This compensation should be promoted, informed, and publicized to farmers, so that they know the (compensation) mechanism for farm animals that got infected and died
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The House of Representatives’ (DPR’s) Commission IV urged the Ministry of Agriculture to evaluate the handling of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in farm animals, starting from data collection and reporting to the farm animals’ mobility supervision.
Chairman of Commission IV of the DPR Sudin at a joint working meeting with Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo at the Senayan Parliament Building, here on Thursday, called on the Ministry of Agriculture to improve the way of collecting and reporting FMD data on the field to be accurate and accountable.
He pointed to significant differences still existing in the data on death cases between the data reported and the actual number of deaths on the field. As a result, it makes it difficult for farmers to receive compensation from the government for their farm animals that died due to FMD.
Related news: BNPB provides technical training on foot-and-mouth disease prevention
“This compensation should be promoted, informed, and publicized to farmers, so that they know the (compensation) mechanism for farm animals that got infected and died,” he remarked.
In addition, he highlighted the spread of FMD cases that occurred due to the farm animals’ mobility. He noted that supervision by the Agricultural Quarantine Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture must be strengthened, as several cases are still reported of farm animals being mobilized from areas affected by FMD.
Related news: Eight Indonesian provinces free from FMD
Currently, the number of farm animals infected by FMD has reached 519,562. Of the figure, 387,878 animals have recovered, 11,436 animals were conditionally slaughtered, 7,948 animals succumbed to the disease, and 112,200 are still sick.
To check FMD transmission, the Ministry of Agriculture launched a vaccination program for farm animals from Sidoarjo District, East Java, on June 14, 2022. So far, at least 2,191,669 farm animals across the country have been vaccinated under the vaccination program.
Related news: Approval on PDP Bill historic for Indonesia’s digital sector: Minister
Related news: Ministry outlines additional budget proposal for 2023 before DPR