SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Hog raisers who are members of the United Association of Pangasinan Swine Grower Inc. (UAPSG) have received a total of P77-million assistance under the Department of Agriculture's Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) program.
Regional Executive Director Annie Q. Bares of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 1 (DA-RFO1) said that UAPSG President Albert Estolas, along with the officials and members of the association, received the assistance on Tuesday, May 9, at the Capitol Resort Hotel, Lingayen, Pangasinan.
Director Bares expressed optimism the project will provide a good opportunity for the hog raisers to genuinely move on from the ill-effects of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Region 1.
“Ituloy-tuloy na natin ang pag-unlad ng swine industry (Let us continue the progress of the swine industry), not only in Pangasinan, but also in the whole Region 1,” said Bares.
Karen Paningbatan, DA-RFO1 Livestock Banner Program Focal Person, thanked the UAPSG for being persistent in meeting all of the needed paperwork requirements in order to disburse the INSPIRE project's P77-million financial allocation.
“Hindi pa po nagtatapos dito ang partnership natin since ang INSPIRE project, it is a consolidation and clustering strategy. So after ng production, sa post-harvest naman po tayo magve-venture (Our partnership does not end here since INSPIRE project is a consolidation and clustering strategy. So after the production, we will then venture in the post-harvest),” said Paningbatan.
Fourteen sites were identified as recipients of the allocation. Each site has a P5.5-million allocation for the provision of piglets and feeds and other inputs.