ILOILO – The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) reports a significant drop in pork sufficiency level in Iloilo province, now at 33.12 percent.
As of Monday, Nov. 6, the count of swine in the province’s supply chain stood at 75,478 heads, spread across 42 municipalities and one component city.
This number represents a stark decrease from the 277,421 heads recorded during the September 2022 inventory.
The PVO attributes the reduction of approximately 201,941 heads of swine — a 72.79 percent decline — to the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).
“We are only 33.12 percent sufficient, which indicates a shortage,” PVO head Dr. Darel Tabuada explained in a Radyo Pilipinas Iloilo interview yesterday morning. “This is why there has been an increase in our incoming shipments from other regions.”
With the holidays approaching, the ideal sufficiency level would be 100 percent, Dr. Tabuada noted.
He reassured the public, however, that the decreased local swine inventory has been barely perceptible to consumers thanks to the inflow of pork and frozen products from other areas.
From January to October, the province has welcomed 14,941 heads of swine from neighboring areas, including Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Negro Occidental, and Negros Oriental, with the latest bulk arriving from Oriental Mindoro.
“Looking at the sufficiency level, we do face a shortage, which is why we’re gradually increasing our imports of frozen goods into the province,” Tabuada added.
Tabuada also noted that the live weight of pork is priced at around P206 per kilo, with pork meat priced at about P352 per kilo. This price hike has sparked renewed interest among hog farmers in the sentinel program, despite the PVO’s advisement against it in ASF red zones, pending ongoing assessments by municipal agriculture offices (MAOs).
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has outlined criteria for participating in the sentinel program, which includes:
* no ASF outbreaks in the barangay for the past 40 days
* preferably, the barangay should have no remaining swine
* the existence of a local ordinance on ASF
* inclusion of any remaining swine in the sentineling program is encouraged
* continued biosecurity measures, with the farmer undergoing relevant training
Under DA-6’’s sentinel program, qualified hog farmers will receive three pigs and their feed. MAOs will oversee these sentinel pigs, taking specimen samples over two months for laboratory confirmation.
Currently, the towns of Mina, Batad, Santa Barbara, San Miguel, Concepcion, Leganes, Lambunao, and Banate have met the requirements for the sentineling program and are pending further assessment by DA-6.
“If we ascertain there are no cases, we will recommend to the province to commence operations. This is why we want to strengthen our efforts at the farm level, so once farms are ready and the province is clear, we can assure that the pigs we supply will not be reinfected with ASF,” Tabuada said.
The 28 red zones, identified due to confirmed ASF cases, include Oton, San Miguel, Alimodian, Santa Barbara, Leganes, New Lucena, Mina, Janiuay, Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo, Pototan, Dingle, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Ajuy, Concepcion, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Balasan, Maasin, Badiangan, Dueñas, San Enrique, Zarraga, Lambunao, Carles, and San Joaquin.
Red zones are municipalities or cities with confirmed ASF outbreaks./PN
