DA: Philippines’ pork supply ‘enough’ despite new ASF outbreak

Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Tuesday said the Philippines has enough supply of pork and pork products despite the recent outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Davao Occidental.

Citing the latest report from the Department of Agriculture (DA), Dar said only 1.7% of the 12.7 million national swine population is affected by the ASF.

“From the 216,000 depopulated swine, only about 13% is sick, but because of the 1-7-10 protocol, we have to depopulate every hog within the one-kilometer radius,” the Agriculture chief said.

The 1-7-10 protocol requires that:

• Within a one-kilometer radius from infected farms, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and relevant DA Regional Field Offices set up quarantine checkpoints at strategic locations to prevent live pigs and pork products from leaving the area. Pigs are culled.
• Within a seven-km radius from infected farms, the agencies surveil and test animals, and limit their movement.
• With a 10-km radius from infected farms, the agencies require mandatory disease reporting from farmers and hog raisers.

The Cabinet official also reiterated that swill feeding is primarily the cause of the outbreak.

However, its origin is still being traced.

Identified possible sources of the ASF include food waste from ports or smuggled pork products, Dar said.

The DA is working closely with the local chief executives (LCEs) in the ASF-affected areas, he said.

On February 10, the DA said, President Rodrigo Duterte met with LCEs to discuss how they would address national concerns such as the new coronavirus and ASF.

Dar has urged local executives to work together in helping the affected local government units to properly manage, control, and contain for the said problems.

Regarding the reported inflation rate of 2.9% in January 2020, Dar requested the DA family to help tame food inflation, which was said to be 1% of the total inflation.

“We will help in terms of making supply more available, by bringing the produce from the countryside to the metropolitan areas like Metro Manila, and lower the retail prices of food commodities,” he said. — BM, GMA News