The Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry is importing 1,367 heads of Brahman cattle in September to support the cattle industry of the country, including Negros Occidental.

A consultative meeting was conducted among members of the Federation of Cattle Raisers of the Philippines and the United Cattle Raisers Association in Negros Occidental at the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) on Wednesday, in which details of the importation were discussed.

A third of the imported Brahmin cattle will be allocated for FCRAP with 200 heads going to its Visayas members, Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena said yesterday.

The DA decided to import from Australia due to lesser costs at around P100,000 per head and shorter time for travel and delivery, a PVO report said.

Importing cattle from the US would be more expensive at around P400,000 per head and would take 9 months to one year for delivery, the report added.

Although commercial farmers comprise majority of the importation's beneficiaries in line with DA-BAI's National Livestock Program, nucleus cattle farms from LGU's will also gain from the program through the Expanded Breeder Cattle Lease Ownership Program (EBCLOP), the report said.

EBCLOP implements a genetic improvement program for the local cattle industry in which government and private farms can improve their existing stock with the introduction of genetics from Australian cattle, it added.*PSF

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