South Korea set aside more state budget funds for next year to fight animal diseases, the agricultural ministry said Monday, after the deadly African swine fever hit local pig farms in northern areas this year.

The National Assembly approved the budget proposal of 371.4 billion won ($315 million) for efforts to tackle a variety of animal diseases, which marks a 20 percent rise from 308 billion won allocated for this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The increased budget came as the country has confirmed 14 cases of ASF at local farms in total this year, although the last case from domesticated pigs was reported in October. The total number of wild boars infected with the virus, on the other hand, has been gradually increasing to hit 46 as of Saturday.