Agri Partylist Calls for National State of Calamity Over ASF Spread

An agricultural partylist has warned of an impending pork shortage and price hikes due to the spread of African swine fever (ASF) and is urging the government to declare a national state of calamity.

As of August 8, the Department of Agriculture reported active ASF cases in 64 municipalities across 22 provinces.

“Due to premature selling and ASF-related deaths, we anticipate a pork supply shortage from October to January, leading to higher prices during the -ber months,” said AGAP Partylist Representative Nicanor Briones.

Briones noted that many hog raisers are selling their pigs at lower prices to avoid ASF losses, dropping the farmgate price of pork from P220 per kilo to P170-180 per kilo.

AGAP Partylist is pushing for a nationwide state of calamity, with Briones highlighting that ASF has caused P150 billion in losses. This declaration would allow the government to use calamity funds to purchase and distribute ASF vaccines for free, targeting both backyard and commercial hog raisers. Briones estimated that vaccinating nearly 10 million hogs would cost P6 billion.

“The solution is vaccination, especially for backyard raisers. We need a substantial budget and a national state of calamity to access local and national calamity funds for immediate vaccine distribution,” Briones said.

AGAP also recommends that the Department of Agriculture (DA) indemnify hog raisers with P10,000 for each culled hog.

The DA confirmed concerns about a pork supply shortage extending into next year.

“Current deaths will affect the supply by December, but a substantial shortage is expected next year, as it takes over a year for a sow to produce market-ready pigs again,” said Agriculture Assistant Secretary Constante Palabrica.

To address the shortage, Palabrica mentioned balancing supply through pork imports while focusing on repopulating the local pork industry.

Regarding the call for a national state of calamity, Palabrica said the matter is under discussion.

“The President needs to declare a national state of calamity, but in the meantime, the DA has allocated P350 million for vaccines and related monitoring activities. Additionally, a Quick Response Fund is available for hog owners affected by ASF,” Palabrica explained.

On the proposed P10,000 indemnification per culled hog, Palabrica noted, “We’re considering an amount close to P10,000. While we can’t cover everything, there will be substantial indemnification.”