March 3, 2008
The 2nd INAHGEN Congress: Livestock and animal health excellence at the forefront
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Despite the political turmoil that is currently rocking the country, this did not stop the industry mien from the livestock and animal health sectors from trudging to the 2nd International Animal Health Genetics and Nutrition Congress (INAHGEN) at the SMX Convention Centre in Pasay City, Philippines held February 27 to 29.
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VIPs and guests during the ribbon cutting ceremony |
Dubbed as the ASEAN Farmers' Congress, the event delighted visitors and participants from both local and international agribusiness groups to a wide array of the newest technologies for feed, livestock and animal health showcased by nearly two hundred exhibitors. "From around ninety eight in 2006, our exhibitors have increased to 170. We also have transferred to a bigger venue which is around 9,200 square metres, more than twice as big from the previous venue of 4,000 square metres because we saw the need for a larger site to accommodate more opportunities as meat and livestock industries are emerging as the two most important business in the world," said event chairman Danilo Sanchez who also heads the Philippine Veterinary Drug Association (PVDA), the exhibit's co-organizer along with the Philippine Swine Industry Research and Development Foundation, Inc (PSIRDFI).
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INAHGEN was borne out of the Feeds Congress, an annual event which began in 1996. The congress' organizers, which halted its yearly exhibit in mid-2000 due to budget constraints, decided to establish an agricultural show to focus on what was deemed as the most viable agri-industries in the country: livestock and animal health. "The significance of meat and feeds are now very substantial which are addressed not only in the Philippines but globally. This gave us the idea that putting up an exhibit which would only cater to these sectors that will be very important not just for business opportunities but how to deal with weighty issues that go along with it. We can say that this exhibit has achieved its goal: to gather altogether the most important names in the industry and make the event the perfect site to tackle emerging issues on animal health, livestock and feeds," said Sanchez.
The exhibit's first salvo in 2006 was warmly welcomed by the livestock community in Southeast Asia which prompted the organizers to spotlight this year's show for farmers in the ASEAN region. "Southeast Asia is becoming an important region for livestock and we think this year's congress will bring more emphasis to the region's importance in the global livestock industry," according to the organizers.
One of the show's highlights was the boar auction where Sanchez said the prices registered an all-time high of P125,000 each boar, 25 percent higher than the recorded price of P100,000 during the last Congress. "For several years, the auction takes place in the government's swine training facility in Lipa, Batangas. This year's auction has become more exciting as it attracted more buyers as the event is already held in the heart of Manila."
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Sanchez is pleased that aside from the Dutch and British exhibit areas, foreign embassies have expressed their interest to hold their own pavilions in 2010. "As early as now, we're already negotiating with the Spanish embassy for a pavilion for the next show and the British Embassy is also keen on getting more exhibit areas," he said. Right now, the Dutch Pavilion is occupying at least 168 square metres of the exhibit area and the British delegation, which is occupied by the British Pig Association, is expected to invite more agriculture groups from their country in 2010.
This early, Sanchez is already tapping the show's next instalment as "World's Farmer Congress" due to the heavy turnout of foreign visitors for this year's INAHGEN. "We were caught in between with massive protests due to political tension but we were surprised that we have registered more than four thousand visitors, with a large percentage of foreign delegates. We are aspiring to become another VIV Asia or become bigger than that but since we do not have their venue (BITEC), yet we still dream big. We believe that this event met our expectations because we were able to gather all the big names in the industry and bring all the industry's most important issues all in one roof." |
Event chairman Danilo Sanchez giving the opening remarks |
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