While investigations on the origin of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in Davao Occidental are still ongoing, Agriculture Secretary William Dar confirmed the incidence in the municipalities of Don Marcelino and Malita, during a press conference, at the Department of Agriculture on February 3.
Upon receiving the incident report on January 28, the DA’s quick response team composed of experts from the Bureau of Animal Industry and the provincial government of Davao Occidental conducted investigations in eight barangays in Don Marcelino and seven barangays in Malita.
“The 1-7-10 protocol is strictly being implemented in the affected areas to manage, contain, and control the spread of the disease,” Secretary Dar said.
Through the protocol, quarantine checkpoints are established in areas within 1-kilometer radius of suspected farms, surveillance and limited animal movement are enforced within 7-kilometer radius, and farm-owners are mandated to report related cases within the 10-kilometer radius.
“I commend the provincial government of Davao Occidental led by Governor Claude Batista and the respective mayors of the affected towns for enforcing a complete, but temporary, lockdown to limit the movement of pork and pork products,” Dar said.
The Secretary also lauded the “bold move” of the local government to buy pigs that were not affected by ASF.
“This is a gamechanger in terms of controlling the virus, and it’s a good decision on the part of the local government,” Dar stressed.
The DA will pay affected farmers P5,000 cash for every hog that will be culled. They can also avail of a P30,000-loan from the DA-ACPC SURE Aid program. It has zero interest and payable in three years, that can be used to fund other livelihood projects.
Don Marcelino has a total hog population of 13,000 head.
Asked on the impact of ASF incidence in Don Marcelino and Malita on the total pork production and supply in Davao region, Secretary Dar said it would be minimal.
Meanwhile, he said that monitoring and quarantine measures in Davao Region have been elevated.
“We are not letting our guards down,” assuring that the DA Task Force on ASF, in partnership with the concerned LGUs, other government agencies and private sector, remains on top of the situation.
During the same press briefing, DA-BAI Director Ronnie Domingo said that regulatory measures remain in effect to assure that the bird flu virus in China will not enter the country.
He said the DA-BAI continues to conduct testing of samples in critical areas, particularly in traditional ‘landing or resting areas’ of migratory birds.
Further, the ban on imports of poultry and poultry products from bird flu-affected countries remains enforced. ### (DA-AFID)
