African Swine Fever (ASF), a non-zoonotic, highly infectious disease impacting pigs, has ravaged the state of Ogun, with reportedly 5 billion Naira ($3.7 million USD) in losses across the region.
ASF is a hemorrhagic (produces hemorrhages) viral disease of both domestic pigs and wild boars, with infected pigs usually dying within six to 13 days. It spreads quickly, with infected animals becoming reddish and ceasing to eat. Infection can occur through direct contact with infected pigs, or indirect contact with contaminated food waste, feed, or garbage.
Nigeria is the largest producer of pork in Africa. Nigeria makes up 65% of the pig population in West Africa, while Africa writ large contributes to roughly one-third of the global livestock production, making up roughly 40% of Africa’s agricultural GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Nigeria produces over 300,000 metric tons (331,000 US tons) of pork each year before the 2020 outbreak. Pig farming provides food security, as well as a means of economic growth and development for lower and middle-class Nigerians.
On Wednesday, October 14th, pig farmers, particularly the Ikangba/Agoro Pig Farmers’ Association, protested the Odogbulu local government in Ikangba due to the swine fever outbreak and its material livestock losses.
This was in collaboration with the Food and Farmers’ Rights Campaign, who claimed upwards of 2000 farmers had been impacted since the outbreak started, with tens of thousands of pig deaths and a closure of an overwhelming majority of pig farms in the region. Many farmers are now beholden to loans they are unable to pay, as they took out loans to start and maintain the pig farms. This has also led to job losses for pig farmers, putting them further into an economically precarious situation.
The protestors called for compensation from the government to help ameliorate the economic hit taken from the losses, including low-interest loans, subsidies, compensation for material loss, disease-control materials, and other forms of aid to assist in rebuilding their farms. It also called for social welfare and unemployment aid to those who have lost their livelihoods.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, said in an interview that the farmers should be making formal reports, as well as testing with the federal veterinary authorities in order to progress their cause. Without testing confirmation and adherence to strict biometric protocols, the government is unable to provide compensation.
Owotomo also said the state has reported the outbreak to the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and is awaiting a response for next steps on the need to intervene and support.
Although the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), founded in 1987, was established to help farmers manage material and financial losses due to ASF, little has been done to tangibly assist the farmers losses. The NAIC was intended to be an organization that bridges the disparities between farmers and private insurance firms who show little interest in insuring agriculture. Yet, most farmers were unaware of the services they provided, and their online presence has remained inactive for several years, making them virtually inaccessible, particularly to rural areas. More than 70% of pigs in Africa are found in rural communities.
The federal government also has a Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), which is a $500 million USD non-bank financial institution designed to facilitate more credit lending to those in agriculture.
There are currently no available or federally approved vaccines to cure African Swine Fever. The only way to prevent the virus is strict biosecurity, which is good farm hygiene. In pigs and wild boars, the rate of fatality is nearly 100%. The means to track the disease are through reporting, laboratory tests, as well as biometric measures taken by the farmers.
This is the third time in a decade that African Swine Fever has worked its way through the region. According to John Eko, a spokesperson for the National Coordinator of Food and Farmers Rights Campaign, each time there has been a deficit in government assistance, leaving farmers brutally exposed to the afteraffects, financial, material, and emotional, of a lack of intervention.
In 2020, beginning in the Ogun and Lagos areas and spreading through the rest of the nation, hundreds of thousands of pigs were slaughtered due to the swine fever outbreak. Although there was no official data to back this, farmers estimated nearly one million pigs were put down.
During this outbreak in 2020, Funsho Ajabi, a pig farmer in Ogun, one of 5,000 farmers yielding over one million pigs in the largest farm settlement in West Africa, managed by the Lagos State Government, died from trauma of losing his farm. He had placed his retirement benefits into the pig farm, hopeful for a successful return on his investment. After losing over 200 pigs to swine fever, he collapsed on his pig farm. This was the beginning of the ailment that eventually led to his death. This is not uncommon for those living in the afteraffects of financial loss, many without government aid.
It is incumbent upon Nigerian authorities to take action in order to address the devastation caused by the swine fever.
