The swine inventory in Iloilo has dropped 62 percent compared with the population before African swine fever (ASF) hit, but the province currently does not experience a shortage in supply, according to the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian.

Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Darel Tabuada, in an interview on Wednesday, May 10, said as of May 8, the province has 104,411 swine heads from the 277,421 inventory in September 2022 or before cases of the ASF were recorded.

“If we based on the report of the Department of Agriculture [DA], before the ASF, we are 289 percent sufficient. So we still have an excess of 189 percent of that time, which we shipped to Luzon,” he said in the dialect.

There is no shortage of supplies during their visit to various municipalities, he added, but shipments to Luzon had already stopped since March this year.

Nonetheless, he said they have asked the DA to help them compute the province’s swine sufficiency.

While the guidelines of the DA still prevent hog raisers to start with the repopulation, still, there are those coming from the red zone or infected areas that have already resumed growing swine, he said.

Tabuada added that their only request is for farmers to report to their municipal agriculturists should they want to engage in hog raising so they will be provided with assistance.

“We will train them on biosecurity measures and give them support in terms of disinfectant so their animals will not be easily hit by the disease. We cannot afford to stop considering that our swine population has been reduced by 62 percent,” Tabuada said.

Currently, 25 municipalities in the province have recorded ASF cases; the latest was on April 14 in Maasin town.

To date there are no cases that were submitted to the regional animal disease diagnostic laboratory or his office, the provincial veterinarian said.

“ASF is still there. What we are asking is for us to practice biosecurity measures. The province is working hard so we can revive our swine industry,” he added.

The provincial government has also released P7.4 million in financial assistance to 735 affected farmers from 23 municipalities.

The assistance ranges from P7,000 to P30,000 per farmer depending on the number of swine affected by the disease.

Tabuada said the cash assistance is not necessarily meant for swine repopulation but just aid from the provincial government. (PNA)