MANILA, Philippines – Hog raisers in Mindanao are recommending the establishment of a quarantine wall to block the entry of the African Swine Fever (AFS) virus in the region.
During the first Mindanao Hog raisers Forum held in Davao City on Wednesday (Sept 18), Mindanao Development Authority chairman Manny Piñol said stakeholders are proposing that the island have its own quarantine cluster separate from other main islands in the country.
This is to protect Mindanao’s hog industry from the possible entry of pork meats and other pork products from Luzon and Visayas areas reported to have been hit by the ASF.
The areas with confirmed cases of ASF were Rizal and Bulacan.
“Recommendation of the stakeholders yesterday was to set up a quarantine wall to protect Mindanao from ASF entry. At saka wala namang masyadong problema kasi net exporter (they produce in excess) ang Mindanao ng mga meat products eh, ng pork,” he said.
Piñol, a former agriculture secretary, said if the proposal will be granted, areas with critical point of entries such as General Santos City, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and Surigao del Norte will be strictly monitored for the possible entry of meat products.
The monitoring will include international sea ports and roll-on/roll-off seacrafts.
Piñol said he has been pushing for this measure since the avian (bird) flu outbreak that previously hit parts of Luzon.
“I think every region affected as of the moment should also do that. Even Visayas should do that,” he said.
Aside from putting up a quarantine wall, Piñol said he will also sign an order to temporarily prohibit swill feeding in hog farms. – RRD (with details from Correspondent Mai Bermudez)
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