Cargill Philippines, the local subsidiary of food and agriculture multinational firm Cargill, has launched a ‘holistic solution’ to contribute in the country’s fight against deadly swine disease African Swine Fever (ASF).
In a statement, the company said it has launched Cargill 360° Protection, a holistic solution composed of products, programs and services designed to help protect pig farm businesses from the ASF virus in all ways possible.
The Cargill 360 Protection program offers a holistic approach that will reduce the risk of diseases in local farms and strengthen the immunity of the herd in four main areas: Farm Biosecurity, Feed Hygiene, Enhanced Immunity, and Pig Growability.
“This solution has been implemented in other countries like Vietnam and China with similar circumstances to ours. Studies have been conducted by the Cargill research team, and an end-to-end solution like this would be our best bet in lieu of a vaccine,” said Sonny Catacutan, president of Cargill Philippines.
From the environment to the feeds and animals, business and consumers, the Cargill 360° Protection works to protect all stages of swine business.
Catacutan, who also serves as managing director of Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health (CANH), said the company is “confident” that ASF can be contained as long as the country takes the necessary precautionary measures.
“Based on what we’ve seen in other markets, there is a way to allow the local industry to still thrive even with ASF hovering around us,” Catacutan said.
“Over the past year since ASF was declared in the country, we’ve continuously been helping pig farmers who have been affected by ASF to restart their business, and educating those who are fortunate to have not been affected to remain safe. There is no vaccine, and our best defense is prevention,” he added.
As a food and agricultural company, Cargill offers swine, poultry and aqua feed, along with the premix solutions. The company has four feed mills located in Villasis, Baliuag, Pulilan and Villanueva.
“Livelihoods are being compromised and businesses are closing, resulting in massive direct and indirect losses to the swine industry,” Cargill Philippines said.
ASF, on the other hand, is a deadly swine disease that already resulted in the death and culling of over 350,000 pigs across the country.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar earlier said that combating the spread of the ASF will take a lot of effort from all stakeholders, from the government to the private sector, including pig farm owners.
“We have to take this seriously because not only does it affect one of the largest industries in the country, but it also exploits a weakness inherent to Filipinos – we are such huge pork consumers that no part of a pig is spared. The ASF causes a disruption in local supply and threatens businesses. Pig farm owners and hog breeders will have to really intensify biosecurity and herd immunity,” Dar said.
And while the government is implementing measures to mitigate the effects of the ASF on businesses and consumers alike including stricter border control, awareness and preventive measures, and closer monitoring, we cannot let our guard down. It’s through partnerships and collaborative efforts like this that will help alleviate the effects of the ASF,” he added.
Currently, the markets in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog are most affected by ASF. The government has continuously provided assistance to affected areas, and is doubling down on awareness efforts to educate farmers.
According to Cargill, it can take as long as eight months for an affected farm to restart its business, and the success of this restart is also dependent on their farming practices.