DA to submit recommendation on proposed state of emergency due to ASF

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to submit this week its recommendation on whether to declare a nationwide state of emergency due to the threat of the African swine fever (ASF), DA Secretary William Dar said on Friday.

"We are finalizing our recommendation based on the recommendation from the Senate. Anytime this week we will be sending our position and recommendation to the Palace," Dar said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

He said the DA will be allocating about P1.1 billion budget for the repopulation program this year, where P400 million will be used to establish breeder farms; P200 million for repopulation of ASF-affected areas with "sentinel" approach; and P500 million for loans to backyard raisers with zero interest.

The DA also recently allocated P1.5 billion for the "Bantay ASF sa Barangay" or "BABay ASF."

"We have realigned some of the money that we have placed this year for this fight against the African swine fever and repopulating the hog industry," Dar said.

Dar said the DA has also secured P15 billion from the state-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines, and P12 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines as loan program to reinvirograte the hog industry at concessional rates.

The government will also be funding 22% of the insurance premium for hog raisers, according to Dar.—AOL, GMA News