PL 480 proceeds to fund bird flu prevention effort

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is channeling part of the $20-million proceeds from the 2007 US Public Law 480 rice loan to bird-flu prevention and control measures.

"A portion of the proceeds from the rice loan will be used to augment existing funds intended to keep the Philippines free from bird flu or avian influenza. The additional money will boost our contingency and capacity building programs related to fighting bird flu," said Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban.

Under the US PL 480 loan for 2007, 69,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from the United States will arrive in Manila early next year.

The commodity will be monetized through a competitive bidding by the National Food Authority and is expected to raise P1 billion.

Aside from AI prevention, proceeds from the PL 480 loan will also fund biotechnology research and commercialization; postharvest handling and infrastructure development; livestock development and capacity building.

The eradication of the bird flu virus was one of the highlights of the senior officials’ meeting of the Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Fisheries (SSOM-AMAF) in Bohol yesterday.

Panganiban said the Philippines, one of few countries in the region that has so far been spared of the dreaded bird flu virus, is constantly under threat of being plagued with the disease which is reaching pandemic proportions.

"While the Philippine Islands remain free of the disease, the threat is always present. The poultry menace has grown to be a regional concern in the ASEAN," noted Panganiban.

The SOM-AMAF meeting discussed measures to improve cooperation in the field of logistics, information, and technical assistance and how to minimize the social and economic impact of the bird flu crisis in affected countries.

The ministers also discussed several recommendations intended to smoothen trade flow despite the threat of bird flu.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) continues to threaten regional and international trade. Thailand, the fourth largest poultry exporting country in the world, lost $1.2 billion, Vietnam – $200 million, Indonesia – $170 million. Total losses comes up to an estimated $10 to $15 billion across Asia.

Based on a report of the World Health Organization (WHO) last week, the human death toll in Asia due to HPAI has reached 141, plus over 240 who are infected and countless others deprived of a source of livelihood as the entire world continues to struggle with the virus raising the potential for a global pandemic.