A farmer's organization in Camarines Sur received P5.5 million to fund a community-based swine farm project to revive and boost the local hog industry affected by African swine fever disease.

In a statement, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said this aims to speed up the repopulation of pigs to have a steady supply of high-quality hogs and help the local market sell more high-quality pork.

The said farmers group is the first agrarian reform beneficiaries' organization in the Bicol region to operate its newly constructed 360-square-meter pig facility fully.

Florentino Umali, MAPAFIA President, thanked the government for providing them with the opportunity to raise pigs and entrusting them with a costly project.

"With the collaboration of the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Agriculture (DA), we would not have been able to obtain such a large-scale project," he said.

Gay Labad, DAR's Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, said the DA-Inspire project is a three-year plan to help the swine industry recover faster from African swine fever and revive the country's swine industry, which has experienced a major decline.

DAR noted that the P5.5 million aid included pigs, feeds, and a modern pig facility with a tunnel ventilation system, a biogas facility, a caretaker shower room, and a perimeter fence.