MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has laid down additional standards for biosecure hog facilities to help the industry recover from the continuing cases of African swine flu (ASF) in the country.
The DA has issued a memorandum order to provide supplemental guidelines in the preparation of the design of a biosecure finisher swine housing facility.
A finisher is a swine weighing at least 66 kilograms.
The guidelines were prepared by the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE), in collaboration with the DA National Livestock Program and the DA- Regional Field Office Regional Agricultural Engineering Divisions (DA-RFO RAEDs).
“[T]his will serve as a guide to all DA Regional Field Offices (RFOs), and other DA implementing offices in the preparation of engineering plans, designs, and technical specifications for the implementation of biosecure swine housing facilities and adhering to the different levels of biosecurity to ensure a more comprehensive implementation of the livestock biosecurity program,” the order said.
Under the guidelines, the facility should be in a minimum land area of 2,000 square meters and must adhere to the land use plan of the area.
It must have access to water and electricity (single or three-phase electrical supply) and be well-drained. It must have free air circulation.
The facility should also be near the service road and built with an east-west orientation, as well as in an area with prevailing winds that do not carry odors to the farmhouse.
Moreover, the site must be at least one kilometer away from other farms and residential and/or commercial areas, and must be 23 meters radius away from sources of ground and surface drinking water.
Furthermore, it shall be at least 1,000 meters away from built-up areas (residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial) and at least 500 meters away from major roads and/or highways.
The site shall have no issues with right-of-way acquisition. The site shall not be constructed in hazard-prone areas.
BAFE also established the minimum required components and design considerations for the preparation of a design of a biosecure finisher swine housing facility based on PNS/PAES/PABES or any acceptable standards.
The issuance of additional guidelines is in line with the agency’s three-year Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) program.
The INSPIRE program was launched to implement calibrated repopulation and enhancement of the local swine industry to recover the sector’s capacity to produce sufficient supply of hogs and pork.
The DA also launched the Bantay ASF sa Barangay or BABay ASF program to complement the INSPIRE program, with the aim of instituting biosecurity and disease control measures with strong collaboration between the agency, its relevant agencies, with concerned local government units, and stakeholders taking ownership of such program benefitting the farmers.