Govt allots P78M for biosecurity, quarantine measures vs ASF
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2019 11:49:19 +0000
THE Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) on Wednesday announced it would allocate P78 million in emergency fund to enforce biosecurity and quarantine measures against the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF).
In Swine Bulletin 6, the DA said the fund, which was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte and the Cabinet during last week’s meeting, will be specifically used for disease monitoring and surveillance, upgrading of laboratories, capacity-building, and other disease control measures.
To effectively manage and control ASF, which was confirmed in parts of Luzon, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the National ASF Task Force (NATF) would also convene to flesh out inter-agency coordination, in partnership with concerned local government units (LGUs) and the private sector.
Dar also instructed other DA regional directors in Visayas and Mindanao to submit their respective disaster management plan to prevent the possible spread of ASF in their areas.
Furthermore, the agriculture chief assured the public that local pork was safe to eat. EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ