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East, Southeast Asia agrarians wellbeing at risk from Swine Fever epidemic
04.07.2019 14:07 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
The rapid spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) across East and Southeast Asia is threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of households within the region which rely on pig farming, UN Radio says referring to the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization) recent report.
It is to be admitted, within this vast region, small scale agrarians account for a significant proportion of pig meat output, and the outbreak is of particular concern for these producers, who may lack the expertise and funds necessary to protect their herds from the disease.
As to the report, since the first reported outbreak of ASF within the northern Chinese province of Liaoning as of Aug 2018, the disease has swept through the country, and 32 of the country’s 34 mainland provinces have since been affected. Despite actions taken by the Chinese Government, including the culling of 1.13 million pigs, ASF continues to spread, and has been reported within Viet Nam, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Laos. As of this year May, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, reported its first outbreak. As of now, ASF has led to income losses within the affected countries, where tens of millions of households are engaged in pig farming (thus, within China, the world largest pig meat producer, the figure is some 130 million) both due to the animal losses, and attempts by governments to stem the spread of the disease, which include limitations on the transportation and sales of live pigs and pork products.
For these reasons, experts believe that the disease will inevitably spread further in the coming months, with far-reaching implications. These include a large decline in the number of farmed pigs, impacting the global market.
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