1,374 pigs die in upper Assam; veterinary teams to visit affected districts

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Following the death of 1,374 pigs across five districts of upper Assam during the last few days, the State government has decided to send five-member veterinary doctors’ teams to each of the districts to study the causes of the disease and also suggest remedial measures. This was informed by Husbandry & Veterinary Minister Atul Bora here on Tuesday.

The deaths have been reported from the districts of Sivasagar, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Nagaon.

Meanwhile, while addressing the media in the presence of Dr Dhireshwar Kalita, AAU Principal Scientist, and other members of the Association, at the ALPCO (Assam Livestock & Poultry Corporation Limited) campus here on Tuesday, the president of ‘North East Progressive Pig Farmers’ Association’ (NEPPFA) Manoj Kumar Basumatary raised several pertinent issues related to the piggery sector.

He said, “We all are going through a very difficult phase due to the pandemic COVID-19. Apart from threats to human being due to the pandemic, every sector has suffered due to the lockdown. There is a fear in the minds of people due to the pandemic. And we thought it is very important that we call this press meet to clarify as well as make our farmers as well as consumers aware about the outbreak of ‘Classical Swine Fever’.

“The foremost of the issues is the death of a large numbers of pigs in some districts like Sibsagar, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Nagaon. The ‘Classical Swine Fever’ is a viral disease which attacks pigs during this period every year. This year the outbreak has been more severe and due to which a large number of pigs have died; and huge losses have been suffered by the farmers in the affected districts.

“First and foremost, the viral disease due to which pigs have died is called Classical Swine Fever and not Swine Flu as reported in some media. Classical Swine Fevers only attacks pigs and it causes no harm to human beings. The farmers should vaccinate the pigs for Classical Swine Fever which will prevent it from infection.

“Swine Flu or H1N1 is a flu which attacks human beings. It lasted from January 2009 to August 2010. Despite being informally called Swine Flu, the H1N1 flu virus can’t be spread by eating pork products. On August 2010, the Director of WHO, Margaret Chan has announced the end of the H1N1 pandemic and announced that the H1N1 influenza event have moved to post pandemic period.

“As Classical Swine Fever in pigs can be prevented through vaccinations, NEPPFA has been appealing to the government to make this vaccine available to farmers in his doorstep. In recent times, Veterinary department has sent some vaccines to the districts to vaccinate the pigs. We request the department to organise regular vaccination camps so that we can prevent the disease from occurring in near future.

“We also appeal the Assam government through this press meet to facilitate the mass production at Biological Center, Khanapara so that vaccines are available readily.

“We also want to appeal through this press meet to our farmers to follow proper biosecurity to avoid any outbreak in their farms. Every pig must be vaccinated and vaccines protocol like booster doses, cold chain etc. must be taken care. We also appeal all farmers to do proper disposal of the dead pigs by either burying the carcass in minimum 3-4 feet underground or burn them. It is reported that, in many places, dead pigs are being thrown in nearby rivers which has only helped in spreading the disease. We appeal all farmers not to do so.

“As per the 20th livestock Census from 2012 to 2019, Assam has the largest numbers of Pig population in the country. And North East Region alone consumes more than 65% of pork meat produced in the entire country which is around 4.26 Lakh Metric Tonnes. The pork meat market of the NER is worth more than a billion US dollars. North East is getting its demand of pork meat with supplies from various other states outside the region. However, the quality of meat coming from outside is not monitored.

“Realising the potential in the sector, increasing numbers of educated youths from Assam and other states in the region are taking up piggery and other agriculture activities on a commercial basis. As a result, the entire piggery sector is poised for a growth in the region which would be possible only if certain basics are met. One of the most important is veterinary care and availability of critical vaccines. Classical Swine Fever is the most rampant of epidemics in the Northeast and is vaccine-preventable. Currently, our farmers do not have regular access to this vaccine and the government must ensure the availability of this vaccine for all farmers if the sector has to be sustained.

“Animal life insurance is another crucial link for growth of the sector. This is another area in which the government’s support is crucial.

“We also appeal to the government to create a database of all the pig farmers in the state.

“Due to the prevailing situations, majority of the farmers are facing financial crisis due to fall in sales and also facing problems regarding feeds. We appeal to the government to make feeds like Sapor, Rice Polish and Broken Rice and wastage in FCI warehouse available to the livestock farmers through Public Distribution System (PDS).

“Compensating farmers whose animals have dies due to the outbreak of Classical Swine Fever.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic a large number of people from Assam had to return back from different States in the country. We feel piggery is one of the most sunrise sectors which has the capacity to absorb thousands of youths in generating employment.

“So, we in NEPPFA feel that it is very much important that both farmers as well as consumers are aware of the developments in the sector for a healthy growth of any sector. The purpose of today’s press meet was to clarify some of the misinformation floating around so that farmers don’t suffer financial loss due to non-availability of correct facts.

NEPPFA is an umbrella organisation for more than 500 commercial pig farmers and is working with the vision to establish Northeast India’s pork as a global brand. The stated missions of NEPPFA are to work towards making North East India a Piggery Hub; and to make quality pork available to consumers.”

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