Ben Madilynn
THE Department of Agriculture-Davao Region (DA-Davao) assures that the African Swine Fever (ASF) affecting some areas in the region has no significant effect on the market even as the holiday season approaches as “biosecurity” training and measures among farmers are being intensified.
However, the agency added that if the surge is not prevented, it may impact negatively on the local market.
“If hindi natin mahinto ang effect sa ASF, makakaapekto talaga ito pero sa ngayon wala naman talagang masyadong outbreak (If we cannot stop the effect of ASF, it will really have an impact but so far, we have no reports of outbreak),” DA-Davao Regional Head of Disease Monitoring and Surveillance, Dr. Armie Capuyan said in the Agribiz Media Forum on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Dr. Capuyan clarified that although there are reported cases of ASF in the region, these are declining since local farmers are monitored and supported logistically by the agricultural agency.
She also explained that backyard hog raisers are more vulnerable to ASF than commercial raisers because the former are exposed to different kinds of food such as pigswill which sometimes contain animals.
Hogs from commercial piggeries, on the other hand, are vaccinated to keep them from any viral diseases and increase their mortality rate.
As of the present, Davao Occidental remains the only province in the region that reported ASF cases, with few cases reported in the municipalities of Malita and Sta. Maria. These cases mostly affect backyard piggeries due to a lack of implementing external and internal biosecurity methods.
The official also said that despite being in the yellow category, they are still monitoring Davao City including Tagum and Panabo City.
At present, the National ASF Prevention and Control Program reported that the number of provinces in the country with active cases of ASF increased to 32, while the affected barangays rose to 458 in 15 regions.
Provinces that registered the highest active cases of ASF are La Union, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, Aklan, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Samar, Zamboanga del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Davao Occidental, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Basilan.
As of press writing, DA-Davao has yet to update the numbers of active cases recorded in the Davao Region. DEF
