SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) — The Local Government Unit (LGU) of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro calls for support from hog raisers for the inventory and blood sample collection of remaining hogs in the municipality.
This move was made after the town’s conduct of another African Swine Fever (ASF) surveillance to reassess the status of the virus in the town.
Municipal Agriculturist Romel Calingasan is urging the hog raisers’s cooperation in this move as it is one of the steps needed to recover the hog industry in the area
“Kailangan namin ang inyong pakikipagtulungan para sa mga susunod na hinaharap ng industriya ng pagbababuyan. Kasi kapag hindi tayo [nakibahagi] sa ganitong gawain, mananatili tayong nasa Red zone,” he explained.
(We need your cooperation for the future of the hog industry. If we do not participate in this work, we will remain in the red zone.)
The San Jose town, including other municipalities in mainland Occidental Mindoro, is still categorized as ASF red or infected zone, despite no recorded active cases in the past six months, Calingasan reported.
“Wala pa rin po kaming pinanghahawakan na scientific basis na ang virus na ASF ay hindi na po present sa ating mga kulungan ng ating mga baboy,” he said.
(We still do not have a scientific basis that the ASF virus is not present in our pig pens.)
If the blood samples from the surveillance yield negative results from ASF, this can prove that the town can be reclassified as a pink or green zone, which means it is safe to rear swine.
With San Jose still in the ASF red zone, Calingasan reminded the public to be wise and wait until the town recovers from the virus before rearing pigs.
“At kung sakali man mag-aalaga kayo ng baboy, at hindi pa po tayo naibabalik sa katergoryang green zone, hindi niyo pa rin po ito pwedeng ipa-insure sa ating Philippine Crop Insurance [Corporation] so wala po kayong kasiguraduhan at wala din po kayong bayad pinsalang make-claim,” he said.
(If you still choose to rear pigs while we are not in the green zone, you will not be able to insure your pigs to Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, which means there is no security and you will not receive indemnity.)
To help recover from the damages of the virus, the Department of Agriculture MIMAROPA, in partnership with the local government, distributed cash assistance to 2,939 hog raisers in mainland Occidental Mindoro, totaling P95.7 million. (DSG/PIA MIMAROPA-Occidental Mindoro)
