Authority monitoring swine fever

NATIONAL Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (Naqia) is still monitoring the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, managing director Joel Alu says.
“We are still on high alert,” he told an agriculture sector retreat in Port Moresby this week.
“We are collaborating with domestic and international partners on various biosecurity activities.
“We are making sure that this disease does not come into this country.”
Alu said if ASF hits PNG shores, it would decimate the entire pig population with “very detrimental effects on human lives where people depend on pigs for customary obligations, protein for food and the small growing piggery businesses in the country”.
Naqia was working to ensure that its role of monitoring, controlling and regulating import and export of products that are animal/plant origin was up to par, he said.
Alu said last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Indonesian government.
Similar MoU was also signed with the Solomon Islands.
He said the medium-term way forward was to keep monitoring and surveillance activities on fields and entry points such as seaports, airports and border areas.
“We continue with containment programmes to minimise spread of regulated pests and diseases to unaffected areas.
“These include Bogia coconut syndrome, coffee berry borer, and sugar cane smut. We continue to maintain existing markets for major export crop through provision of World Trade Organisation certification.”