ASF-affected hog raisers in Benguet get aid from gov't

LIVELIHOOD OPTION – Dept. of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region director Dr. Cameron Odsey (right) says Wednesday the government started releasing livelihood assistance to the 37 African swine fever-affected hog raisers in Benguet. The hog growers are still waiting for more support to allow them to recover from the effects of the ASF infestation. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)

By Liza Agoot  

BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the provincial government of Benguet have started to release the livelihood assistance to the families affected by the de-population and culling operations as a result of the African swine fever (ASF) infestation that has reached Benguet Province.

DA in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) executive director Cameron Odsey said Wednesday they have already released starter chicks for poultry production to the affected raisers.

Each hog grower received 200 chicks and a sack of feeds to start with while they are still reeling from the effects of the ASF infestation.

He said it is just one of the national government’s assistance because there will still be an indemnification fund that qualified raisers will receive from the DA.

Odsey said dialogues were held with the hog raisers following the depopulation and culling as poultry raising was identified as a stop-gap livelihood.

Upon testing positive for ASF, “de-population” of animals that go with the infected hogs are immediately killed to avoid the spread of the disease.

With the "1-7-10 protocol" in place, areas within a one-kilometer radius from where the infected hogs were discovered are culled, regardless of their condition.

The pigs found within the seven-kilometers radius are prohibited from being brought outside the area and they are subjected to regular blood testing. Meanwhile, those within a 10-kilometer radius are prohibited from being sold outside the area.

After culling, the area is cleaned daily for a month. Another month is devoted to sanitation, then a three-month rest period.

After the fifth month, a sentinel pig, aged 45 days, is placed in which blood is regularly tested for the presence of the ASF. If it survives without a showing of symptoms of ASF, the owner can resume swine raising activity.

Dr. Miriam Tiongan, Benguet provincial veterinary office chief, said the 37 affected hog raisers in the towns of Tuba, Itogon and La Trinidad got a total of 7,000 chicks and 12 heads of sheep as government aid.

She said the provincial government also released one sack of rice each to the affected raisers.

Tiongan said a total of 532 pigs were either killed or had died after being infected from the three pigs that tested positive for ASF.

Tiongan reiterated her call for residents to observe good animal-food raising practices and to buy only from places that are declared ASF-free. (PNA)