Odiongan: Livestock raisers in the town of Odiongan have been encouraged to insure their animals through a government program, as announced by the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO).
According to a news release by Philippine News Agency, In a recent interview, municipal agriculturist Rexfort Famisaran stated that those who raise hogs, cows, and goats, along with crop farmers and fishermen, can apply for free insurance coverage from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). The program specifically aims to target those involved in small-scale farming, fishing, and backyard animal growing.
According to Famisaran, the local government unit (LGU) covers the insurance premiums for livestock, crops, and fishing boats for qualified workers in the agriculture sector. He also noted that there's a growing interest among backyard piggery owners to get their hogs insured due to African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in other regions.
In Odiongan, the MAO has already facilitated PCIC insurance coverage for 729 backyard hog raisers as a preventative measure against a potential ASF outbreak. This comes after two towns on Romblon's Sibuyan Island were declared under states of calamity due to ASF.
On October 16, 10 farmers and fishermen from Odiongan received indemnity checks from the PCIC totaling almost PHP75,000. Lucille Cristo, focal person of PCIC Romblon, said these payments were to compensate for damages to rice crops and fishing boats.