DA strengthens measures to protect hog industry in Central, Western Visayas

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY –The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Central and Western Visayas has strengthened their respective preventive measures against the entry of the dreaded African Swine Fever (ASF) to protect the multi-million hog industry in these areas.

In the “Mugstoria Ta” online program, Monday hosted by Asec Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), DA-7 regional executive director Atty. Salvador Diputado bared that DA officials have stepped up border controls in and around the four island provinces in regions 6 and 7 and are actively coordinating all efforts with the local government units (LGUs).

“To ensure that there is no letting up in our efforts to make sure the ASF won’t enter our region and we have recommended to the provincial governments to establish barangay-based quick reactions teams tasked to contain just in case any possible transmission of the animal viral disease. This mechanism should be put in place as one of our measures,” Diputado added.

Aside from enforcing stringent entry restrictions on live hogs, Diputado also raised the need to discourage the transport of processed meat into the region by traveling individuals.   The regional DA has also ordered the creation of a database on backyard hog raisers for monitoring and tracking purposes, he said.

 DA-6 regional executive director Engr. Remelyn Recoter stressed the need to protect the P20-billion swine industry in the region 6 and that the provinces have also tightened the entry of live hogs from other regions in the country.

Recoter said they have also launched an information drive that discourages individuals from buying pork products online and encouraged the public to report any suspicious deaths of pigs in their localities for quick response.

According to DA-8 regional director Angel Enriquez that there are now eight municipalities in Eastern Visayas with confirmed cases of ASF and they also have stepped up border controls in the affected areas to contain the transmission of the viral disease.

To date, local authorities have culled some 4,150 pigs in the region due to ASF.  Enriquez noted that LGUs have a crucial role in addressing the contagion. She added that while the region battles the ASF transport of live hogs coming from Mindanao that need to pass through Eastern Visayas need not be impeded.

Enriquez appealed to the local government of Ormoc to allow live hogs to pass through the city to transport them to Luzon, according to her Ormoc is one of the crucial routes of Mindanao-sourced hogs for them to reach the Luzon market.

She said that they have ensured that only those hogs coming from ASF-free regions would be able to pass through the entry points of the region, particularly Ormoc.

Enriquez explained that land transport remains the ideal means to move live hogs because it’s cheaper than having to transport them via sea.  “Ormoc is a crucial land route to transport live hogs from Mindanao to Luzon,” she added.