DA Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. – Photo courtesy of Department of Agricuture/Facebook.
Following the approval of the commercial sale of a Vietnam-made vaccine against the deadly African Swine Fever (ASF), the Department of Agriculture (DA) is eyeing ₱1 billion funding to subsidize its ASF vaccination program for backyard hog raisers.
In a statement, agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr., the government needs to ensure that there are funds to implement the vaccination program to avoid a repeat of the spread of ASF.
In line with this, the DA is eyeing to use the live, attenuated (weakened) freeze-dried vaccine developed by the AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company. Approved by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), AVAC ASF LIVE is the first vaccine for fatteners cleared for commercial sale in the Philippines.
Agriculture undersecretary for Livestock Constante Palabrica has already requested for ₱1 billion next year to support the DA’s vaccination programs, including ASF vaccination for backyard pig farms.
“This would make the vaccine more accessible to small-scale producers, many of whom have struggled to recover from repeated ASF outbreaks and have fewer resources to maintain stringent biosecurity measures or absorb losses,” Palabrica noted.
In support, Tiu-Laurel asserted that “the availability of a commercially approved ASF vaccine is crucial to (the government’s) repopulation (strategy).”
“It gives hog raisers another tool to protect healthy animals as we work to rebuild the industry and secure a more stable supply of pork,” he stressed.
The approval of the AVAC vaccine comes nearly seven years after ASF first hit the Philippines in 2019, cutting the national hog population to around 8 million heads from more than 13 million before the outbreak.
Palabrica disclosed that apart from AVAC LIVE, there is a second vaccine from South Korea known as PROVAC, which is currently undergoing BAI testing.
“This potentially gives hog raisers another option against ASF by next year,” he cited.
ASF does not infect humans but is devastating to pigs. Outbreaks can force farmers to cull infected or exposed animals, disrupt restocking and discourage producers from returning to hog farming.
Based on a report from BAI, ASF outbreaks struck in 76 of the country’s 82 provinces, thus underscoring the scale of the challenge facing the industry.
“The government is positioning vaccination as one part of a broader repopulation strategy that includes disease surveillance, biosecurity, movement controls, and targeted restocking. The goal is to restore the country’s swine population to pre-ASF levels,” Palabrica explained.
“Rebuilding the herd could also reduce supply gaps and dependence on pork imports while providing consumers with a more stable domestic pork supply,” he added.
However, the undersecretary enthused that although the vaccine is no ‘silver bullet’, years of fighting ASF largely through containment, culling and biosecurity, have shown the importance of our hog raises having another weapon against the disease.
“For an industry that has spent years trying simply to survive, it could be a significant shot in the arm,” Palabrica concluded.
