• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) declared on Thursday that African swine fever (ASF) and hog cholera cases in Negros Occidental are now “under control”, following the deaths of almost 18,000 hogs last year.
Dr. Placeda Lemana, provincial veterinarian, however, said that they are not taking chances as the province continues to implement the ban on live pigs, pork and related products from ASF-affected areas.
Lemana noted that while Negros Occidental ranks second in the Philippines in backyard swine production, it cannot ship hogs to other provinces since the Department of Agriculture has yet to issue them a certificate of free status to prove that Negros hogs are free from ASF.
Hog industry losses in Negros Occidental have reached P199.5 million last year because of ASF and hog cholera diseases.
Since September last year, Lemana said they have not recorded any swine mortality.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental also started to distribute financial assistance to more than 1,500 affected hog raisers, at P2,000 per family, since December.
To start its hog repopulation program, Lemana said they will commence the “sentinel program”, a science based approach to detecting the presence of ASF virus in a particular area, in the first quarter of 2024.
Although in the last quarter of last year, some farmers have already started the sentineling program in their backyard farms.
So far, there was no swine mortality reported, Lemana said.
“This indicates that we have been effective in our pre-sentineling program, which includes disinfection and other related preventive activities,” she added.
By the second quarter, Lemana said that they are targeting to start the hog repopulation program. | GB
