Bureau confident of securing FMD-free certification

MANILA, Philippines - The Agriculture Department’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is confident the entire Luzon would be declared free of foot and mouth disease — the only area in the country that still does not have this distinction — by the World Organization for Animal Health (known by its French acronym OIE) by the middle of next year. BAI will submit a new application for FMD-free certification for the entire country this December, the head of the bureau said in a recent phone interview. "By May [next year], the OIE will deliberate [on] whether we passed the standards," said BAI Director Davinio P. Catbagan. The government had filed for FMD-free certification last January, but failed to secure this status due to the lack of a blood test that would have cleared Luzon island from FMD. The country last recorded a case of FMD in December 2005, Samuel Joseph M. Castro, BAI national field veterinary officer, said in a separate interview. BAI targets to secure an OIE certification for most of Luzon as FMD-free "without vaccination," while Regions III (Central Luzon) and IV-A (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon region) as FMD-free areas "with vaccination." In the first half of the year, Regions III and IV-A, the country’s top two hog-producing regions, accounted for 14.28% and 14.58% of the country’s 876,944 metric ton output, respectively, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) show. Region III produced about 125,301 MT of hogs, while Region IV-A produced 127,874 MT. The OIE had certified Mindanao as FMD-free without vaccination in May 2001, while Visayas, Palawan and Masbate followed in May 2002. "There is a new procedure imposed by the OIE," said Mr. Catbagan. "You have to prove through blood samples that hogs do not have FMD." FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that infects cloven-hoofed animals. The local live-stock sector had lost about P2.3 billion from the 1995 outbreak up to 2005 because of the disease. Early this year, the Australian Government Overseas Aid Program allocated A$865,000 — or about P32.8 million — to help the Philippines completely eradicate FMD. The Agriculture department itself allocates P10 million yearly for FMD eradication, said Mr. Catbagan. In the final stage "We are now in the final stage of using vaccines [in backyard farming areas affected by FMD]," Mr. Catbagan said. Backyard farming accounts for 70% of the hog industry. Vaccination campaigns have been focused on Region IV-A, as well as four of six Region III provinces, namely: Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bulacan and Pangasinan. The bureau eyes vaccinating at least 80% of the 1.26 million and 1.12 million backyard hogs in Regions III and IV-A, respectively. "To have a vaccination program [that is] effective, at least you are able to vaccinate 80% of the target population," Mr. Catbagan said. "Vaccination reports are one of the proofs we will submit to the OIE to substantiate our claims that we are free from FMD." From a high of 1,553 outbreaks affecting more than 98,000 animals in 1995, the country has maintained a zero-case condition since 2006, down from 40 cases in 2005 and 100 cases in 2004. The OIE had also questioned the demarcation between areas where hogs are vaccinated and areas without vaccinations. "We have to prove to the OIE our physical barrier to ensure that there is no mixing of animals being vaccinated to those not being vaccinated," Mr. Catbagan explained, noting that there are 42 checkpoints surrounding high risk areas of Region III and IV-A. "The moment we have eradicated FMD and costs of production have been lowered, we can easily penetrate the export market," Mr. Catbagan said, citing the country’s Southeast Asian neighbors as the most logical immediate markets. Domestically, countrywide FMD-free certification will facilitate trade of hog produce from Luzon to any point in the country, Mr. Catbagan explained. In the first semester, hog production contracted by 4.33% to 876,944 MT from 916,660 MT during the same period lat year due, BAS data show. "[An FMD-free Philippines] means the export market will be opened for our hog produce," Renato R. Eleria, vice-chairman of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., said in vernacular. Mr. Eleria cited China, Japan, Singapore and members of the European Community as his group’s prime targets for export. — Neil Jerome C. Morales, BusinessWorld