The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) is urging hog raisers in Antique to take advantage of its free livestock insurance while the province remains free of African swine fever (ASF), warning that new applications will no longer be accepted once a confirmed case is recorded.
PCIC Antique head Clogene Galuego said Friday, July 3, that swine growers may apply for the insurance through their respective municipal agriculture offices.
“We encourage farmers to enroll now because once ASF is confirmed in the province, we can no longer accept new applications,” he said.
He noted that neighboring provinces of Capiz and Iloilo have already reported ASF cases, prompting authorities to strengthen preventive measures to protect Antique’s hog industry.
To qualify for the free insurance, hog raisers must be registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
Under the program, PCIC provides insurance coverage of up to P10,000 per head for fattening hogs and P14,500 per head for breeding swine.
As of Friday, PCIC Antique has insured 1,898 livestock, the majority of which are swine.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Veterinary Office (ProVet) intensified border control measures in both the northern and southern entry points of the province to prevent the entry of ASF.
Dr. Marco Rafael Ardamil, chief of the ProVet Public Health Division, said swine raisers transporting hogs to Aklan must first secure a Recognition of Actual Surveillance on African Swine Fever from the Bureau of Animal Industry in coordination with the Provincial Veterinary Office.
Ardamil added that swine traders and transporters coming from Iloilo are likewise required to thoroughly disinfect their cargo trucks before entering Antique as part of the province’s biosecurity measures against ASF.IMT
