The chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food on Thursday backed the appeal of various hog producers for the government to raise the indemnification cost for every pig sickened by the African swine fever (ASF).
In a news statement, Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, said the Department of Agriculture (DA) should come out with “win-win solution” that would first address the problem that raised havoc to swine raisers and secondly, assure the steady supply of pork in the market by assisting local producers in reviving their operation.
According to Enverga, the local swine industry is in dire need of help after the said deadly disease entered the country in 2019 that resulted in the closure of many hog farms, as well as backyard raisers who decided to temporarily stop their business.
The DA is pays a standard P5,000 per head of swine that died and those needed to be culled in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
But Enverga said the amount is not enough even to recover the losses incurred by hog producers, saying the government should also put into consideration the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
After experiencing great loss to ASF, he said, many hog producers are adamant to reinvest for fear of failing to recover not only their new capital but also their previous losses as well.
During the recent hearing of the committee, Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (ProPork) President Edwin Chen called on DA to double, or from P5,000 per head, the agency should pay pork farmers P10,000 for each pig infected by ASF.
Enverga said “we support the call for an increase from P5,000 to P10,000 indemnification pay out.”
Likewise, Enverga raised with the DA the concern of other hog farmers who are yet to receive their indemnification pay, notably from those from the National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon (Region 4A) and Bicol region.
Enverga also asked DA to be proactive in responding to the plight of swine raisers, and that there must be concrete actions on the goal of revitalizing the industry and putting an end on the spread of the ASF, including the immediately securing the needed supplies of the much-awaited vaccine and boost the confidence of stakeholders.
Enverga also directed the DA to submit to his committee its supply chain analysis on pork and to tighten its watch on the supply chain so as to immediately identify those who are causing the skyrocketing of the price of pork.
As part of the current nationwide biosecurity and surveillance program, aptly called “BABay ASF” (Bantay ASF sa Barangay), Agriculture Secretary William Dar told lawmakers that the DA is initially allotting P80 million for the development and mass production of Filipino-made test kits that can detect the ASF faster and cheaper.
“We are allocating an initial P80 million through the DA-National Livestock Program and Bureau of Animal Industry to mass-produce and distribute to local government units the test kit, called “ASFV Nanogold Biosensor,” said Dar.
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