400 piglets to become ‘frontliners’ vs hog fever

MANILA, Philippines — Over 400 piglets are set to play a key role in efforts to revive the country’s livestock industry as they become “frontliners” against African swine fever (ASF).

As part of its hog repopulation program, the Department of Agriculture (DA), together with local governments, has begun distributing “sentinel pigs” to farms in selected areas across eight regions to help determine if the deadly virus has been completely eradicated.

Over a 40-day observation period, the three to five piglets per farm will be closely monitored by personnel from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and subjected to at least two polymerase chain reaction tests.If they survive the surveillance period of 90 days, the farm will be declared ASF-free and effectively “released” from ASF quarantine status.

The sentinel piglets, mostly bought by the DA from local raisers, are only 60 days old. They will be distributed in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Davao, Soccskargen and Cordillera.

SentinelingThe repopulation program will kick off initially in Batangas and Benguet provinces where hog raising remains a primary livelihood for residents. A total of 462 sentinel piglets are to be distributed to some 8,000 hog raisers in these areas.

“The sentineling is a prelude to the Duterte administration’s swine repopulation program to increase hog production and subsequently stabilize the supply and prices of pork,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar. “A science-based approach, the sentinel protocol ascertains if a virus or disease is still present in an area. We will initially implement it in eight regions.”

The DA has poured in P400 million for the project which is part of the P2.4-billion budget it received for its swine repopulation program. Those who receive sentinel pigs are also entitled to free feeds, veterinary drugs, biologics and antiviral agents during the six-month fattening period.

Crucial

The sentinel program is crucial as the industry pushes for repopulation, as this will make or break any chance of a backyard raiser hoping to revive their business.

Since the DA reported the first ASF case in the country in 2019, the swine inventory has dipped to its lowest in 20 years, pushing not only pork prices up but also bringing hog raisers nearer to the brink of bankruptcy.

“The only way we will be able to make the hog sentineling successful is through the implementation of strict biosecurity measures in the farm, which is the primary duty of swine raisers to prevent the ASF virus from entering the farms,” said Dar.

BAI director Rieldrin Morales recently reported that the ASF incidence in the country has significantly gone down to 935 cases in the first quarter of the year, against 3,060 cases during the third quarter of 2020.

While the good news has buoyed the hopes of DA officials, hog raisers remain critical. Chester Warren Tan, president and chair of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., said the slowdown in ASF cases was due to the dwindling number of hog raisers in the country, especially in Luzon where only 35 percent continue to operate.

He added that with the government’s push to accommodate more pork imports by lowering the tariffs and raising the import ceiling, any chance of recovery may be pushed back by five years.