Sen. Hontiveros is calling on the government to support hog raisers who observed strict biosafety protocols to help stop the spread of ASF.
Hontiveros made the call after Dar confirmed that they will propose an expansion of insurance coverage under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to include commercial farmers and coverage for five million pigs.
IF Senator Risa Hontiveros would have her way, she would rather that hog farms observing strict biosafety protocols be rewarded with cash for their initiatives and help in stopping the spread of African swine fever (ASF).
This, as she called on Agriculture Secretary William Dar to help livestock raisers by compensating them for observing biosafety protocols to stop the swine virus from its tracks.
Hontiveros made the call after Dar confirmed that they will propose an expansion of insurance coverage under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to include commercial farmers and coverage for five million pigs.
Currently, commercial hog raisers are not covered by the PCIC insurance program and are not receiving government support to commensurate their losses, making it difficult for them to follow safety protocols and install infection control systems to prevent the spread of ASF due to limited resources.
The senator supported the idea and even upped the ante by suggesting to provide free insurance coverage for farms in ASF-free areas for the next two years, as well as for potential green zone areas to help ensure compliance to infection control regulations.
“Win-win solution ito. The insurance subsidy will not only be a relief measure for hog raisers but also be an instrument of recovery,” she said.
“Mapipigilan din ang pagkalat ng ASF na pinakamalaking obstacle sa supply problem na nagpapataas ng presyo ng karneng baboy," Hontiveros added.
"This will also serve as a common ground that can start to bring goodwill back between the DA and the private sector,” she added.
The ASF outbreak in some parts of the country has caused the shortage of pork supply in the market which, in turn, resulted in price increases.
“Sa ibang mga bansa na may ASF, gaya ng Vietnam, mas kaya ng malalaking producers ang pag-monitor at pagsunod sa biosafety protocols,” the lady solon noted.
“Dito sa Pilipinas, karamihan ay maliliit na backyard farmers, pero hindi sapat ang tulong na binibigay ng gobyerno," she continued.
"Kaya dapat ilibre na ang insurance at isama sa mabibigyan ng P10,000 insurance payout ang mga commercial farms na nasa loob ng green zones ng DA,” she stressed.
She expressed hope that the government will take immediate action on the matter by allocating additional funds to PCIC and including insurance payout to cover losses of farms that will repopulate within green zones in the 2022 budget of the DA.
“ASF ang major contributor kung bakit mataas ang presyo ng karneng baboy. Kaya dapat maagapan ang lalong pagkalat nito," she pointed out.