BAI reports ‘record-low’ ASF outbreaks since August 2019
THE country’s confirmed African swine fever (ASF) cases continue to decline with March numbers poised to set a “record-low” of outbreaks since the fatal hog disease was first reported in August 2019, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said Thursday.
BAI Director Reildrin G. Morales said they have observed a “dramatic decrease” in the active cases of ASF in the country from above 300 outbreaks to just 62 this March.
“We only detected 62 cases this March in light of our surveillance programs in Regions 8 and 10. We have an active surveillance ongoing [in those regions],” Morales said during a joint hearing of the House Committees on Agriculture and Food and Trade and Industry on Thursday.
“We are glad to note that with this surveillance, we only have 62 cases. And we pray to God this will be the limit we will have at this point,” Morales added.
If the confirmed ASF outbreaks this March will not increase, then it would be the lowest number of cases since August 2019, when the first ASF outbreak in the country was recorded, based on Morales’s presentation.
The country’s confirmed ASF cases in August 2019 was at 82, based on Morales’s presentation.
Morales’s presentation showed that the number of ASF positive samples in February fell for the fifth consecutive month at 294, which was also the lowest number of confirmed cases since the 152 recorded cases in May 2020.
Morales also disclosed during the hearing that “most” of the Asf-infected areas in the country, bulk of which in Luzon, have not reported any new outbreaks in the past 90 days.
Morales added that the BAI, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture( DA ), will be“implementinga massive surveillance” in the areas without outbreaks in the past three months to ensure that there is no more ASF virus circulating.
During the hearing, Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock William Medrano said the areas that have not recorded any ASF cases in the past three months are candidates for release for quarantine.
“These areas will be the target for our repopulation after following strict protocols,” Medrano said.
Earlier, DA officials disclosed that it would need at least P34.333 billion to bankroll its three-year ASF recovery program that seeks to bring back and even exceed the country’s pre-asf pork production level.
The DA said for 2021 it would need a total budget of P9.161 billion, P13.561 billion for 2022 and P11.611 billion for 2023.
The funds would be used to finance the four DA programs: calibrated repopulation and intensified production; establishment of swine breeder multiplier farms; provision of insurance premium; and biosecurity and surveillance programs.
For 2021, the DA said it only has P2.372 billion of available funds, thus, it will request an additional P6.789 billion to fully finance its interventions.
Based on its presentation, the DA said it aims to produce 440,563 breeders in the next three years, which is more than enough to compensate for the estimated 332,928 breeders lost as of January 1.
The DA added that by 2023 about 10.5 million finishers would be already produced, which would be equivalent to 738,805 metric tons (MT) of pork.
Also by 2023, about 90 percent or 2,100 of Asf-affected barangays will be released from quarantine through the use of the sentinel approach, according to the DA.
The DA has pegged the pork production shortfall this year at 388,790 MT as the country lost at least 3.08 million pigs as of January 1 based on latest PSA data.
Theda said its interventions would result in the additional pork output of 84,000 MT for 2021, 238,192 MT by 2022 and 474,012 MT by 2023.
Furthermore, the DA said the interventions would lead to further pork output for the years 2024 and 2025 with additional production volume of 809,172 MT and 1.144 MMT, respectively.