Hog farmers association asks gov't for ASF vaccine subsidy

The National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) on Sunday appealed to the government to subsidize or, at least, shoulder half of the cost of the vaccine against African Swine Fever,  to help small and medium scale local hog farmers.

NFHFI President Chester Tan said that while there is still no definite price per ASF vaccine dose being released,  he suspects it would be between P400 to P600, which is very high for framers. 

“Sana hindi maging totoo ito presyong P400 to P600. Napakamahal po. Hindi na ito affordable tsaka hindi na siya ganun ka-feasible. Kapag ganyan ang amount, ay baka hindi na gumamit imbes gusto ng lahat ay gumamit eh napakataas ng presyo,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(I hope this projected P400 to P600 price is inaccurate. It's very expensive. It's not affordable and infeasible, and farmers might be tempted not to use the vaccine at all, even if they wanted to.)

“Ang hinihiling namin sa ating gobyerno, na sana magkaroon ng subsidy. Kung hindi man libre, sana ma-absorb nila...ma-shoulder nila 'yung kahit na 50% sa commercial farms lalo sa mga small scale raisers,” he added.

(We are appealing for government subsidy. If not 100%, at least, 50%, especially to small scale hog raisers.)

With President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as concurrent Agriculture secretary, Tan expects the agency would provide funds for the ASF vaccine.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) on Friday said the ASF vaccine was proven effective in clinical trials in six farms in Luzon.

In 2019, the ASF outbreak was first reported in the country. Thousands of pigs were slaughtered to prevent the disease from spreading. The disease has also reduced the swine inventory in the country. —LBG, GMA Integrated News