Ministry of agriculture wants to strengthen the prevention of African swine fever

The Ministry of Agriculture plans to strengthen control over the spread of African swine fever (ASF) around industrial pig farms with the highest level of epizootic protection (the so-called “compartment IV”). The draft amendments to the veterinary rules for the prevention and diagnosis of ASF were published on 31 August. As stated in the explanatory note, the document was developed after requests from the National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS), the National Meat Association (NSA) and “other specialized institutions.”

The draft amendments envisage an increase from 25% to 50% of farms on which a sample for ASF will be taken 2 times a year, if they are located in territories within a radius of 5 km from pig breeding enterprises belonging to the IV compartment. The number of pigs that will be tested for plague depends on the size of the holdings: 15 for a total of up to 50 animals, and 30 for a population of more than 501. As follows from the explanatory note, this is necessary for additional prevention of ASF, as well as the creation of “buffer zones around pig breeding complexes.”

Vedomosti sent a request to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Rosselkhoznadzor stated that they participated in the development of a project that should prevent the occurrence and spread of ASF.

Yury Kovalev, Director General of the NSS, explains that in Russia, over the past 15 years, outbreaks of plague have been registered almost throughout the country. It is impossible to completely get rid of the disease due to the lack of a really effective vaccine. During this time, more than 3 million heads were destroyed, Kovalev cites data, since when a disease is detected in production, the entire livestock is destroyed, which leads to losses, both on the part of the owner and the state.

According to the Rosselkhoznadzor, a total of 147 ASF outbreaks were registered in 2022, 72 of which were in pigs, and the rest in wild boars. At the same time, in June 2023, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture at a veterinary forum announced the detection of plague at two industrial enterprises, which led to the destruction of more than 100,000 pigs.

The compartmentation system is one of the measures to prevent the spread of the disease, Kovalev continues. The highest level of security allows the pig farm to continue operating even if an outbreak is detected nearby. But, the expert continues, this level of protection is available only to large industrial enterprises that are ready to invest in epizootic safety. Small farms and personal subsidiary farms (SPH) usually belong to compartments I and II, with practically no protection against the spread of the disease, so that when an outbreak is detected within a radius of 5 km, even in the wild, livestock is destroyed in these farms.

This is also why there is a decrease in the production of pigs in small farms and household plots, concludes Kovalev. According to the analytical agency EMeat, as of July 1, there were 28.9 million pigs in Russia, while households accounted for 2 million heads. Pork production in the industrial sector increased by 5.9% to 1.9 million tons in carcass weight, in private households, on the contrary, decreased by 10.4% to 120,000 tons.

Compartmentation requirements lead to a reduction in the number of livestock in peasant farms (PFH) and private household plots, says Olga Bashmachnikova, vice president of the Association of Peasant Farms and Agricultural Cooperatives of Russia (AKKOR). “Not everyone can do it. In addition, the regions are pursuing a policy of eliminating pigs in peasant farms, including subsidizing the transition to other types of activities,” she says. Tightening the requirements may affect small farms, Bashmachnikova believes.

She believes that it is necessary to comply with veterinary requirements, but it is also important to diversify production – so that there are many farms of different sizes. When ASF occurs in an industrial enterprise, millions of heads are destroyed. With a diversified approach, there would be no such exit risk, explains Bashmachnikova. In her opinion, “agriculture should not rely on a dozen large enterprises.”

Kovalev agrees that the proposed measure will lead to additional costs on the part of the owners, but this is a forced measure: “The risks from the spread of ASF are much more serious than the costs of prevention.” The head of the National Meat Association, Sergei Yushin, says that in this case there is no point in discussing how this will affect small farms: “It is important for the industry that prevention gives results. Strengthening it, among other things, should help stabilize prices, since epizootic well-being and the preservation of livestock allows us to saturate the market.”

On the contrary, a decrease in the number of livestock in private household plots is necessary, because it is poorly controlled from the point of view of ASF, says the owner of the Lazarevskoye farm, Kristina Romanovskaya. In her opinion, it is necessary to create quarantine zones around large enterprises, in which it should be prohibited to keep pigs at all.