Village funds can be used for FMD handling. However, they cannot be used to compensate for dead livestock; that is the authority of supra-village.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Abdul Halim Iskandar has emphasized that village funds cannot be used to compensate farmers whose livestock have died due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

"Village funds can be used for FMD handling. However, they cannot be used to compensate for dead livestock; that is the authority of supra-village," he said at a press conference on village fund utilization, accessed online here on Tuesday.

In the context of FMD handling, village funds can be used for quarantining farm animals infected with FMD, he added.

FMD handing has been regulated in the Decree of the Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Number 76 of 2022, which is meant to serve as a guide to all village governments on utilizing village funds, Iskandar said.

The guiding principle for using village funds for FMD handling is mutual cooperation, which can be realized through villagers helping each other and developing villages, he added.

"Other principles are kinship, justice, transparency, and accountability, and the balance of nature," he said.

Village heads can reactivate COVID-19 volunteer teams for FMD handling or form new volunteer teams designated for FMD handling, the minister informed.

According to him, the teams can be asked to coordinate with the district government and the Animal Husbandry Office regarding measures for FMD prevention and the treatment of infected animals.

They can also be tasked with preventing, handling, and controlling FMD, among others, by forming FMD-safe Village Command Posts, he added.

The teams must also educate people on FMD, including on its symptoms, transmission, and preventive measures.

In addition, the teams can collect data on livestock (cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, and pigs) in their respective villages and those infected with FMD, report all activities to the Animal Husbandry Office or other relevant institutions in their respective districts and cities, and clean cages, he expounded.

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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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