The Iloilo provincial government is holding a pork festival in the entire province of Iloilo as a program on prevention, containment, depopulation, and recovery measures against African Swine Fever (ASF).
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said the Pork Festival Kontra ASF will implement activities towards strengthening the resilience of backyard farmers and boosting the swine industry.
Under Executive Order No. 545 Series of 2022, the pork festival will have four components.
First is the imposition of sustained and intensified border control within the red (infected) and pink (buffer) zones) to prevent the spread of ASF.
Second, the province will conduct training and seminars on biosecurity measures and animal husbandry practices to strengthen the swine industry at the municipal and barangay level.
“That is the way forward. Let us strengthen the backyard farmers so we can fight ASF. That is the basic strategy,” Defensor said.
There will also be seminars with convergence partners on pork processing to create a value chain and generate employment and business.
“We want to take this opportunity to realize and motivate the industry to add value to pork so we can create a value chain in the pork industry…We want to motivate the industry to process pork so we can add products to our economy and even to our tourism industry,” the governor added.
The third is the implementation of pre-emptive depopulation measures within the red and pink zones to minimize or eliminate potential hosts.
Municipalities declared as red and pink zones are encouraged to hold a pork festival to stimulate the consumption of pork as an additional pre-emptive depopulation measure. It could be in a form of a Lechon festival or cooking contest.
The municipalities of Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, and New Lucena have been declared as red zones.
Lastly, the province will implement intensified measures and protocols to facilitate recovery and repopulation.
Governor Defensor stressed that the pork festival “is not a pork eating festival” but is a program with a series of activities towards recovery from ASF.
“We strengthen the lockdown as much as we can. We strengthen our farms, especially the backyard. And as much as possible we dispose of and consume the swine or pork inside and practice the correct protocols. And then we give way to the recovery process,” he said.
Moreover, the provincial government will also provide financial assistance to affected municipalities and swine farmers.
(LHC/Capitol news)