ADM recently supported the biosecurity training sessions for Bantay ASF sa Barangay (BABay ASF) project volunteers in Northern Mindanao.
BABay ASF is a proactive biosecurity, surveillance and repopulation effort led by the Philippine College of Swine Practitioners (PCSP), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and its partners from the private and public sectors. This interdisciplinary program aims to stop the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) and revive both backyard and commercial swine farmers’ livelihoods.
Aiming to gear up the BABay ASF Volunteers, a training session, dedicated for the trainers, was held last January with the help of the International Training Center on Pig Husbandry (ICTPH). The first group was composed of volunteers from ADM, the Provincial Veterinarian’s Office (PVO) of Misamis Oriental, and the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) of Iligan.
Another training session, spearheaded by CVO Iligan trainers,was attended by around 250 volunteers who will serve as Barangay Biosecurity Officer (BBO), covering five barangays in Iligan City, including Abuno, Tinapoy, Digkilaan, San Roque, and Dalipuga.
The biosecurity officers will take the lead in implementing area risk management, surveillance and monitoring, and biosecurity measures for commercial and backyard farms.
ADM, through its CSR arm ADM Cares, provided funding assistance to PCSP to cover the training of volunteers, farmer seminars, and procurement of more than 700 ASF Test Kits and PCR test kits.
ADM also believes that the fundamental value of “Bayanihan,” which means working together as a community to achieve a common goal, will be the driving force for success in the BABay ASF Project.
The deputized volunteers will strictly follow quarantine protocols since ASF is currently present in 11 regions, 34 provinces, 392 municipalities, and over 2,000 barangays nationwide.
ASF surveillance and monitoring protocols, such as the random collection of specimens from pigs for slaughter within the target barangays will help deputies keep track of the ASF movement within the affected regions.
Meanwhile, knowledge of biosecurity procedures will help them assess the situation and take the actions needed when infected hogs are identified in the area. It will ensure that unaffected swine farms are safeguarded, infected hogs are culled, and affected swine farms are prepared for restocking.
With the successful implementation of the project, affected areas can start their quarantine exit plan. Local recognition as ASF-free zones will follow once complete absence of ASF is declared. Distressed hog raisers will then be allowed to restock their farms following prescribed protocols.
During the farm’s restocking process, deputies will continue to monitor pigs weekly to ensure that clinical signs of ASF remain absent. Hogs will undergo regular ASF Nanogold Biosensor testing for four months to validate the virus’s eradication.
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