ILOILO – The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) has commenced a sentinel program as part of its broader African Swine Fever (ASF) recovery efforts across the province.
On October 2, the provincial authorities, in collaboration with the local government unit (LGU) of Santa Barbara, distributed 72 piglets to 36 qualified hog raisers, providing each with two sentinel pigs.
ASF, a highly contagious viral disease, has wrought significant financial losses and disruptions in the meat supply chain for local hog raisers.
Dr. Darel Tabuada, head of the PVO, expressed optimism that the program would soon expand to more municipalities following the allocation of funds to each qualified local government unit for purchasing sentinel pigs.
“The funds have been transferred to the municipalities. The procurement process is handled at the municipal level, and many are already in the bidding phase,” Tabuada explained to Panay News.
The provincial government began transferring funds to LGUs in July 2024.
The first five municipalities to receive support were Barotac Viejo, New Lucena, Sta. Barbara, Dingle, and Banate, which the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has upgraded from red to pink zones.
The pink zone, or buffer zone, designates areas where ASF has not been detected but are adjacent to confirmed infected areas or red zones.
The sentinel program aims to replenish the severely depleted swine inventory caused by the ASF outbreak, which ravaged the region.
A total of P9.6 million has been earmarked for the program, benefiting 800 farmers throughout the province.
Thanks to these government efforts, 17 out of the 28 ASF-affected municipalities in Iloilo, previously categorized as red zones, have now transitioned to the less risky pink zone.
This distribution of piglets is a critical step towards reviving the province’s swine industry and ensuring food security.
Besides distributing piglets, the provincial government is also enhancing biosecurity measures, providing technical assistance to farmers, and promoting responsible swine farming practices to support the industry’s recovery.
As of July 9, 2024, the swine inventory in Iloilo stood at 106,420 heads, a stark reduction of 64 percent or 171,001 heads since the ASF outbreak began in October 2022.
Before the outbreak in September 2022, the province had a swine population of 277,421 heads./PN
