Battling African Swine Fever: China's pig farmers will be subsidized to combat virus

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African Swine Fever has been ravaging China's pork industry since last August. The government is enacting new measures to contain the epidemic, as well as to help pork production recover. VICTOR NING has the details.

The year of the pig has been rough for pigs and pig farmers in China.

An epidemic of African Swine Fever broke out last August. The virus does not affect humans, but China's pork industry has been hit hard. More than 1 million hogs have been culled.

YU KANGZHEN CHINESE VICE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS "We provide compensation for every pig being culled. We have also sped up the settlement cycle of compensation to semiannually from annually."

44 outbreaks have been reported so far this year. But China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs says the epidemic has been contained in isolated regions. Quarantines in 25 provinces and autonomous regions have been lifted.

YU KANGZHEN CHINESE VICE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS "The spread of the virus has been slowing down. Production and transportation of pork is recovering gradually. But there is still a lot of work to do to control the epidemic."

The government is enacting new prevention measures. It's directed farmers to immediately report any sign of the disease. On-site veterinarians will be placed in every slaughterhouse, with the cost subsidized. Kitchen scraps, such as from restaurants, will be banned as feed.

YU KANGZHEN CHINESE VICE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS "Outbreaks caused by feeding pigs with kitchen scraps will not be compensated."

China is the world's largest pork producer and consumer. The number of pigs on farms has dropped drastically since the outbreak. Officials say more policies are in store to help the sector to recover.

YANG ZHENHAI, DIRECTOR-GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION CHINESE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS "We will subsidize pig farmers to help recover pork production and provide technical assistance to pig farms to raise their tech level. We will also provide subsidies to popularize cold chain logistics to promote transporting pork rather than live pigs in the sector."

The spread of African Swine Fever is being contained. But it will take time for China's pig farming sector to recover. VN, CGTN.