The Agriculture Department on Tuesday asked local government units and the private sector to implement stronger measures to manage, contain and control the incidence of increased deaths among pigs raised in backyards.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the private sector could help cushion off the emerging situation reported by the Bureau of Animal Industry earlier.
Dar asked all hog raisers, commercial players and those engaged in backyard operations to strictly observe and practice good livestock practices, including the needed bio-security measures.
He also ordered the revival and strengthening of the Crisis Management Team to oversee the planning and implementation of the appropriate measures.
Dar said the private sector would be a part of the CMT that the department would institutionalize.
“We want the active participation of the private sector and LGUs so that we can gain their full involvement and commitment, including other technical teams that will monitor and evaluate recent events,” Dar said.
The department held a series of meetings with the private sector, particularly the leaders of various agribusiness industries, to engage them as major partners in agriculture, particularly in times of crisis.
Dar ordered the BAI to conduct further confirmatory laboratory tests, including sending blood samples to foreign laboratories, to ascertain the cause of the animals’ death.
Meanwhile, the CMT will work closely with key industry players and local government officials to manage the incident and carry out ground-level operations.
“With this development, we have further upgraded our monitoring and vigilance, including the imposition of stricter quarantine measures all over the country’s ports of entry, airports and seaports,” Dar said.