THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday, February 3, 2020, placed eight barangays in Davao Occidental on complete lockdown after samples drawn from 1,000 dead pigs in the area tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF).
According to Agriculture Secretary William Dar, the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) laboratory in Quezon City detected ASF in hogs from Don Marcelino town, Davao Occidental.
Dar said the transport and sale of hogs, pork , processed pork, and by-products are temporarily banned in the area.
“We will implement a total lockdown, wherein there will be no transport and sale of hogs, pork, and processed pork and by-products in Don Marcelino and Malita, Davao Occidental,” he said.
“The DA will pay P5,000 per head of culled pig, regardless of age. We welcome additional assistance from other agencies and from the provincial local government unit (PLGU) of Davao Occidental, led by Governor Claude Bautista, who committed to buy all the affected hogs in the province,” he added.
The local government of Don Marcelino earlier ordered the activation of a Regional Animal Disease Task Force which will focus on hogs affected by ASF in the province.
Dar said the agency will team up with local government units in the area to provide loans of up to P30,000 each to affected hog raisers.
“The loan, which has zero interest and payable in three years, can be used to fund other livelihood or agri-fishery projects,” the agency said in a statement.
The first case of ASF in the Philippines was reported in September 2019, which led to restrictions on pig transport and sale in central Luzon region, particularly in Bulacan, and Pampanga, as well as in Rizal.
The outbreak also prompted over 60 local governments across the nation to prohibit the enty of pork and pork-based products from Luzon. (SunStar Philippines)