October 28, 2024

Philippines' swine farmers cite documentation delays in ASF vaccine rollout

Swine farmers in the Philippines have raised concerns about burdensome documentation requirements delaying their participation in the limited rollout of the African swine fever (ASF) vaccine, BusinessWorld reported.

Alfred Ng, vice-chairman of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, highlighted the challenges faced by many backyard farmers in securing the necessary paperwork to take part in the vaccine trials.

"Many backyard farmers are having difficulty in securing the necessary documentation for the trials," Ng said. He added that some local government units are unaware of the vaccine trials, hindering the expansion of the programme.

"Most ASF outbreak areas have disposed of their swine and do not have enough samples to be involved in these trials," he noted.

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) has recently expanded its vaccine trials to include commercial swine farms, aiming to increase the number of inoculated swine. Administrative Circular No 8 opened participations to commercial farms and swine herds under the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion Programme. The circular cited the "low participation rate of small hold farms" as a reason for the broader scope.

The DA has allocated PHP 350 million (US$6 million) to procure 600,000 doses of the vaccine for swine farmers. The rollout began on Aug. 30 in Lobo, Batangas.

The ASF Live vaccine, known as AVAC, developed in Vietnam, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for a limited, government-controlled rollout. A Certificate of Product Registration for AVAC has been issued, valid for two years, with the vaccine subject to monitoring and annual evaluation.

Despite the rollout, Ng emphasised the need for caution. He also pointed out that commercial swine farms may not readily join the programme due to government requirements, which include blood tests and constant monitoring of the swine. The DA has said it takes about three weeks to blood-test swine before they can receive the vaccine. Antibody development is expected to take a few more weeks.

-      BusinessWorld