L-PRES Launches African Swine Fever Control Campaign at Oke-Aro
For pig farmers at Oke-Aro, one of Nigeria’s largest pig-producing communities, the fight against African Swine Fever has received a fresh boost with the launch of a disease-control and biosecurity campaign by the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project, L-PRES.
The campaign, launched by the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, is aimed at strengthening disease prevention and improving biosecurity practices among pig farmers at the Oke-Aro Pig Farm Estate along the Lagos-Ogun axis.
As part of the intervention, farmers received protective equipment and disease-control materials to help reduce the risk of disease transmission within the densely populated pig-producing community.
Oke-Aro has experienced previous outbreaks of African Swine Fever, ASF, which have resulted in significant losses for farmers and threatened livestock investments.
Speaking at the launch, the National Project Coordinator of L-PRES, Dr. Sanusi Abubakar, stressed that the intervention would go beyond the distribution of disease-control materials.
He explained that farmers would also receive practical training on biosecurity measures and good farm management practices aimed at preventing and controlling disease outbreaks.
According to him, the training will cover proper farm disinfection, the use of protective equipment, movement control, farm hygiene and other measures designed to limit the spread of diseases.
Dr. Abubakar noted that providing farmers with protective materials would have limited impact without the knowledge required to use them properly and maintain effective biosecurity standards.
Materials distributed to the farmers included personal protective equipment, boots, gloves, nose masks, protective goggles, knapsack sprayers, motorised knapsack sprayers, CID 20 and Virocid disinfectants.
Responding on behalf of the farmers, President of the Pig Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Adebowale Ayodeji, commended the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and L-PRES for the intervention.
He described African Swine Fever as a major challenge to pig production, noting that stronger biosecurity measures, continuous farmer training and access to appropriate disease-control materials would help protect livestock and safeguard farmers’ investments.
Ayodeji also welcomed the planned training, stressing that continuous awareness and practical knowledge of disease prevention were particularly important in a major pig-producing community such as Oke-Aro.
Farmers were advised to disinfect their farms regularly and strictly control the movement of people, pigs, vehicles and equipment between farms to minimise the risk of introducing or spreading infections.
African Swine Fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. Although it does not infect humans, the disease can spread rapidly among pigs and cause severe economic losses where effective biosecurity measures are lacking.
The Oke-Aro campaign forms part of L-PRES interventions aimed at strengthening animal health, improving disease prevention and control, and protecting the livelihoods and investments of livestock farmers across Nigeria.
