April 2, 2024

 

Indonesia and FAO start ASF biosecurity programme in North Sulawesi

 

 

Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and supported by South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), launched the Community African Swine Fever (ASF) Biosecurity Intervention (CABI) programme in Indonesia, with a pilot project starting in North Sulawesi province, the FAO announced last month.

 

Indonesia has selected three pilot locations, namely Pinabetengan Village, Paslaten Satu Village and Tiwoho Village in Manado.

 

"ASF is a highly contagious animal disease in domestic and wild pigs, resulting in serious economic and production losses. The ASF virus is very resistant and survives long periods in various conditions," said Nasrullah, director general of Livestock and Animal Health Services at MoA.

 

The first ASF outbreak in domestic pigs in Indonesia was reported in 2019. The outbreak threatened the pig farming industry, and the Indonesian government officially declared it through a Decree from the Minister of Agriculture.

 

Nasrullah emphasised that the spread of ASF could be prevented. "Rigorous prevention efforts and collaboration between governments, farmers and the public can help reduce the risk of the disease spreading and protect the swine industry from major losses, mainly by applying biosecurity measures," he explained.

 

The ASF prevention collaboration is carried out through the CABI programme, which aims to help smallholder pig farmers mitigate and recover from ASF by strengthening biosecurity measures. This practical programme, supported by the MAFRA, has been successfully implemented in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region and is being expanded to Indonesia to meet local community needs.

 

Nuryani Zainuddin, director of animal health at the Ministry of Agriculture, explained that ASF poses a significant threat to smallholders pig farmers, especially to their livelihoods. "We hope that this prevention programme would improve the overall animal health situation of North Sulawesi and help achieve the target of having ASF-free North Sulawesi," Zainuddin said.

 

The Governor of North Sulawesi, through the head of the North Sulawesi Livestock and Animal Health Service, Wilhelmina JN Pangemanan, explained that the government at both the national and sub-national levels, as well as FAO, have collaborated to prevent ASF by implementing several measures.

 

"We continue to intensify prevention of the traffic of virus-carrying media, isolate pigs affected by ASF, implement biosecurity and good farming management, as well as conduct intensive monitoring in high-risk areas," said Pangemanan.

 

Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste, said: "FAO hopes that the CABI programme will mitigate ASF risks in small-scale pig farms and prevent economic losses due to the outbreak. This will also sustainably improve animal health systems in Indonesia to ensure farmers' livelihood and food security by maintaining the quality of pig products."

 

Aryal further explained that the CABI pilot will also be launched in the West Kalimantan province in April 2024.

 

FAO is committed to working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and sub-national and local governments to provide the necessary technical support for effective ASF prevention in Indonesia, the organisation said.

 

"This assistance is very useful because it will help farmers keep their pigs healthy and minimise financial losses by applying biosecurity preventive measures," said  Acting Regent of Minahasa Jemmy Stani Kumendong.

 

- FAO