Poland was late with the construction of the wall from the ASF and is thinking of letting money on the heifers

"Regional council of the Lublin province believes that all activities related to the fight against this disease and the focus on stopping the further spread of ASF in the country, as well as the financial resources intended for building the fence, can be used much more efficiently (...), that is, to help farmers, affected by its consequences, "- proclaims the position taken by the regional council on Monday.

With the decision to build a fence on the eastern border, according to advisers, the government was very late. "This was justified in 2016, when more and more ASF flashes began to register. But at present there are no guarantees that the fence, which construction will last for 3-4 years, will somehow help to stop the spread of the virus, which has already spread almost the entire country on the eastern side of the Vistula and gradually moves westward, " is said in the statement.

Advisers also call on the government to accelerate the payment of compensation to farmers who refused to keep pigs and increase funding for biosafety and reimbursement of expenses incurred for disinfection and protection from ASF.

Marek Wojciechowski from "Rights and Justice" (Conservative Political Party of Poland, - Ed.) told reporters that the construction of the fence is justified by the situation of neighbors outside the eastern border: Belarus denies having ASF, and in Ukraine the methods of fighting this disease are not effective enough. "Who was late with this decisions that was the previous government. This fence had to be built in 2008-2009, when the appearance of this disease in our country were only predicted, " stresses he.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Rafael Romanovski on Friday in Lublin made a proposal to begin construction of the fence as early as 2018. "Perhaps the decisions taken by the government are not very popular, but if we want to support this sector of the agro-industry, we must make such decisions," says he.

Regional council of the Lublin province in its adopted decision suggested using the funds allocated for the construction of the fence in the amount of PLN 250 million, "for the purchase of pedigree material, in particular, pure heifers for farms that declare their readiness to change the production profile."