June 20, 2022

ASF strikes 203 villages in Cordillera Administrative Region, the Philippines

Two-hundred-three barangay (villages) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Philippines, were affected by African swine fever (ASF) over the past two years.

Dr. Cameron Odsey, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Agriculture (DA-CAR), said the number of ASF-infected villages consist of 16% of the 1,178 barangay in the administrative region.

He added that for this year alone, some ₱247.5 million (US$4.6 million) has been earmarked by the agency for the ongoing swine production feed assistance programme toward the realisation of the government's swine repopulation programme.

The repopulation programme aims to bring back the stability of supply and prices of pork in local markets.

Concerning ASF-infected barangay, the DA-CAR official said 46 are infected zones, 12 are protected zones and 19 are buffer zones.

Dr. Odsey said appropriate depopulation had been conducted in the identified ASF-infected barangay in the region while disinfection had been completed in the hog farms where ASF-infected pigs were discovered.

Additionally, various provincial veterinary offices, in close coordination with their counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, are closely monitoring the presence of ASF in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

The collaboration aims to prevent outbreaks that might derail ongoing efforts of the government to recover from effects of animal infestation on the hog population in the region and the stability of the supply and prices of pork in the local markets.

The DA-CAR has extended financial and technical assistance to livestock raisers heavily impacted by ASF, especially those who have to repopulate hog farms.

- The Manila Times