The damage to the hog industry of Negros Occidental breached the P100 million mark on Thursday, June 1, and local chief executives of badly hit areas are preparing to provide assistance to affected farmers.
Pig deaths from hog cholera and other illnesses in 14 towns and cities of Negros Occidental hit 8,849 with accumulated losses of P102, 546,775, a Provincial Veterinary Office report Thursday night showed.
This has affected 1,697 hog farmers from the Second to Fifth Districts of Negros Occidental.
The pig deaths represent 8.15 percent of Negros Occidental’s hog population, the PVO informed Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
The most number of pig deaths are in the Fourth District of Negros Occidental with 7,316, Third District – 1,060, Second District – 317 and Fifth District – 156.
The local government unit with the most pig deaths is San Enrique town with 2,471 or 91.79 of its hog population, followed by Valladolid with 1,758, Bago City – 1,251, Pontevedra – 863, EB Magalona – 832, Pulupandan – 677, La Carlota City – 296, Manapla – 234, Binalbagan – 150- Silay City – 104, Cadiz City -83, Murcia – 78, Talisay City – 46, and Hinigaran – 6.
The first confirmed pig death from the deadly and highly contagious African swine fever has been reported in Pulupandan.
San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara and Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo said on Thursday that they are preparing to provide assistance to the affected hog farmers in their areas.
The funds to assist the San Enrique hog farmers will be sourced from the town’s livelihood program allocation, Tubillara said.
Farmers with one to four dead pigs will be given P3,000 in assistance and those with five and above will be given P5,000 after validation, Tubillara said.
Yulo said Bago City may give P1,000 to P2,000 in assistance per dead pig from hog cholera and other illnesses. The final amount is still being determined, he said.
The mayor is calling on farmers to ensure the proper disposal of their dead pigs to prevent virus spread.
They are investigating reports that some dead pigs have been thrown into the irrigation system, Yulo said.
Those caught improperly disposing their dead pigs will face penalties, the mayor said.
Most of the backyard growers do not practice biosecurity as much as the commercial hog raisers, and they get their water from the irrigation system and rivers, he said.
Water is one of the fastest carriers of the hog virus, Yulo said.*
