LOOKING at an opportunity to reverse the losses to African Swine Fever (ASF), farmer groups welcome a plan by the House of Representatives to allocate P1.5 billion for vaccine procurement to permanently contain the disease.
Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) president Danilo Fausto said the Department of Agriculture (DA) should have a fund that will enforce effective biosecurity protocol for the entire industry with special focus on backyard piggeries.
“We are aware the commercial hog raisers are capable on their own to put up their one biosecurity protocol. But our small backyard piggeries have nowhere go to for support. There might be a need to support them in terms of subsidies,” Fausto said.
However, the P1.5 billion Congress is frontloading may not be enough to cover for the entire industry.
The small committee of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations tasked to remove confidential funds has decided to channel P1.5 billion for vaccine procurement to combat ASF virus that continues to ail the hog industry.
Before ASF hit the Philippines in 2019, the hog population of the country was estimated at around 13 million heads, but has gone down to around 10 million, with imported pork filling the gap.
The vaccine may be sourced from Vietnam, said Agriculture undersecretary Deogracias VIctor Sevellano.
“Vietnam has the vaccine but they are still testing it. The vaccine should pass trials and protocols,” he said.
He added that ultimately, the Philippines needs to have a proactive pharmacological industry for quick response to disease prevention.
“We need the cooperation of LGUs for the implementation of the protocols that we will implement to stop the spread of ASF,” Sevillano said.
Sevillano said prevention and biosecurity practices are implemented strictly since it remains unclear what the source and the carriers of ASF are.
ASF could infect hogs at any age. Signs of ASF infection include high fever, heavy discharge from eyes and nose, and bluish-purple discoloration on the snout, tail, ears and lower legs suggesting poor oxygenation.