The Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to complete the vaccination of pigs against African Swine Fever (ASF) by the end of this year, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
This vaccination drive is crucial to restoring the confidence of hog raisers and enabling the repopulation of the country’s swine industry by next year.
Laurel explained that once hog farmers regain trust in the ASF vaccination program, both backyard and commercial livestock farmers will begin investing again in pig farming.
Currently, the Philippines has a swine population of 7 million, with the goal of increasing it to 14 million by next year.
In addition to the vaccination efforts, Laurel announced that the government is on track to complete the procurement of 600,000 doses of ASF vaccines by December.
By the end of this month, the first 10,000 doses will be administered, with an additional 450,000 doses set to be delivered in October.
Of this batch, 150,000 doses will be received initially, with the remainder expected to be completed by December.
This large-scale vaccination campaign is part of the government’s strategy to combat ASF and revitalize the pork industry, which has been significantly affected by the outbreak in recent years.