EDITORIAL — 100% successful trial, but...

The field trial proved 100 percent successful, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry. Now all that’s left is the distribution of the vaccine for African swine fever, which has been devastating hog farms across the country. At P400 to P600 per dose of the imported ASF vaccine that was tested, this could be easier said than done.

Most of the country’s hog raisers are small-scale operators. Over the weekend, the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. said vaccines used in piggeries typically cost only from P30 to P70 per dose. Two products cost between P200 to P300, which is already too pricey for backyard piggery operators.

Small-scale swine raisers have been complaining that the lack of indemnification from the government for hogs that are culled to prevent the spread of ASF has resulted in many piggery operators not reporting outbreaks. ASF is not harmful to humans, but it can quickly kill an infected pig. In case of an outbreak, however, the owner of a small piggery who fails to get indemnity from the government may decide to reduce losses and simply slaughter the hogs and sell the meat without reporting that the pigs were infected with ASF.

A steep price for an imported ASF vaccine may perpetuate this practice. The government reportedly plans to import 600,000 doses of ASF vaccines within the year once the shot that was successfully tested gets a certificate of product registration from the Food and Drug Administration. The price quoted is for the commercial release of the vaccine.

Hog farmers are hoping that the government will shoulder 50 percent of the vaccine cost at least for the small-scale operators. ASF has been ravaging hog farms for the past four years. To stabilize pork supply and prices, the government has allowed more imports of pork and pork products. Agriculture industry groups have complained that this has aggravated the ASF problem due to the lack of first-border inspection of agricultural imports in the country.

Hog raisers are lamenting that the flood of imports and the relentless spread of ASF are killing the domestic swine industry. Even as the country waits for an ASF vaccine to be developed locally, the government must listen to the problems and find ways of making the domestic hog industry stronger.