Delta State Government has said that it would quarantine the farm cluster in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta that was hit by an outbreak of African Swine Fever.

African swine fever virus is a large, double-stranded DNA virus of the Asfarviridae family. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs.

The farm cluster is under the Owa-Alero Youth Agriculture and Entrepreneurship Programme (YAGEP).

State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Julius Egbedi, alongside the State Chief Job Creation Officer, Prof. Eric Eboh, made this disclosure on Thursday during an inspection visit to the affected farm.

Egbedi explained that the permanent method to eliminate the dreaded animal disease is to quarantine the affected farm cluster for at least three months.

“To forestall an outbreak of an epidemic, the farm would be shut down and quarantined for a minimum of three months and every pig in the farm would be destroyed,” he said.

Egbedi also decried the level of indiscipline exhibited by farmers in the cluster.

He urged them to adhere strictly to laid down biosecurity and other measures in the rearing of livestock to prevent the eruption of avoidable diseases.

The agric commissioner also charged them to always pay close attention to and comply with prescribed guidelines for animal husbandry.

He, however, sympathised with the farmers over the losses, assuring them of the state government’s assistance after an investigation to ascertain the extent of the loss.

On his part, the Delta State Chairman of the Pig Farmers Association, Jerry Ossai, described the incident as unfortunate and sad.

Ossai enjoined the farmers to adhere to the commissioner’s advice.

He also advised farmers to insure their farms to prevent completely bearing the loss in events of such nature.

AgroNigeria on June 3 reported that Oke-Aro Piggery Farm in Lagos lost an estimated N7 billion worst of investment to African swine fever outbreak.

Lagos State chapter chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Otunba Femi Oke told AgroNigeria that the outbreak occurred two months before COVID-19 lockdown by the state government.

“It was very disastrous. This happened during the lockdown time around March and April, and our pig farmers lost over seven billion Naira.

“The situation worsened because the farmers were unable to be in the farms to feed them,” the state chairman told AgroNigeria