|
THE Bureau of Animal Industry and the Australian government have
agreed to spend $1.3 million for the eradication of Foot and Mouth
Disease (FMD) on hogs from the entire of Luzon.
Bureau Director Dave Catbagan said the money
will be used to totally eradicate FMD in Southern and Central Luzon,
particularly in Laguna, Batangas, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan,
and the National Capital Region.
Visayas and Mindanao were both declared FMD-free
in 2002 by the Office Internationale des Epizooties or Animal Health
Organization.
Dr. Reildrin Morales, who is also from the
animal industry bureau, said the Australian government will grant
$800,000 for the project and the remaining $500,000 will come from
the government’s budget. Australia gave $1.1 million in 2007 for
the eradication of FMD in the said parts of the country.
Morales said Australia has been supporting the
country’s FMD eradication program since 1996 and has already given
a total of $10 million.
-- Ira Karen Apanay
|
