The government’s campaign against African Swine Fever (ASF) got a much-needed shot-in-the-arm as a private firm and a veterinarians’ group stepped up to help prevent and control the lingering viral disease that has crippled the country’s hog industry, particularly in Luzon.

“We welcome the strong support of the Univet Nutrition and Animal Healthcare Company (UNAHCO) and the Philippine College of Swine Practitioners (PCSP) that will help the Department of Agriculture implement a ‘Bantay ASF sa Barangay‘ and a twin hog industry re-population program,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

“We will vigorously pursue these challenging tasks in close cooperation and partnership with local government units (LGUs), who are at the forefront of establishing stringent biosecurity measures to effectively and successfully control ASF in Luzon, prevent it from spreading, and protect the ‘green zones’ in Visayas and Mindanao,” said the DA chief, after today’s meeting with UNAHCO President and COO Ricardo Alba and PCSP Director Maximino Montenegro.

In partnership with the DA, UNAHCO will also engage in contract-buying of corn from clustered farms, thus providing farmers higher prices and ready market. It will also help improve the DA’s database on hog and poultry sub-sectors.

“This is indeed a welcome development as we aim to make a firm headway in addressing the ASF, which since mid-2019 has affected the livelihood of thousands of backyard hog raisers in Luzon,” said Secretary Dar.

“We at the DA cannot do it alone. We need everybody’s help, particularly the private sector, veterinarians, hog raisers and traders, and most importantly the local chief executives and their technical staff,” Secretary Dar said.

“Further, we will also fund the mass-production of an ASF test kit, through the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), that will be distributed to our LGU partners, UNAHCO, PCSP, and hog raisers,” he added. ### (Patrick Lesaca, DA-StratComms)