Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of African Swine Fever (ASF) Affected Communities in the Ytawes District of Cagayan Valley, Philippines: Basis for Extension Program

Abstract

The communicable African Swine Fever (ASF) has adversely crippled the country's swine industry in the last few years and subsequently hampered the growth of the agriculture sector. This study utilized the descriptive research design. The study was conducted at the three municipalities in the Ytawes district of Piat, Sto. Nino and Tuao from May-June 2022. Results of the study show that women were more predominantly engaged in pig farming than male aside from their roles as a mother. Also, raisers prefer to bury the infected animals without reporting them to authorities is alarming due to the possible spreading of the diseases and authorities hardly contained it. Raisers must be encouraged to disinfect the production area before re-stocking to avoid possible problems. The farmers should practice not allowing people in and out of the production area because they might be the carrier of such diseases since most of the farm owners do not have bio-security measures. There should be close coordination with the Municipal Agriculturist Office to seek the opinion of veterinarians/technicians for the possible solutions to such problems. Since the majority of the respondents considered pig farming as one of their sources of income. Attending training's/seminars could help the pig raisers to gain more knowledge on the proper handling of such diseases as ASF.