Visayas region moves to protect multibillion-peso hog industries

Visayas region is strengthening preventive measures to avert the entry of the African Swine Fever (ASF) and protect their respective multibillion-peso hog industries.

Lawyer Salvador Diputado, regional executive director of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 7, said that the agency is stepping up border controls in the four island provinces of the region.

“We are actively coordinating our efforts with the local government units (LGUs) to ensure there is no letting up in our efforts to make sure the ASF won’t enter our region,” the DA official said during the Mugstoria Ta, an online conversation hosted by Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV).

Diputado also noted that they 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,” he said.

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.

In Western Visayas, provinces have also tightened the entry of live hogs from other regions.

Engr. Remelyn Recoter, regional executive director of DA in Region 6, stressed the need to protect the P20-billion swine industry in the region.

She said they have also launched an information drive that discourages individuals from buying pork products online.

Residents in the region have also been encouraged to immediately report any suspicious deaths of pigs in their localities to quick response.

Eastern Visayas is so far the only region in Visayas that has confirmed cases of ASF.

Angel Enriquez, regional director of DA in Region 8, revealed that there are now eight municipalities in Eastern Visayas with confirmed cases of ASF.

She said they have since stepped up the 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. While the region is battling the ASF, she also stressed that transport of live hogs coming from Mindanao that need to pass through Eastern Visayas need not be impeded.

She has appealed to the local government of Ormoc to allow live hogs to pass through the city to transport them to Luzon.

According to Enriquez, Ormoc is one of the crucial routes of Mindanao-sourced hogs for them to reach the Luzon market.

She said 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.

She 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 said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has recently imposed a ceiling to curb the runaway prices of pork and chicken.

Aside from the price cap, the government was also looking at sourcing pork from Visayas and Mindanao to boost the supply in Luzon, based on earlier reports.