DA to build ‘biosecure farms’ to revive ASF-hit hog industry

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is providing farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) P5.5 million each to build biosecure facilities that will help manage or contain the spread of deadly diseases affecting the hog industry.

The DA released late Thursday guidelines on building biosecure farms as part of efforts to revitalize the industry battered in recent years by the African swine fever (ASF).

The agency has yet to provide the number of recipients and the total budget for the project.

In a memorandum order, the agency said the biosecure facility—inclusive of perimeter fence, climate-controlled animal house, waste management, basic farm equipment, office, shower area, feeds/biologics support and piglets—should be situated in a land area of at least 2,000 square meters.

To ensure the proper implementation of this project, the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering and the Regional Agricultural Engineering Divisions (RAEDs) of the DA’s regional field offices will orient FCAs on the modular design for the facilities.

“Subject to prior consultation with concerned [local governments], mobilize and capacitate the [local governments’] Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Groups and licensed Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers on the design and construction of the biosecure facility as DA’s partner in project implementation,” the circular stated.

The DA is partnering with the Philippine Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers to assist in the implementation of this initiative.

This is part of the agency’s community-based swine production and repopulation efforts via farm clustering through the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (Inspire) program, aimed at helping the swine industry recover from the ASF outbreak.

Early this month, the DA partnered with JG Agroventures Inc. and Pig Improvement Company (PIC) for the construction of a 5,000-sow level breeder nucleus farm in Sta. Rita village in Quezon, Nueva Ecija.

“Once operational, the state-of-the-art facility will be stocked with PIC great grandparent breeders, whose offsprings or grandparent piglets will be sold and distributed to commercial and clustered backyard swine raisers in Nueva Ecija and the rest of Luzon,” it said.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar had said the agency would commit P80 million for this project to help speed up the government’s hog repopulation efforts.

The National Livestock Program of the DA was tasked to draft a memorandum of agreement to formalize the partnership with the two companies.

JG Agroventures earlier applied for a P2.5-billion loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines to bankroll the project.