Page 10 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Around 143,000 households own over 719,000 pigs and African swine fever poses a significant economic and cultural threat to these communities.
Interviews with the 500 selected pig farming households were undertaken as part of the assessment.
AN African swine fever assessment was under- taken in Papua New Guinea to evaluate the impact of ASF emer- gency response work in declared disease areas.
In the declared disease areas, around 143,000 households own over 719,000 pigs and ASF poses a significant eco- nomic and cultural threat to these communities.
“This impact assessment assists our surveillance ef- forts to define the extent of the disease, detect new outbreaks and establish disease-free zones,” Dr Puana said.
This included one face- to-face interview by the field teams and subsequent surveys via telephone over the study period.
along the value chain. “PHAMA Plus con- tinues to support NAQIA in its response efforts, ad- dressing economic losses, restoring confidence among pig owners and ad- dressing gender and social
The assessment – con- ducted by enumerators funded by Australia and New Zealand supporting the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus Program and National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspec- tion Authority field of- ficers – saw over 1700 surveys completed with 500 different households in all districts of Southern Highlands, Enga and se- lected districts of Jiwaka and Western Highlands Province.
“We continue to strengthen our contain- ment and control around the infection sites so ASF does not spread beyond the highlands.
PHAMA Plus PNG country manager Sidney Suma said the exercise had a strong gender-focus in order to capture impact of ASF response activi- ties on women, youth and people living with dis- abilities.
challenges.”
The study commenced
NAQIA chief veterinary officer Dr Ilagi Puana said the exercise provided useful quantitative and qualitative data as well as socio-economic indicators that will assist in the long- term management of ASF.
Interviews with the 500 selected pig farming households were under- taken at least three times over a seven-month period, ending in August 2021.
“Outbreaks of ASF in PNG will disrupt the livelihoods of livestock keepers, household pro- ducers, commercial farms and services providers
The field survey team collected samples from villages with ASF and neighbouring villages where the disease was not detected, for com- parison.
The assessment included face-to-face interviews by field teams.
African swine fever study in Papua New Guinea
“This was done by in- stalling strategic road checkpoints leading into and out of the infected areas and preventing movement of live pigs and pork out of the infected areas to potentially unin- fected areas of PNG.”
“Our field survey teams ensured the approach to data collection was ap- propriate for data collec- tion from both men and women, with a target of 50 percent gender split,” Mr Suma said.
in areas where NAQIA had existing ASF response measures in place and had previously done work on awareness, containment measures and delimiting surveillance.
NAQIA continues to im- plement its response to the outbreak of African swine fever.
Danisco Animal Nutrition announces name change
The Danisco Animal Nutrition and Health name change will allow the IFF Health and Biosciences business unit to present the full scope of its capabilities.
“This principle has long been a driving force within the business and
DANISCO Animal Nutrition, a business unit of IFF Health and Biosciences division, has announced it has changed its name to Danisco Animal Nutri- tion and Health.
continues to inform our strategic direction.
The move reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to ex- panding its portfolio of science-led animal health solutions across global markets.
“It also comes at an exciting time in the de- velopment of our health portfolio, with several exciting new products scheduled for launch later this year.”
Danisco Animal Nu- trition and Health vice president Pauel Fokin said, “The name change will allow us to present the full scope of our ca- pabilities.”
The company has made significant invest- ments in building its animal health portfolio for poultry, swine and ruminant markets.
“Crucially, it recog- nises the fact that nutri- tion and health are in- extricably linked when it comes to animal per- formance.
Its extensive research and development pro- gram is focussed on pro- viding evidence-based validation – through lab research, field trials and practice – to support the efficacy and value prop- osition of every product solution.
“We are delighted to now have a strong plat- form that clearly com- municates these ambi- tions and positions us for future growth.
APL specialist director farewelled
COVID-19 actions. During his tenure as an APL Board member, Dr Davis also chaired the APL Investment Com- mittee – focussing on the strategic enhance- ment of the research and innovation invest- ment portfolio for the
AUSTRALIAN Pork Limited Board spe- cialist director Dr Gerard Davis has ac- cepted a role as chief executive officer of an early-stage bio- tech company.
The full-time com- mitment means Dr Davis will be progres- sively reducing other professional roles, which unfortunately includes retiring from both the APL and APRIL boards in Feb- ruary 2022.
industry.
The APL Board and
In addition to serving the Australian pork industry by con- tributing to the devel- opment of the 2020-25 strategic plan, Dr Davis had input into our defensive and pre- paratory responses to African swine fever, as well as supply chain
management wish Dr Davis well in his new role and sincerely thank him for his con- tribution to the Aus- tralian pork industry and his personal sup- port of the APL team.
APL is currently seeking a new inde- pendent specialist di- rector.
For more informa- tion, contact commu nications@australian pork.com.au
Page 10 – Australian Pork Newspaper, February 2022
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