• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental has yet to recover from the African swine fever (ASF) despite almost all previously affected local government units have already turned from red to pink zones.
This was stated yesterday by Provincial Veterinarian Placeda Lemana as the repopulation of hogs has started in the province.
LGUs transitioning to pink zone (buffer) from red (infected) include the cities of Victorias, Silay, San Carlos and Kabankalan as well as the towns of Hinigaran, La Castellana and Pulupandan.
Lemana said that they are still awaiting a reply from the Department of Agriculture on the blood samples collected from hogs in Escalante City to determine if it has already recovered from ASF.
She added that they are continuing the surveillance monitoring since the virus cannot be easily addressed until such time there will be vaccination of hogs in the province.
Since 2023, Negros Occidental has logged almost 18,000 hog mortalities in about 20 local government units, mainly due to hog cholera and ASF, with an estimated damage of almost P200 million.
However, Lemana said that Negros Occidental now has a stable supply of pork, noting that hog raisers in the province even shipped 3,000 to 4,000 live pigs in Panay and Luzon last month.
The Provincial Veterinary Office has started the artificial insemination of hogs being raised at the Negros First Ranch in Murcia, which forms part of the initiative of the provincial government to increase the hog population in Negros Occidental.
Inclement weather brought about by monsoon rains last month caused hog raisers to lose more than P3 million in income, especially in the fourth district. | GB
