Philippines began African Swine Flu Compartmentalization via BARACO App

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has launched its first Compartmentalization Program of Swine Farms - one of the major components of the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) Program.

As define in the DA Memorandum Circular No. 25, Series of 2022, compartment means a swine subpopulation contained in one farm or farm cluster with a strictly supervised biosecurity management system where surveillance, enhanced biosecurity, and movement monitoring are applied.

The ASF Compartmentalization Program, which is undertaken with the cooperation of the University of Minnesota (UMN), Philippine College of Swine Practitioners (PCSP) and United Batangas Hog Raisers Association (UNIBAT) intends to provide a risk management strategy to protect animal health status, and protect business continuity thus ensuring food security.

Under the program, the "compartment " shall set clear guidelines for its operation, wherein the location of all its components and related units will be clearly identified. These include feed mills, slaughterhouses, and any rendering plants, or farms within compartments.

Last 2021, Batangas City was also chosen as a pilot area for the biosecurity and surveillance program "Bantay ASF sa Barangay". Batangas was the first province to be cleared from African Swine Fever (ASF) that affected six of its municipalities.

LIVESTOCK MONITORING 2023

The province of Batangas continues to be one of the primary producers of livestock and poultry for the consumption of CALABARZON and Metro Manila -- as it increases its stakeholders time to time.

The Provincial Veterinary Office of Batangas is expecting to launch the Batangas Animal Movement Reporting Approach to Control Diseases (BARACO), an application that will unify the processing of permits for transporting poultry and cattle from cities and municipalities of the province. The said app is also seen to help the local livestock industry combat diseases such as Avian influenza and African swine fever.

References:

DA - Community-Based Swine Production through INSPIRE Program

https://www.da.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/mc08_s2023.pdf