January 23, 2025

France's US$2.18 million package to boost measures against ASF

France had announced a €2 million (US$2.18 million) package to step up preventive measures against African swine fever.

Following a call for applications, the French National Swine Health Association (ANSP) was officially selected on December 9 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry to train 600 auditors and carry out 3,000 audits on pig and wild boar farms. The aim is to reinforce the application of biosecurity measures on farms to prevent the introduction of ASF.

The first audits was to take place in January 2025. The ANSP will rely on Ifip-Institut du porc to train auditors and the French National Society of Veterinary Technical Groups (SNGTV) and its network to mobilise veterinarians and carry out biosecurity audits.

The aim is to prioritise farms that have not yet undergone this type of audit, i.e., mainly small-scale operations. All farms selling fewer than 1,000 pigs in 2023, as well as all wild boar farms, are eligible to have this audit paid for by the French government. An individual letter will be sent to inform them of this operation.

Veterinarians, in particular those working on eligible farms, will be informed of how to set up this operation and how to be trained to carry out these audits.

- Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty (France)