ILOILO – A total of 831 farmers from this province have been selected to participate in a program aimed at recovering from the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.
According to the provincial government, these farmers are from 10 municipalities that were recently downgraded from red to pink zones following an improvement in their ASF status.
The breakdown of the farmers by municipality is as follows: San Miguel (52), Barotac Viejo (29), New Lucena (22), Santa Barbara (60), Mina (7), Dingle (37), Concepcion (4), Batad (25), Banate (307), and Oton (288).
The provincial government has allocated P8.31 million to implement the program.
The guidelines for farmers to receive sentinel pigs include various criteria such as no ASF cases in their area for at least 40 days, adherence to minimum biosecurity standards, and participation in biosecurity training.
Each eligible farmer will receive P10,000 for the purchase of two piglets, which should be sourced from ASF-free areas within their localities. Their progress will be regularly monitored by municipal agricultural offices.
Gov. Arthur Defensor clarified that the provincial sentineling program is distinct from the national Department of Agriculture’s version, which provides three pigs and a two-month feed supply to qualified beneficiaries.
The provincial government program, on the other hand, offers only two pigs and does not include feed supplies.
Implementation of the provincial government’s sentineling program is slated to begin in May 2024.
Meanwhile, as of April 15, 2024, 18 municipalities in Iloilo remain in the red zone category. Despite this, the province has seen a 10.02 percent increase in swine inventory from February 12, 2024, to April 15, 2024, rising from 72,320 to 79,570 heads. However, the sufficiency level remains at 35 percent based on the latest inventory.
Defensor also noted that, despite the provincial sentineling program not yet starting, some hog raisers are beginning to repopulate their stocks, particularly those not affected by ASF.
This effort is part of the ongoing narrative to recover the swine inventory in Iloilo, which has seen a dramatic drop from 277,421 heads in September 2022 to just 79,570 as of mid-April 2024./PN
