ILOILO City – Hog raisers in Western Visayas are taking the fight against African swine fever (ASF) to their backyards.
Not relying solely on government interventions, they have their own initiatives, driven by the fear of losing their livelihood should ASF breach their pigpens.
“Budlay man nga magsalig lang kita sa gobyerno, kinahanglan gid kami maghulag,” said Elma Pena, president of the Sibalom Integrated Livestock and Poultry Raisers Association (SILPRA) in Antique.
ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease that spreads rapidly in pigs. Since there is no known vaccine against it yet – sick pigs die in two to 10 days – ASF is destructive to the swine industry.
SILPRA has consistently joined programs of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) and Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) of Antique. In their backyards, Pena said, they practice regular disinfection.
Hog raisers with trucks used to transport hogs also make sure their vehicles are decontaminated, Pena added.
“No need na hambalan nga i-disinfect ila salakyan kay sila mismo aware. Kinahanglan kon ikaw tag-iya, strikto ka gid,” Pena added.
SILPRA has more than 400 hog-farmer members not only from Sibalom but also from the towns of San Remigio, Belison, Bugasong, Hamtic, Anini-y, Tibiao, and Barbaza. Most of them are backyard hog raisers.
The provincial government of Antique has formed a taskforce against ASF. It is composed of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, PVO, and PAO among others.
However, since there is not enough personnel to man the various entry and exit points in the province, the provincial government tapped local government units – even the barangays.
“One of the strategies is to involve the barangays, barangay officials and barangay tanods,” Pena said.
“Kay sila sa dalum, sila ang nakabalo kon sin–o ang gasulod sa ila barangays so ma-check gid,” she added.
Meanwhile, even in livestock markets, necessary precautions against ASF are also being observed.
For instance, at the Leon Livestock Oksyon Market (LOM) in Leon, Iloilo, disinfection is strictly being enforced.
According to Rolando Camariosa, manager of LOM, they conduct disinfection before and after auctions.
Prior to hog sellers’ entry to the auction market, they are required to present a disinfection certificate issued by their municipal agriculture officer.
Daily, there are around 15 to 20 swine being brought to the auction market. The highest recorded was 150 heads.
Compared to last year, daily market-goers this year plummeted as there was not much volume of swine heads, Camariosa said.
Western Visayas, still ASF-free, has a P20-billion hog industry, 80 percent of which is composed of backyard hog raisers.
There are also around 10 livestock/hog raisers associations in the region.
On Feb. 15, a total of 20 hog vans containing 1,600 heads of swine were shipped to Metro Manila from the Iloilo Port.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas provided transport to the local raisers.
According to the DA, this was among its initiatives to “allay soaring prices of pork and by-products” because of the ASF outbreaks.
Remelyn Recoter, DA-6 director, said the hogs transported were from the backyard raisers in the provinces of Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Iloilo.
The biggest volume of hogs came from the SILPRA in Antique, Recoter added.
The live hogs approximately valued at P24 million will be brought directly to slaughterhouses and will be sold in different Metro Manila public markets.
“The shipment is part of the ‘Whole of Nation’ measures to revive the hog industry and reduce pork prices. This is part of the supply chain, mobilizing stocks from surplus areas aside from the transport support and price ceiling,” Recoter added./PN
