DA asked to increase compensation for pigs culled due to ASF

A lawmaker has sought the increase of compensation for pigs that are culled to contain the spread of the African swine fever (ASF), in order to encourage local hog raisers to report alleged cases of the deadly swine disease in their backyards.

Such a move, according to AGAP Party-list Representative Rico B. Geron, will ultimately help the government contain the spread of the deadly swine virus, which now threatens the 1260-billion hog industry.

Geron told reporters that the government should at least pay 70 to 75 percent of the pigs’ market

value when they are culled, adding that the 13,500 per pig compensation the Department of Agriculture (DA) is willing to give is too small. Thus, backyard hog raisers will rather keep their infected pigs and transport them to other areas for slaughter than surrender it to the agency for culling.

“That’s too small. How about you make it 110,000 per pigs? You don’t realize how painful it is for the hog raisers, who have probably invested 120,000 for a pig. The DA should increase the compensation a little bit to encourage raisers to surrender voluntarily,” Geron said.

To prevent the spread of the disease, the DA's Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is required to implement the 1-7-10 protocol in affected areas. This means that within a one kilometer (km)-radius of infected farms, there would be quarantine checkpoints to prevent movement of all live pigs, pork, and pork-related products, and that all pigs within the area must be culled.

“One of the reasons why the government can’t contain the spread of the virus is because the farmers will hide their infected pigs and will find other ways to dispose them,” Geron further said.

In Pangasinan, for instance, officials said that ASF had reached the province due to illegal transportation of hogs from Bulacan, which was also tested positive for the virus.

Geron said he had already sent a formal letter to the Department of Agriculture (DA) on this matter, but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

According to him, he will also write a letter to President Duterte to address this issue.

Meanwhile, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries Committee on Livestock, Poultry and Feeds Chair Rufina Salas urged the government to provide mandatory insurance for livestock raisers just like how it is with crops, which is currently being provided by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC).

“PCIC is concentrated on crops. There is none in the Philippines that covers live animals. This really should be studied,” Salas said.

On Thursday, DA Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan said the DA secured an indemnification fund worth 11 billion to be distributed to the local backyard hog raisers that were affected by ASF, but this will only provide the agency small room for some contingency.

As of July, the country had a total swine population of 12.8 million; 20,000 of this have so far died or have been culled due to ASF.

Cayanan said the 11-billion indemnification fund will only cover local backyard hog raisers and will be enough to compensate as much as five percent or approximately 300,000 of the hog population.

“We’re not saying we want ASF’s damage to reach five percent of the hog population. That is just our estimate,” he said during a congressional inquiry on ASF.

As of now, areas with confirmed cases of ASF include Barangay Tatalon, Payatas, Silangan in Quezon City; Pampanga; Pangasinan; Barangay Cupang and one unnamed area in Antipolo; Barangays San Isidro, San Jose, Macabud, Geronimo, San Rafael, Mascap, San Mateo Slaughterhouse in Rodriguez, Rizal; and Guiguinto, Bulacan.