African swine fever and hog cholera diseases, that killed thousands of pigs in Negros Occidental last year, are now under control, Dr. Placeda Lemana, provincial veterinarian, said on Thursday, January 4.
The hog sentinel program in Negros Occidental will officially start in the first quarter of this year to determine if an area is virus free and restocking will begin in the second quarter, she said.
“The raiser will initiate the sentinelling with the assessment of LGU technicians to ensure that they follow the protocol. There should be a footbath and perimeter fence in their backyard farms. Then, by the second quarter, we will proceed with the restocking,” Lemana said.
In the last quarter of 2023, there were some hog raisers who began sentinelling on their own, but they are being monitored by the PVO district offices, Lemana said.
“After they started raising pigs again in their own backyard, no mortalities have been reported so far. It means our pre-sentineling measures, such as disinfection and other related preventive activities, are effective,” Lemana said.
She said with the hog restocking, pork prices could start going down in the third and fourth quarter of 2024 as production returns to normal.
Negros Occidental recorded almost 18,000 pig deaths last year from hog cholera and ASF.
Negros Occidental was previously the No. 1 hog producer in the country and is now second to Batangas as shown by Philippine Statistics Authority data, Lemana said.
It also remains No. 1 in Western Visayas, she said.
The province has adequate pork and chicken supply, Lemana assured.
Negros Occidental is not ASF and hog cholera free, but it is now under control with no new deaths from such diseases recorded, Lemana said.
Except for one commercial farm, Negros Occidental cannot ship hogs out of the province yet as it still needs a Recognition of Active Surveillance certificate, Lemana said.
Only one commercial farm has a certificate to ship out, she said.
Pigs and pork products are also not allowed entry into Negros Occidental to ensure that the province regains its ASF free status soon, Lemana said.
She said the provincial government started distribution of financial assistance to affected Ilog hog raisers in December. The distribution to affected farmers in other areas of the province will continue this year, Lemana said.*