The Department of Agriculture (DA) has instructed the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to expand its controlled testing of the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine to additional areas in Luzon, as well as regions designated as red zones in the Visayas and Mindanao.
This developed as the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DRRMOC) said damage to agriculture of severe tropical storm “Enteng” has hit P2.26 billion.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., in a statement yesterday, said the rollout of the BAI’s controlled testing of the initial 150,000 doses of ASF vaccines imported from Vietnam will now include La Union, Quezon, Mindoro, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Cebu.
Last week, BAI initiated the first round of vaccinations on healthy pigs in Lobo, Batangas, which has been identified as ground zero for the largest ASF outbreak since the monsoon season began.
The vaccines are being provided free of charge.
Tiu Laurel said commercial pig farms located in areas with numerous infections will also receive ASF vaccines to safeguard their stocks from the disease.
“Our goal is to ensure a steady supply of pork in the market and stabilize prices,” Tiu Laurel added.
DA said since the first ASF outbreak in 2019 which led to the culling of over 300,000 pigs, the local hog industry has struggled to recover from the disease’s severe impact.
The high mortality rate of ASF has forced many small-scale pig farms to cease operations to avoid substantial losses.
In response, the DA has increased indemnification for diseased pigs surrendered for culling, raising compensation ceiling to P12,000 for breeders from the previous maximum of P5,000.
The government has allocated P300 million for the procurement of approximately 600,000 doses of the ASF vaccine developed in Vietnam and an additional P50 million for related inoculation costs.
Based on latest data from BAI, as of September 6, 2024, active cases of ASF in the country are contained in 14 regions, 31 provinces, 109 municipalities and 472 barangays.
Meanwhile, the DRRMOC said in its 8 a.m. bulletin yesterday the cost of damage to agriculture covered 51,728 metric tons (MT) of goods tended by 59,669 farmers and fisherfolk in 37,471 hectares of affected areas in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas.
Bulk of Enteng’s recorded damage is from rice at P1.11 billion equivalent to 48,646 MT followed by another P1 billion from irrigation facilities.
