P400-P600 per ASF vaccine dose too costly – group

MANILA, Philippines — Pork producers cannot afford the reported P400 to P600 per dose of vaccine against African swine fever (ASF), a hog raisers’ group said yesterday.

The National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) said the government should subsidize the vaccine.

NFHFI president Chester Tan said that while the swine raisers welcome the results of the field trial on ASF vaccine, the Department of Agriculture (DA) should allocate funds to finance the distribution of the vaccine.

“Stakeholders welcome this development on the vaccine trial, which started in February as it will protect the animal. Just like the COVID vaccine, which is given for free, we urge the government to provide a subsidy, if it is not totally free,” Tan said.

On Friday, Arlene Vytiaco, assistant chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), announced the success of the field trial on ASF vaccine.

Vytiaco said the BAI targets to import 600,000 doses of ASF vaccine this year as soon as the Food and Drug Administration issues a certificate of product registration.

“The government should shoulder even 50 percent for commercial farms, especially for the small scale farmers. It is too costly if it’s true that the price per dose is P400 to P600. In our industry, the prices of vaccines that we use range between P30 and P70 per dose. Only two products cost between P200 and P300,” Tan said.

He said that piggeries, especially backyard hog raisers, would opt not to avail themselves of the ASF vaccine if the government will not ensure its affordability.

“We hope the P400 to P600 price is not true. It’s too costly. It will not be affordable. Farmers will not buy it. Although we’ve been waiting for the vaccine, no one will use an expensive product,” he said.

Tan said the DA should have anticipated the need for a budget to fund the acquisition of vaccines against ASF.

He said the country should develop its own ASF vaccine to help the local swine industry recover and provide livelihood.

“We already discussed it two years ago as there are many Filipino scientists and veterinary experts. We just need to fund the development of the local ASF vaccine,” Tan said.

Farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet said the BAI should release the details of the field trial for proper assessment of the efficacy of the vaccine by experts and the industry itself.

Cainglet agreed with Tan that the government should subsidize the distribution of ASF vaccine, otherwise hog raisers would not buy it and the  disease would continue to spread.

Negros Occidental loses P107 million to swine diseases

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental has lost P107.2 million to swine diseases including hog cholera, which recently killed up to 9,268 pigs, the provincial veterinary office reported over the weekend.

The same report said the number of barangays in the province affected by hog cholera and other diseases increased to 120 as of Friday.

A village in Pulupandan town, where a case of ASF was detected, has been placed under isolation.

Hogs within a 500-meter radius of the ground zero in Barangay Mabini were culled based on an order issued by Pulupandan Mayor Miguel Peña.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the province remains under the green zone and has not been declared as a red zone, since only one pig in Pulupandan tested positive for ASF.

The number of hogs that died of cholera represents 8.54 percent of the total population of pigs in Negros Occidental.

Aside from Pulupandan, there were also ASF cases reported in two barangays in Bacolod, capital city of Negros Occidental.

Swine raisers in San Enrique town and Bago City, where thousands of hogs died of hog cholera, will be given financial aid by their respective local government units.

The provincial government will facilitate the distribution of P4 million extended to select hog raisers through the assistance to individuals in conflict situation program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz admitted that the detection of ASF in Bacolod has affected the shipment of hogs from Negros Occidental to other parts of the country.

“There are reports that some people are lobbying against the loading of pigs from Negros Occidental on vessels for shipment to other areas,” Diaz said.

Cebu has banned the entry of live pigs, pork and pork products from Negros Island. — Gilbert Bayoran