TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Eighty-five swine raisers who depopulated their piggeries that were affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF) are set to receive indemnification.
Dr. Angeline Tanding of the Office of the Provincial Veterinary (OPVet) said more than P2 million will be released for the 405 heads of swine that were culled.
OPVet data showed there are 20,374 pig mortalities and 4,971 affected farmers in 26 barangays in the province.
Tanding said they are continuously monitoring cases and will repopulate those directly or indirectly affected, under the “Bantay ASF sa Barangay” program including restocking which aims to facilitate the recovery of the hog sector.
“We plan to repopulate affected barangays with swine after clearing them from ASF with barangays mandated to follow the implementing guidelines for the Bantay ASF sa Barangay program,” she said.
The municipalities under the red zone classification are Pinukpuk, Pasil, Rizal, Tanudan, Tinglayan, Balbalan, and Tabuk City while Lubuagan is classified as a buffer zone.
The recovery and repopulation will be part of a progressive control pathway wherein stages will be set to progressively ensure a particular area previously affected is cleared of any virus and ready for repopulation.
Under the guidelines, there must be no new ASF outbreaks within the barangay as evidenced by weekly negative monitoring and active surveillance.
The owner must agree to strictly follow protocol for repopulation, biosecurity, monitoring and surveillance.
Restocking of facilities to full capacity will be allowed when released from quarantine, provided all the provisions – registration, acquisition of permit, farm visits and biosecurity evaluation – are complied with and the issuance of an ASF free-status. – Peter A. Balocnit
April 27, 2024
