The Context of Application of Biosecurity for Control of African Swine Fever in Smallholder Pig Systems: Current Gaps and Recommendations

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly fatal disease of pigs. It is a threat to the pig industry as it lowers production and significantly impacts on livelihoods. ASF has no cure and a vaccine against it is yet to be developed. Outbreaks continue to be reported in Africa and Asia, where the setting of the pig value chain (farm, market, and slaughter practices) coupled with the risky behaviors of actors, contribute to persistence of the virus in pig populations. The role of these factors in the epidemiology of the disease is reviewed with a focus on smallholder pig systems in Africa. Biosecurity at the farm level is particularly emphasized, and factors influencing its adoption highlighted. Socio-cultural factors and weaknesses at the disease control policy level are critical and should not be ignored. Gender and equity are important aspects and ought to be considered in discussions to improve the sector. The findings are expected to define priorities for interventions to improve pig productivity (as these regions wait for the vaccine to be developed).

African Swine Fever: A Biosecurity Challenge for Domestic Pig Production in Serbia

“…Th e designation 'backyard holding' stands for a quite heterogeneous family-run small-scale pig farming system with low biosecurity (Zani et In backyards and smallholders, pig feeding strategies depend on feed resources availability and the ability of farmers to buy ingredients. In these systems, domestic pigs frequently have access to swill (i.e., the kitchen left over food from owners and restaurants) (Chenais et al, 2019a;Mutua and Dione, 2021). According to the law, swill feeding is banned in Serbia; however, it is diffi cult to control in practice.…”

“…Moreover, in Ser-bia, breeding boars are frequently found in the small-scale holdings, and they are moved around for breeding purposes (Prodanov- Radulović et al, 2015;Polaček et al, 2021). Th e critical point from this aspect is animal loan practices, i.e., sharing of boars for natural mating in several villages (Mutua and Dione, 2021). Th is can be signifi cant risk factor contributing to the transmission of ASFV through direct pig-to-pig contact (Olesen et al, 2020).…”

A new Progressive Management Pathway for improving seaweed biosecurity

“…This stage will also involve the identification of the cultivated seaweed species, their diseases, pests, high risk practices throughout the supply chain and the most practical, cost-effective biosecurity measures, which target these risks. It will also promote capacity building, including regular training programs, which have proven to be invaluable, particularly for small-scale farmers with limited financial resources, for example, in the fight to control African Swine Fever in East Africa 20 .…”

“…These events could be funded by government initiatives and perhaps processors, who stand to benefit from the enhanced quality of the raw materials. The adoption of measures has remained a major challenge in other sectors, with pig farmers in Uganda requiring financial incentives to compensate for the higher costs of implementing biosecurity measures 20 . A key focus for the taskforce at this stage, therefore, will be to secure financial aid to assist small-scale farmers in engaging with their national audit and certification schemes.…”

Comparative analysis of technical efficiency of piglet farming in three production center provinces in Indonesia

“…However, the estimation results that were contrary to this expectation could be an indication of the need to improve a more credible vaccination program in pig farms. Vaccinations that do not show the expected results may be caused by vaccination management or inadequate biosecurity practices at the internal pig farming level (Delsart et al, 2020;Mutua and Dione, 2021). With the complexity of the problems surrounding pig farming, especially with the increasing ASF pandemic in pig farms, the role of research institutions and universities is urgently needed (Gunnarsson et al, 2020) to improve the effectiveness of vaccination.…”