DBM releases P82.5M for measures vs African swine fever
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management said Wednesday it released P82.5 million to fund preventive measures against African swine fever.
In a statement, the DBM said the funds were released to the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry on September 10.
Of that amount, P31.8 million will be for detection of meat products at international airports, P27.7 million will be for testing of meat products, P17.6 million will go to surveillance and monitoring, and P5.4 million will be for awareness campaign and capacity building.
A day after confirming that the highly contagious disease has reached the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said the ASF virus that killed several pigs in Rizal province has been “contained.”
While the disease is usually fatal in pigs but not harmful to humans, the ASF can cause major economic loss to swine industries. The Philippines currently has a surplus in pork.
The Philippine government had culled hogs in several locations and enforced a temporary ban on the importation of pork meat products from countries affected by the deadly virus in a bid to safeguard the nation’s P260-billion pork industry.
- Latest
- Trending
