Eligible commercial hog raisers in the country can now avail of loans to help them recover from the ravaging effects of the African swine fever (ASF).
This, after the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Land Bank of the Philippines signed the memorandum agreement (MOA) for the "special window and interim support to nurture hog enterprises" lending program--appropriately called SWINE--which has an initial fund of P15 billion.
The lending program aims to provide financial support to hog raisers who would contribute to increasing the pork supply and improving the country’s food security.
Commercial hog raisers registered as cooperatives of farmers’ associations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and large enterprises or corporations in previously ASF-affected areas will be provided financing, technical assistance, and quarantine support when they avail of the lending program.
The loans shall be used for swine production including the acquisition and importation of semen for breeding animals; feed milling operations; and construction, improvement, or retrofitting of necessary facilities in compliance with the DA biosecurity protocols.
It can also be used for acquisition of fixed assets and as working capital, the department said.