Bayaguana.- Pork producer, cattle rancher, and former mayor of Bayaguana, Manuel Pantalio, rejected Leonardo Faña’s statements regarding the total elimination of the national swine population as a measure to combat African Swine Fever (ASF), describing them as disproportionate and harmful to thousands of Dominican producers.
Pantalio stated that behind every farm there are years of investment, genetic improvement, infrastructure, and hundreds of jobs that cannot disappear due to the application of a generalized measure.
He maintained that the country must face the disease by strengthening biosecurity, epidemiological surveillance, and sanitary controls, rather than putting the continuity of an entire productive sector at risk.
Likewise, he denounced that the national banking system lacks specialized financing programs for pork producers, who face great difficulties in investing in infrastructure and meeting the sanitary requirements demanded by modern production.
In that sense, he called on the Government to implement a comprehensive support policy for the sector, which includes, as a complement to timely compensation for affected producers, credit lines with preferential rates to strengthen biosecurity, permanent technical assistance, and a national repopulation program with high-quality genetics.
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In addition, he proposed the creation of a National Pork Price Stabilization Program, through the establishment of a reference cost or minimum support price for the producer.
He explained that, when the market price falls below that level due to seasonal oversupply or other distortions, the State can activate temporary compensation mechanisms that guarantee the recovery of production costs and prevent the bankruptcy of hundreds of small and medium-sized pig farmers, while simultaneously preserving the stability of the national supply.
“The real challenge is not to eliminate the pigs, but to eradicate the disease without destroying the Dominican pork industry or the livelihood of thousands of families who live off this activity,” concluded Manuel Pantalio.
