By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Hog raisers in Negros Occidental hope the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will issue a certificate of product registration for the Vietnamese-made Avac vaccine, which has proven effective in producing antibodies against African swine fever (ASF) among hogs.
Ric Lauron, president of the Alliance of Hog Raisers Association of Negros Occidental, said the Avac vaccine would be a big help for backyard hog raisers.
Lauron said the vaccine is a long-awaited solution against ASF, which has already caused tremendous damage to the province’s swine industry.
He added they are happy with the information that Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson will give out financial assistance to hog raisers who have been affected by swine deaths.
Earlier this week, the provincial government allotted an initial P4 million fund as financial assistance for hog growers.
Lacson said they are currently mulling at giving P2,000 to each affected hog raisers through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.
However, Lacson also admitted that not everybody will be covered, but local government units can also extend help.
Financial aid ready
Some local government units in Negros Occidental have also allotted financial assistance to ASF-affected hog raisers.
The capital, Bacolod City, has already set aside P10 million as cash indemnification, as provided in Executive Order 22-2023 released on Tuesday, June 6.
For piglets (zero to three months), the financial assistance is P3,000 per head; for fattening (above three to five months), P5,000 per head; and for breeders/boars (six months old and up), P7,000 per head.
“We are requesting hog raisers to have their pigs registered with the barangay. We will compensate for those that will be culled,” Sayson said.
Included in the culling are hogs located within an infected area’s 500-meter radius.
ASF cases have already been detected in two city villages, Taculing and Tangub.
The city government will also purchase equipment amounting to P11 million to prevent ASF-infection, Sayson said.
Earlier, Tangub village chief Noli Villarosa said they have also provided financial assistance to owners of the culled pigs.
Meanwhile, in Victorias City, which detected nine confirmed ASF cases last Tuesday, June 6, around 90 percent of its 1,584 total hog population has been insured by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez said.
“We are going to explore options on how to minimize impact to livelihood,” he said.
In Bago City, a total of P16 million in cash aid for those with reported hog cholera cases was approved by the city council yesterday.
A household owning one to four dead hogs will each receive P3,000; five to 10 dead hogs, P5,000; and 11 dead hogs and above, P8,000.
“This is just an initial assistance as we continue to look for more ways to further assist our local hog raisers, including providing them with other livelihood opportunities,” Councilor Victor Michael Javellana, chairperson of the committee on agriculture, said.
Bago City recorded 1,752 swine deaths due to hog cholera, affecting 234 raisers with losses which already reached P20.46 million./ With reports from PNA / DGB, WDJ