Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has approved the release of financial aid to backyard hog raisers whose pigs have died from various diseases, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, June 13.
The provincial government is allocating an initial P10 million, and families whose backyard pigs have died will be given P2,000 each, Diaz said.
If the P10 million is depleted additional funds will be allocated, he added.
The provincial government is also distributing free range chickens as an alternative source of livelihood for the pig raisers, Diaz said.
The Incident Management Team will set the policy on who the priority recipients will be, he said, adding that farmers who violated biosecurity rules will not be covered.
The assistance will be released as soon as possible, Diaz said.
The provincial government’s aid will be on top of what the local government units will give to their affected backyard hog raisers, Diaz said.
12,560 DEATHS
A total of 12,560 pigs have died from various diseases causing losses of P141,613,200, the Provincial Veterinary Office reported Tuesday.
The deaths represent 8.78 percent of Negros Occidental’s pig population, which have affected 2,404 raisers, Diaz said.
Although the bulk of the deaths have allegedly been caused by hog cholera, there have been confirmed pig deaths from the deadly and highly contagious African swine fever (ASF) in Bacolod, Silay and Victorias cities, and Pulupandan town.
CASES DETECTED
The provincial government’s laboratory has detected ASF cases in some areas but the samples that tested positive have been sent to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) for confirmation, Diaz said.
The provincial government cannot officially release the results unless confirmed by the BAI, he added.
The provincial government’s molecular laboratory is only for surveillance purposes, he said.
If there are pig deaths caused by ASF or hog cholera, the lockdown of backyard farms affected becomes automatic, biosecurity protocols are immediately enforced, he said.
Diaz said the provincial government has warded off ASF from Negros Occidental for four years, but there have still been people who have insisted on bringing in prohibited pork products from infected areas as travel eased up.
Diaz said because of this the province has been hit with ASF.
Negros Occidental has not reached the threshold where it can declare a state of calamity because of the pig deaths so more assistance can be allocated, Diaz added.
The calamity fund also needs to be preserved for aid to victims of other calamities, he said.
The provincial government is also guarding Negros Occidental’s poultry industry against avian influenza, Diaz said, adding that he hopes people do not insist on bringing in prohibited poultry products from infected areas.*