ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo provincial government has allocated P12.7 million for the alternative livelihood of farmers affected by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
A FARM land in Tubungan town, Iloilo province is bone dry due to the El Niño phenomenon. (Tara Yap)
Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. announced that the alternative livelihood program in swine production enabled farmers to receive two piglets to raise.
Implemented under the Swine Dispersal Program of the Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office, the alternative livelihood program is designed to ease the impact of the extreme dry season as farmers still cannot plant for the next cycle.
Eight-hundred fifty-two farmers in the towns of Cabatuan, Igbaras, Leon, Miag-ao, Tigbauan, and Tubungan have received piglets.
Defensor said that the alternative livelihood program seeks to replenish local stock of pork, which was negatively impacted by the outbreak of African Swine Fever that started in 2022.
Swine population across the 42 towns and the component city of Passi is only approximately 83,000 as of April compared to September 2022 when the first ASF case was recorded with more than 277,000.
Meanwhile, the recommendation for a state of calamity by the Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (Iloilo PDRRMC) awaits approval.