Hog raisers in the country are hoping the government will fund the vaccination of pigs against African swine fever (ASF), once its trials are successful.
This is despite the expected declaration of a state of calamity by President Rodrigo Duterte due to the ASF outbreak which is the reason for the decrease in its supply in the country and the price hike later.
According to Chester Tan, president of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., it would have been nice if the government would have taken over the vaccination of the remaining pigs in the country after the trials.
“Because of the high cost of producing pork, maganda po na meron subsidy from our government. Although, as of now, we don’t know how much it will cost us, yung vaccine. Is it only 1 shot or 2 shots? Under study and observation yung experts natin,” said Tan.
The trial for the ASF vaccine, which began in 10 commercial farms in Luzon on April 23, will take 48 days or up to more than 2 months, according to Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes.
Hog raisers hope gov’t will fund ASF vaccines
After 48 days, there will be an assessment on whether the ASF vaccine is effective.
The company that developed the vaccine and the farms undergoing the trial have not yet been named.
“Di rin po pwedeng sabihin yung farms dahil sa privacy nila, para di sila puntahan ng media. Yung vaccine trials ay ginagawa na rin ng ibang companies naman sa Vietnam, sa China at England,” said Reyes.
The Bureau of Animal Industry has previously said that one of the ways to determine if the vaccine is effective is to simultaneously inject and breed pigs on a farm and observe whether ASF can enter it.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar had earlier said that the case of ASF in pigs in the country was declining.
In February, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said that the procurement of ASF vaccines has been delayed because the government prioritized the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
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