The provincial government has allocated PHP9 million for swine dispersal as a response to El Niño, initially targeting 15 municipalities situated in areas not affected by the African swine fever (ASF).

“We want to have a program that is El Niño-oriented. The assistance, instead of farm inputs, we will disperse animals that are not too dependent on the rain and the like,” Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Defensor said it is another adjustment of the provincial government, aside from the existing program in agriculture.

“The swine approach is an adjustment. We turn to the animal industry,” he added.

The scheme is also one way of helping the swine industry increase its inventory amid the ASF.

The PHP9-million budget covers the PHP6.93 million for the purchase of swine and PHP2.07 million for feeds.

Provincial Agriculture Office chief Dr. Ildefonso Toledo said the province will download the funds to municipalities that will identify recipients.

Each recipient is expected to get two piglets for fattening.

Losses due to drought per PAO-validated data reached PHP526.61 million, covering 9,528.18 hectares of high-value crops, rice, and corn and the fishery sector affecting 10, 292 farmers and fisherfolk from the 17 municipalities of the province.

Defensor said the cost of damage may increase as the El Niño progresses until May.

“Our projection is until May. We will continue to implement our measures and extend as much as we can,” he added. (PNA)

Photo credit: Department of Agriculture Official Website