ASF back in Cotabato, initial hog industry losses estimated at P50 million

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Authorities in Cotabato have culled about 5,000 pigs infected with African Swine Fever (ASF), which has re-emerged in the province for the third time since 2019, once again threatening the province’s hog industry.

The dreaded hog disease almost devastated the province’s nearly a billion-peso hog industry when it wreaked havoc on hog farms in 2022 and 2019.

Cotabato Governor Emmylou Mendoza on Tuesday, August 6, said pigs were again found positive for ASF in at least 49 barangays in Kidapawan City and in 10 towns in the province.

“ASF was detected to have recurred in some villages two months ago,” she said.

Veterinary workers found pigs positive for ASF in Kidapawan and the towns of Mlang, Matalam, Makilala, Antipas, Midsayap, Pigcawayan, Tulunan, President Roxas, Kabacan, and Arakan. Cotabato has 17 towns and a component city.

Makilala town was the hardest hit, with officials declaring losses of P40 million. The town is home to several large hog farms.

Eliseo Mangliwan, Cotabato ASF focal person, said the province has so far incurred losses of at least P50 million. He said thousands of pigs found with ASF had to be culled.

During a meeting with local officials and stakeholders, Mendoza urged local officials and other leaders to impose restrictions, border control, and biosecurity efforts to thwart the spread of ASF.

Appeal 

Several town mayors have already ordered a ban on the transport of hogs and pork – whether cooked, processed, or raw – especially to and from villages with ASF-positive cases.

“We must take decisive actions and not allow what happened in 2022 and 2019 to be repeated, threatening our hog industry again,” Mendoza said.

In Kidapawan City, the local government offered to buy ASF-free hogs at P140 per kilo, higher than usual prices, to help cushion the impact of ASF on backyard hog raisers. 

A P3.7-million fund has been set aside for this initiative, Kidapawan Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista said.

In Midsayap town, Mayor Rolando Sacdalan said hog raisers in two upland communities voluntarily culled their infected hogs. 

Sacdalan said they have barred the entry and exit of hogs, pork, and its by-products to the affected villages.

Antipas municipal officials declared the town under a state of calamity on July 29 due to ASF.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was tasked with implementing a 60-day price freeze on basic commodities.

On Monday, August 5, former agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol, a former governor of the province, said Mamitas Farm in Makilala town, the largest hog farm in the province, had already lost more than 2,000 hogs to ASF.

“This is the largest number of hogs infected by ASF on one farm, which could seriously affect the supply of meat in the province, especially with the coming holidays,” Piñol said. 

He said it might take years for hog raisers to recover their losses.

Piñol also said backyard hog raisers, who do not have sufficient biosecurity facilities to protect their farms from the spread of ASF, were the hardest hit.

Economic sabotage

Officials were contemplating introducing stiff penalties and punishments for those who defy ASF restrictions, pointing out that such violations were tantamount to economic sabotage.

Mangliwan said the lack of proper understanding and non-cooperation of some residents regarding the necessary measures to stop the ASF spread have worsened the situation.

Despite restrictions on the movement of hogs, pork, and its by-products to help contain ASF, some individuals have been attempting to smuggle out hogs and pork products, disregarding the severe consequences of their actions, he said.

Mangliwan said some residents, fearing losses, secretly slaughter their pigs and sell the meat elsewhere.

“There were even monitored incidents of dead pigs being thrown into rivers, endangering contamination of areas not affected by ASF,” he said. – Rappler.com