CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Sunday, August 20, announced the start of the compensation of Pampanga farmers whose chicken, ducks, and quails were culled as part of the effort to contain the spread of the Avian Influenza virus in from San Luis town to other parts of the province and Central Luzon.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said that this is following clearance from the Department of Budget and Management, the DA Central Office turned over to its Central Luzon regional office the P31 million calamity funds to cover the payment.
“The amount will be the first in a series of releases to be made by government through the Agriculture Department to cover the losses of the farmers. I will personally go to San Luis on Tuesday to hand the first checks to farmers as a proof of President Rody Duterte's commitment to help poultry, duck and quail raisers recover from the calamity,” Piñol said.
The DA said that 300,000 birds will be covered by the first tranche of payment.
“In addition to the compensation for the birds which were culled, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is also preparing grants and loans through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) for farm workers who will be jobless because of the closure of the farms,” Piñol said.
It could be recalled that the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has readied an initial loan amount of P50-million for farmers affected by the bird flu outbreak.
ACPC is the credit agency of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. The P50-million fund was set up at the Rural Bank of San Luis and is expected to be available by next week.
The loan will be extended to some 2,000 farmers in San Luis town and other neighbouring areas in Pampanga whose poultry farms were hit by the Avian Influenza, according to the secretary.
“Each farming family will be entitled to a P25,000 loan package under the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loaning Program for farmers and fisher folks affected by natural and man-made calamity. Of the amount, P5,000 will be given as a grant while the remaining P20,000 will be a no-collateral and no-interest loan payable in two years,” Piñol said.
Some 37,000 birds have died from avian influenza subtype H5 in what has been declared as the first bird flu outbreak in the country. The outbreak affected six poultry farms in San Luis town.
A quarantine area was declared within one-kilometer of the affected poultry farms in San Luis.
Transport of fowls and eggs from a controlled area within a seven-kilometer radius of the affected farms will not be allowed.