Gov’t eyes insurance subsidy for hog raisers to boost supply of pork

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles. INQUIRER file photo / LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — The government is studying a proposal to provide a 50-percent insurance subsidy for commercial hog raisers in a bid to boost the supply of pork in the markets as one of the initiatives talked about during the Cabinet meeting held with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Tuesday.

He said the funding for the said subsidy will be sourced from the quick response fund of the Department of Agriculture.

“One proposal being studied is an insurance subsidy of 50 percent for commercial hog raisers that will utilize the quick response fund of the Department of Agriculture,” he said in an online press briefing.

To augment the supply of pork products in Metro Manila and tame the skyrocketing prices, Duterte earlier ordered a 60-day price cap in Metro Manila.

The government is also continuously sourcing hogs to Metro Manila from areas in the country unaffected by the African Swine Fever.

A group of swine producers from Mindanao, the Southern Cotabato Swine Producers Association, earlier committed to shipping 10,000 hogs to Metro Manila every week.

JPV