Swine fever outbreak in Nigeria persist, as Pig farmers count losses
Pigs
Following the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Nigeria. Pig farmers across the country have expressed their worries over the development, calling on the federal government to come to their aide.
iBrandTV gathered that, ASF virus is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family. The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause the death of animals as quickly as a week after infection.
However, the development has the outbreak had forced pig farmers to incurred huge losses and became indebted in the business.
In a chat with the Secretary of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ogun Chapter, Mr Ogunjimi Abiodun, he appealed to the Federal and State Governments to compensate Pig farmers, who lost their livestock due to the outbreak.
According to him, some pig farmers, under the umbrella of AFAN, have become ill, and some have been hospitalised due to worries over their losses.
“Compensating these affected farmers will assist them in regaining their livelihood, as many of them have lost their means of livelihood since the beginning of the swine outbreak.

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Abiodun said that apart from the government assisting in mitigating the spread of the swine disease, compensation should also be considered for the farmers.
He said that the state government had collaborated with the state veterinary doctors to check and curtail the spread of the African Swine Fever.
“When the swine fever outbreak started, the pig farmers notified AFAN, while we called the attention of the State Ministry of Agriculture to it.
“This led to the collaboration between the state government and veterinary doctors,” the association secretary added.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture and the Veterinary Department had collaborated in organising workshops for farmers to sensitise them on how to control the spread of the disease.
ASF major threat to pig farmers
Also, Mr Joseph Kasumu, the Chairman, Pig Farmers Association, Remo North Chapter, described the ASF as a major threat to pig farmers.
Kasumu said that the government should support them with monetary compensation.
He called on the government to also support pig farmers with chemicals and sprayers that could be used to spray their farms to avoid the spread of the disease beyond control.
Kasumu urged his fellow pig farmers to always fumigate their farms and keep its environment clean.
He said that strangers to the farm should also be made to sanitise their hands before entry.
According to him, any new pig brought from outside the farm should be isolated and given treatment for at least one month, before allowing it mix with other pigs.

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Kasumu said the hygienic practice would also help to control the spread of the swine fever.
Government Intervention
While reacting to the outbreak of ASF, Ogun Commissioner for Agriculture, Samson Odedina said that the Federal Government had given the state 400 litres of CID 20.
Odedina said the chemical CID 20 was a strong disinfectant to complement the ones in stock to control the disease.
He said that Veterinary Officers from various zones of the state have been visiting affected farms.
The commissioner said that the ministry had also stepped up advocacy to enlighten farmers on steps to take to prevent further spread of the disease.
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