DA Western Visayas Livestock Program preludes swine sentineling program for Iloilo, Guimaras
Posted by: RAFIS DA6 | Posted at: February 17, 2023
Aiming to identify potential Local Government Units (LGUs) who can initially implement the program on swine sentinelling, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Western Visayas Livestock Program mounted a consultative meeting with 45 municipal/city agriculturists and LGU representatives from 23 African Swine Fever (ASF) affected areas on February 15, 2023, at WESVIARC Compound, Iloilo City.The consultative meeting discussed the salient features of the DA Administrative Order No. 30 series of 2021 or the “Guidelines on the Recovery and Declaration of Freedom from ASF for Local Government Units”; the requirements and preparedness of LGUs for swine sentineling protocols; and updates on the movement and cases of ASF.
The province of Iloilo recorded its first ASF case in October 2022 in the municipality of Oton, since then, collaborations of various sectors have been instrumental in the gradual containment and control of the spread of the virus in areas with earlier recorded cases. LGUs are now gearing up to revive their respective hog industry.
Before the sentineling program, backyard hog raisers must be ready for the ASF recovery program by cleaning and disinfecting the areas where the sentinel hogs would be placed. DA National Livestock Program will facilitate the distribution of sentinel pigs.
For about 90 to 120 days, sentinels will be observed; testing will then be administered. When results turn out to be negative, the area will be declared free, and they can start hog repopulation with the assistance of veterinarians from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and DA Western Visayas Regulatory Division.
DA-WV recorded a 0.67% decrease in the inventory of backyard hogs, while a 9.09% decrease on the commercial hog for 2023. Factors such as ASF incidence and the high cost of production inputs contributed to this decrease. ### By Maria Corazon M. Buala/DA-RAFIS 6
