ILOILO GEARS UP FOR HOG SENTINELING, REPOPULATION OF AREAS HIT BY AFRICAN SWINE FEVER (ASF)
A sentineling program for areas in the province affected earlier by ASF is to be piloted in the validated barangays of municipalities and would be supervised by the Department of Agriculture.
“All 27 affected municipalities were advised to validate barangays that can possibly qualify for the sentineling program. Only Ajuy and Sta. Barbara have submitted for now. Some municipalities are not yet ready,” said Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Darel Tabuada on Thursday, July 20.
The sentineling program will determine the readiness of an area to proceed with the recovery and repopulation after being infected by the ASF.
So far some 47 growers from 19 barangays were scheduled to undergo validation by the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian.
To qualify for the sentineling, the municipality must have had no outbreak for the past 40 days, no available swine in the barangay, or if there is, must be included in the program and subjected to surveillance.
The area must have put in place biosecurity measures, the conduct of cleaning and disinfection were supervised by the Municipal Agriculture Office and must have its own ASF ordinance.
Each qualified farmer will receive three piglets and a two-month supply of feeds. /with PNA
