By JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and JED MACAPAGAL
The government is optimistic the proposal to provide subsidized insurance to commercial hogs will further encourage repopulation and thus help stabilize pork supply in the country amid the spread of African swine fever (ASF).
The program seeks to cover five million hogs with a total premium of at least P1.48 billion.
Half of the amount will be shouldered by the agency while the remaining will be paid by commercial hog raisers.
At the start of the year, inventory is 9.72 million heads which means the subsidy can cover half of production.
In a virtual briefing in Malacanang yesterday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the subsidy for the proposed program would be sourced from the Quick Reaction Fund (QRF) of the Department of Agriculture.
“This is just one initiative being considered to help our hog farmers increase supplies,” Nograles said.
DA Secretary William Dar said the proposal will cover four million fattener hogs for P10,000 per head while 1 million breeder hogs will be covered for P14,500 each and will be facilitated through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.
The total premium for fatteners will cost P900 million as the premium for breeders will be at P580 million.
The subsidy is on top of the P5,000 per head aid being provided for culled pigs of backyard raisers infected with ASF.
The DA is also pushing for the entry of 404,210 metric tons (MT) of imported pork under the minimum access volume (MAV) to cover the projected 400,000-MT pork deficiency this year.
This has met opposition due to its possible drag to the recovery of local hog raising especially as the imports will come in at low tariffs.
The DA proposed to the Tariff Commission to bring down the tariff of imported pork under MAV to 5 percent in the first six months and to 10 percent in the following six months from the current 30 percent.
For pork outside MAV, DA recommended tariffs of 15 percent in the first six months and 20 percent in the following six months from the current 40 percent.
