon as possible. It was revealed later in the meeting by Dr Barrett that the proposal of historic TB results of herds being publicly available for informed purchases of animals is one of the proposals, in particular, that is being seriously considered for implementation. Of particular interest to TDs and senators in attendance was the wildlife programme. Last year, €9m was spent on the programme; this figure excluded any money spent on the research and monitoring of TB in deer herds, as that is not included in the TB budget. Dr Barrett informed the joint committee that approximately 14,000 badgers were captured and assessed from 2023 to 2024. Just over 7,000 badgers were culled from this figure as a result of testing positive for TB or being captured within a 'cull' zone; the remainder were vaccinated. It was revealed in the meeting that no follow-up assessments on an individual level are currently conducted on vaccinated badgers, with the department unable to provide the assembled committee with guaranteed figures of efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccine. Dr Barrett could only provide reassurance that studies on the vaccination were observed to be effective on badger populations. Dr Barrett also revealed that the strategy for badger vaccination is set to change from a blanket vaccination practice to a vaccination and removal strategy. This strategy change, Dr Barrett explained, will supersede any current calls for examining badgers already vaccinated against TB. Read More Behind the closed door at the TB summit
The Citizen
a day ago
- Business
- The Citizen
‘Lifting Brazil chicken ban only hurts local producers,' says Sapa
The ban on imports from Brazil could have presented an opportunity to boost local production of chicken meat and offal, rather than relying on imports. The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) is not impressed with the Department of Agriculture's decision to partially lift the ban on chicken from Brazil, as the association believes this move could have consequences on local producers. A blanket ban was imposed on poultry imports from Brazil after one state in the country reported an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. Brazil supplies more than 84% of South Africa's poultry imports. Many feared the blanket ban would result in a chicken shortage and an increase in chicken prices. However, Sapa stood firm with the belief that SA local producers should view this as an opportunity to learn how to stand on their own and produce enough chicken to fill the gap, as they are more than capable of doing so. ALSO READ: Bird flu: worry not, it is safe to eat eggs and chicken Produce chicken locally As of Thursday, 19 June 2025, certain Brazilian states that do not have cases of bird flu can import chicken to South Africa. Sapa says the move by the department comes as a surprise. Izaak Breitenbach, CEO of Sapa's Broiler Organisation, told The Citizen the ban on imports from Brazil could have been seen as an opportunity for more local production of chicken meat and offal instead of importing them. 'It would have created jobs and assisted in keeping chicken prices down in the long run. This move will thus support imports at the expense of local production.' Hush decision to allow chicken from Brazil When asked if the association is worried the move might put the country in danger, Breitenbach said, 'Yes, it is a bit of a hush decision.' 'We hope that the compartmentalisation actions are implemented with the necessary care.' The department stated that the decision to partially lift the import ban on poultry was made after it received a second report from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, which detailed how Brazil had contained the outbreak to one state. 'This partial lift may be withdrawn should the outbreak be found to have extended to other states within Brazil.' ALSO READ: Egg prices increasing globally due to US shortage — Should SA take advantage and export? 'Not out of the woods yet' Arnold Prinsloo, CEO of Eskort, told The Citizen that they welcome the speedy response from the government, but 'we are by no means out of the woods yet'. Eskort makes use of the mechanically deboned meat (MDM) from Brazil to make polony, viennas, russians and braaiwors. He previously stated that the blanket ban on Brazilian imports would put production lines to a standstill before the end of June. 'Although the Department of Agriculture has agreed to a partial lifting of the suspension, the process is as follows: Brazil has to send a certificate to the government, and together they need to agree on the legalities and wording,' added Prinsloo. 'Once that certificate is in place, we can only then place orders to Brazil. Production has been halted in Brazil, resulting in a two-week lead time for production. 'Those orders will take six weeks to get here, and then one to two weeks to clear customs. Thus, there will still be an impact on consumers, businesses and food security at large.' Ease pressure on the food basket Imameleng Mothebe, CEO of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE), welcomed the news, saying they hope it will ease pressure on the food basket. 'South Africans have already seen poultry prices surge in recent weeks, we hope this decision will help ease pressure on the food basket, especially as MDM and affordable chicken cuts are vital to lower-income households and the processed meat sector.' The association has urged the Department to accelerate the reopening of other key poultry import markets, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, which remain closed to South Africa despite their successful containment of earlier avian flu outbreaks, as declared to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). NOW READ: Here are the economic and social impacts of bird flu
