Millions Of Small-Scale Pig Farmers in Asia Threatened By African Swine Fever Outbreak
ASIA – Millions of small pig farmers in Asia are threatened by the African swine fever outbreak.
On May, the Food and Drug Association (FDA) recalled the canned meat products from countries that are affected by African swine fever.
A huge number of affected hogs spread across countries. Lots of government agencies including the Department of Agriculture (DA) made a move to stop the pork importation in the country.
DA secretary Manny Piñol said their department deployed K-9 dogs to detect the imported meat products.
Aside from that, they are also planning to install x-ray machines to be placed for “quarantine purposes.”
It’s a good thing the Philippine government tried their best to halt the virus from coming to the country. The disease is deadly to hogs but harmless to humans.
Based on a report from ABS-CBN, millions of small pig farmers in Asia are threatened by the African swine fever.
On Tuesday, the United Nations warned all the people that the incurable disease rapidly spread all over Asia. It was first detected in the world’s largest hog producer, China.
According to the report, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said the disease spread thousands of kilometers and “vulnerable” farmers in countries including Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Measures to stop the African swine fever’s spread are destroying the livelihood of the small pig farmers.
Based on the report, FAO economist Cristina Coslet sympathize to the small pig farmers who need to dispose of their pigs to the market. She also asked for help to the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Rome.
“It’s important that these farmers get help as soon as possible, especially as it appears the virus is not contained.”
“We’ve contacted our offices in affected countries and while it will take some time to get the exact numbers, we have reports that the small farmers’ incomes are already affected,” she added.
We can all hope that the spread of virus will end very soon.
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