By John Noel E. Herrera
Iloilo province has suffered around a 45 percent decrease in pork supply and local hog raisers continue to feel the impact of African Swine Fever (ASF) as they have already lost over P1.2 billion due to the hog disease.
Iloilo Provincial Veterinary Office (IPVO) head Dr. Darel Tabuada explained that 125,507 swine heads or 45 percent of the 277,421 total inventory in the province were depopulated to prevent the spread of ASF.
If the 125,507 heads were supposedly sold for less value or an average price of P10,000 per head, then the total loss so far would reach P1,255,070,000, according to Tabuada.
He added that the 45 percent loss in inventory included those that were either ASF-positive hogs, those that died due to natural or suspected ASF deaths, or were disposed of earlier as the area is near the identified ASF red zones.
Data from IPVO as of February 2023 indicated that Alimodian town has the highest number of depopulated hog heads with 10,144, followed by Banate with 10,110; Dumangas (8,995); Oton (8,578), Concepcion (7,802), Balasan (6,497), Santa Barbara (6,272), Mina (6,053), Pototan (5,130), Lambunao (4,671), Sara (4,365), Miag-ao (4,128), Dueñas (3,514), Janiuay (2,955), Tigbauan (2,334), Anilao (2,136), Zarraga (2,095), Leon (2,005), Leganes (1,943), San Enrique (1,911), Passi City (1,843), and Ajuy (1,700), San Joaquin (1,643), Barotac Nuevo (1,552), Calinog (1,489), Igbaras (1,392), Guimbal (1,298), Estancia (1,286), Pavia (1,186), Carles (896), Bingawan (842), Dingle (805), Cabatuan (708), San Miguel (439), San Dionisio (423), Maasin (307), Tubungan (274), Batad (272), Badiangan (195), Lemery (181) and San Rafael (175).
Tabuada stressed that the situation might lead to a pork shortage in the province and an increase in the prices of pork products in the local markets.
The current price of pork in Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Terminal Market ranges from P250 to P260 per kilo.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. earlier said they were trying to address the pork supply in the province as a depleted pork supply could translate into reduced sources of protein, which would affect the nutrition of the residents.
“Ang aton subong nga concern dira, aside from fighting the ASF itself, ang pag-uli sang mga baboy nga nadula sa aton and it will be addressed by our recovery process,” Defensor added.
Defensor also said that it is important to strengthen the poultry supply and for affected hog raisers to venture into the poultry industry to temporarily serve as one of the main sources of protein in the province.
“Again, this is also a nutrition issue in the province, and we are looking for other sources of protein to compensate for the decrease in pork,” the governor said.
ASF CONTINUES TO SPREAD
IPVO noted that ASF has already spread to 23 towns in the province after swine specimen samples from Barangay Pinantan Diel in Ajuy, Iloilo tested positive for the said hog disease.
Of the said 23 towns, 17 were already placed under red (infected) zones, which include Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, New Lucena, Alimodian, Santa Barbara, Mina, Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, Dumangas, Banate, Janiuay, Concepcion, Batad, Zarraga, San Dionisio, and Dingle.
While the towns of Dueñas, Badiangan, Pototan, San Enrique, Estancia, and Ajuy remain under pink (buffer) zones.
The Iloilo Provincial Government reiterated to all red zone towns to strictly implement all safety measures, which include intensified monitoring, surveillance, investigation, and test and destroy operations within the area, to contain the spread of ASF.
Tabuada also said that they now only receive a few reports of ASF-suspected deaths as some farmers have already stopped raising hogs.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Data from IPVO indicated that they have already released around P5.4 million in financial assistance to ASF-affected farmers in Iloilo, which was taken from the approved P40 million supplemental budget of the province.
Tabuada noted that they have already distributed cash aid to hog raisers from the towns of Mina, Oton, Alimodian, San Miguel, Leganes, New Lucena, Pototan, Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, Santa Barabara, and Zarraga as of February 2023.
They have also conducted validation of documents in Dumangas, Banate and other areas in Northern Iloilo so that the hog raisers could already get the assistance this March.
“Gina fast-track naton na nga maka-release kita kay dasig na lang man subong ang pag-release naton sang financial assistance kay okay naman ang flow sang mga requirement kag wala na gabalik-balik gid ang documents,” Tabuada said.
