‘PH to lose 1.1 MMT of pork this year’
Credit to Author: Eireene Jairee Gomez| Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 17:27:08 +0000
THE Philippines could lose 1.1 million metric tons (MMT) of dressed pork this year if the African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread in the country, the Philippine Veterinary Drug Association (PVDA) said.
At the International Farmers Summit Philippines 2020 in Pasay City on Wednesday, PVDA President Dr. Eugenio Mende told reporters that the country could also have a pork shortfall of nearly 800,000 MT because of the hog disease, which first broke out in July.
Of the total, 63 percent or 693,000 MT were projected to come from small farms, and the remaining 37 percent or 407,000 MT from large ones.
Citing data from an Australia-based study, Mende said the country’s pig population in small-scale farms was estimated be cut by 80 percent, while those in large-scale ones could see a 30-percent loss rate.
He emphasized that this scenario was only the worst projected, considering that there is no ASF cure or vaccine yet.
“With this number of potential na maaapektuhan ng ASF, ganun ang kakulangan natin sa Pilipinas kapag hindi natin naagapan,” Mende said.
To date, the Department of Agriculture (DA) depopulated 216,000 heads of hogs since the disease surfaced. This is equivalent to 1.7 percent of the 12.7-million swine population nationwide.
According to Agriculture Secretary William Dar, only about 13 percent of that figure were infected with ASF, but because of the 1-7-10 protocol observed, the department had to cull all hogs within a 1-kilometer radius of the affected area.
Under this protocol, pigs under this radius will be culled, with a 7-km radius serving as a surveillance area and a 10-km radius serving as a food security area.
Mende warned that the local swine population may decrease further as more hog raisers shift away from raising pigs due to damages and losses.
“‘Yung 1.7 percent of the total population, ‘yun ‘yung na-cull ng government, so napakaliit lang talaga, but marami kasi ang natakot. Hindi na nagtuloy mag-alaga at marami rin na…nag-stop [na lang]…” he said.
He believes, however, that it is only a matter of proper implementation of biosecurity measures and programs that would enable the country to fully manage, control and prevent the spread of ASF.
“We are learning a lot from the initial outbreaks. Importante talaga na ma-execute natin ‘yung learning natin in terms of control and quarantine programs. Importante rin na itaas ‘yung education sa backyards para patuloy na hindi kumalat [ang ASF],” Mende said.
ASF has so far affected 627 villages in the Philippines.