By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The ban on hogs and pork products in Negros Occidental will remain as part of strict protocols against African swine fever (ASF).

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the province will continue to follow the anti-ASF policies, especially in red-coded areas, as neighboring Negros Oriental lifted their pork ban.

Lacson said what is important for now is recovery, adding that the provincial government will release cash assistance to ASF-affected local hog raisers.

He advised hog raisers to continue following protocols, pointing out that there is a possibility they could be hit by ASF again.

Lacson said he wants Negros Occidental to return to its status as having the highest number of backyard hog raisers in the country.

He cited data, based on Negros Oriental Governor Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria’s Executive Order 10, that 300,000 pigs were culled during the ASF outbreak last year, causing a sharp 20.8 percent decline in pork production.

This resulted in pork prices soaring due to the imbalance in supply and demand.

By reopening Negros Occidental’s borders to hog raisers, Lacson aims to “create opportunities for businesses to flourish and contribute to a cost-effective market economy in Negros Oriental.”

The lifting of the pork ban in Negros Oriental is a welcome relief for hog raisers and consumers, who have been grappling with ASF’s aftermath which also ravaged the hog population last year.

On Wednesday, February 21, Sagarbarria signed Executive Order 10, lifting the ban on the transport and movement of hogs and pork products in Negros Oriental./DGB, WDJ