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The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Science for Change-Business Innovation Through science and technology (BIST) for Industry Program has provided financial assistance amounting to P15.95 million to a veterinary research and diagnostics company in Batangas.

AVANT GARDENER

Six local government unit (LGUs) in Batangas have been declared free of African Swine Fever (ASF)–the first “local declaration” in the country since its outbreak last year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

President Duterte has directed authorities to hasten the release of funds for the rehabilitation of the local hog industry affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.

The leader of a science-inclined consumer advocacy group has called Secretary William Dar’s stint at the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the current administration as ‘a big mistake”, particularly when it comes to handling the African Swine Fever (ASF) scourge.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar said that the declaration of a state of calamity due to the prevalence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country was a “much-needed shot-in-the-arm” in the efforts to overcome the lingering problem.

President Duterte has placed the entire country under a state of calamity due to the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, that led to the billions of pesos in losses to the local hog industry and the spike in prices of pork products.

Lost in the transition from Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to MECQ in the NCR-Plus bubble were twin moves of the national government to address the effects of the African swine fever (ASF) that has greatly affected the supply of pork, a staple item in the Filipino family’s daily menu.

Consumers are urged to keep on patronizing local pork amid the issuance of Executive Order (EO) 128, which will bring down the tariff on pork imports and will pave the way for the entry of more imported pork into the Philippines. 

The persistence of African Swine Fever (ASF) did not only affect the Philippines’ hog production. Corn production, too, is now reeling from the impact of the dreaded animal virus.

If the prevalence of COVID-19 pandemic is not yet bad enough, there is also now a Senate proposal to put the entire country under a state of emergency due to an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, which has already cost about P50 billion in losses to the swine industry and pushed pork market prices higher. None of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) measures seem to be working.

Food and agriculture multinational firm Cargill said everyone’s priority should be strict biosecurity and feed hygiene in fighting the much dreaded African Swine Fever (ASF), which already resulted in billions of losses in the Philippines’ hog industry.

Filipinos can expect higher meat prices as the cost of animal feed ingredients, primarily corn and soybean, has been on an uptrend worldwide.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking into urban aquaculture as alternative livelihood for backyard hog raisers who are badly affected by the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF).

Amid high pork and chicken prices, the Philippine government must now find a way to boost the production of alternative protein sources such as rabbit meat and plant-based food. Based on a study published by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the high pork prices now, while painful and unfavorable to consumers, is an opportunity for the country to start exploring alternative protein sources.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has been formally asked by its legally mandated arm for stakeholders’ participation, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), to withdraw its petition to lower import tariff rates on pork.

The government-funded transport subsidy for hog shipment is now available, but hog raisers must first follow a lengthy process.

Amid the persistent African Swine Fever (ASF) and shortage in hogs supply in the country, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), through its food unit San Miguel Foods (SMF), announced it is rationalizing its Monterey business by transferring its nationwide hog inventory to local raisers.