Cotabato hog industry loss due to African swine fever at least P6.6 million

KIDAPAWAN CITY - More than a thousand hog raisers were affected by the African swine fever (ASF) in Cotabato and losses amount to more than P6.6 million, the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian said.

Since July, at least 1,322 heads of hogs have been culled in areas affected by ASF, it said.

These areas include Arakan, Magpet and President Roxas towns.

In Arakan, at least 301 pigs were culled in Sitio Sentro Purok Side A and Side B in Barangay Tumanding, Sorupia said.

Meanwhile, in Magpet, 960 hogs were culled and 60 in President Roxas town, he added.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 12 earlier said it will extend financial assistance to affected hog raisers. However, validation and documentation have to be conducted first before payment will be made.

DA Regional Executive Director Arlan Mangelen earlier said the department will give P5,000 for each hog culled.

“Regardless of the number of hogs owned by the owner, we will pay them after we receive all documents to process the payment,” Mangelen said. 

Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco ordered the strict monitoring of borders in the province to prevent the entry of meat contaminated with ASF from the Davao Region. 

Catamco's order came after it was reported that frozen products from the ASF-affected areas in Davao were sold in Arakan.

“I call on our people to help your provincial government. Let us all cooperate and subject ourselves and our vehicles to the checkpoints to prevent entry of ASF contaminated frozen products,” Catamco appealed to the public.

The governor also called on local government units in the province to have data banking of all hog raisers in their respective areas and conduct blood sampling to determine whether their area is still ASF-free. 

“I also ask our village officials to help combat the spread of ASF by closely monitoring the entry of frozen products in your place,” Catamco said.

In July, ASF was detected in four barangays in Magpet. A state of calamity was declared after another barangay was affected.

DA Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes in April said 25 provinces were affected by ASF.

The ASF outbreak was first reported in August 2019.

DA Secretary William Dar announced in July the department is rolling out a P400 million program to help small swine raisers affected by ASF in a bid to boost production of pork and strengthen industry awareness of biosecurity protocols. —KG, GMA News