(PNA file photo by John Rey Saavedra)
SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro – Hog farmers are appealing to concerned government agencies to impose sanctions on pork traders and middlemen allegedly spreading disinformation about the severity of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in this province to drive down farm gate prices.
In an interview on Thursday, Michael Madriaga, board of director and manager at the Occidental Mindoro Hog Raisers Agriculture Cooperative (OMHRACO), said that unscrupulous traders are manufacturing false reports saying ASF has already spread across the province, even if confirmed infections have so far only been confined to a few backyard piggeries in San Jose and Santa Cruz towns.
“They want to scare small piggery owners into selling their pigs at a loss. Backyard farmers end up selling their hogs at extremely low prices just to get rid of them right away. They are duped into believing that the government is coming in to cull their pigs to arrest the spread of ASF. But most of the towns here are not even affected by ASF,” he told the Philippine News Agency in Filipino.
Madriaga revealed that OMHRACO has formally requested the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) and Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to revoke the business licenses of pork traders participating in the disinformation campaign that is leading to “panic selling,” because they are causing huge losses to the province’s hog industry.
He said that the cooperative is currently compiling evidence against traders and other middlemen buying pork for as low as PHP130 per kilo from the farm, intending to charge them for violating Republic Act 7581 (The Price Act), which protects consumers as well as producers.
Meanwhile, Madriaga insisted that ASF infections in the province have only been recorded in backyard piggeries owned by indigenous peoples (IPs).
He explained that hogs owned by IPs are usually “free range” and are fed swill (kanin baboy), and do not benefit from any sort of biosecurity protection.
The OMHRACO official said they are looking into reports that ASF was brought to Occidental Mindoro by tribesmen who crossed the border from Oriental Mindoro, bringing with them infected pork that was consumed as part of a native ritual.
Madriaga maintained that there is still no indication that any of the large commercial piggeries in Occidental Mindoro have been penetrated by ASF, as all of them adhere to strict biosecurity protocols.
“Even if ASF is already present in the province, we can still sell our production as long as we follow BAI rules, and tighten biosecurity in our respective piggeries,” he added. (PNA)
