AN OFFICIAL of the Carcar City Government welcomed the “No to Culling” order of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia following the detection of African swine fever (ASF) last week.
Lawyer Jose Marie Poblete, Carcar City administrator, said in OpenLine News forum Tuesday, March 14, 2023, that Mayor Patrick Barcenas was hesitant to implement the culling operation because he felt sorry for the backyard hog farmers.
Culling is the killing and disposal of livestock animals to prevent the spread of infectious disease such as the ASF.
On Monday, March 13, 2023, Garcia ordered to stop the culling of additional pigs in Barangay Guadalupe, Carcar City.
Garcia said Monday that 141 of around 300 pigs in Barangays Can-asujan and Poblacion 1 had been put to death upon the order of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Poblete said the hog raisers invested a large sum of money to operate a backyard farm, while some applied for loans to fund it.
He noted that the hog industry of the city, which includes backyard pig farming, pork meat, roasted pig (lechon) and chicharon, earned P120 million to P150 million in revenue based on the City Veterinary Office's estimate.
The City Government discovered that there are more than 1,000 people in the city who run backyard hog farms in addition to the 50 registered operators.
These hog farmers raise a minimum of two to 30 pigs in their respective areas.
Poblete said the city does not have commercial hog farmers, rather, it has a large number of backyard hog raisers that provide the entire Cebu province with pork meat and byproducts.
In a related development, the City Council is planning to hand out financial assistance in addition to the P5,000 cash that will be given by the Cebu Provincial Government to the affected stakeholders.
But Poblete said the city has to first proclaim a “state of calamity” for the disaster funds to be released to the beneficiaries. (EHP)