DA considers subsidy for affordable ASF vaccine

Hog farmers are urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to ensure that the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine is affordably priced, and the DA is now considering a subsidy for backyard hog farmers.

Chairman Chester Warren Y. Tan of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., expressed hope for a price range between P20 and P100 per dose to minimize production costs.

The DA has initiated a controlled rollout this quarter with 10,000 doses at P400 to P500 per dose in areas with active infections, but an official vaccine price from Vietnam is pending approval for commercial release.

Assistant Secretary Dante Palabrica assured that the impact on pork prices would be minimal at around five percent of production costs and emphasized that large farms will not receive subsidies.

The DA has allocated P350 million to procure 600,000 doses of ASF vaccine under test conditions, with local government units validating biosecurity measures before vaccination.