Pig farmers in the Ikangba/Agoro axis of Odogbolu Local Government Area (LGA), Ogun State, have appealed for urgent government assistance after an outbreak of African swine fever allegedly wiped out more than N5bn worth of investments.
The farmers, under the Ikangba/Agoro Pig Farmers’ Association, staged a protest on Wednesday with the Food and Farmers’ Rights Campaign, saying the outbreak had killed tens of thousands of pigs, forced the closure of more than 99 per cent of farms in the area and left thousands of people struggling financially.
The National Coordinator of the Food and Farmers’ Rights Campaign, John Eko, said more than 2,000 farmers had been affected, with losses extending beyond livestock to farm buildings, feed supplies, jobs and other investments.
He described the outbreak as the third major devastation of pig farming in the area within a decade, accusing the federal and state governments of failing to provide adequate support to affected farmers.
“Both governments have maintained a pin-drop silence to our agonies,” Eko said, adding that the farmers could no longer absorb repeated losses without intervention.
He called for compensation, agricultural subsidies, low-interest loans, quality breeding stock, animal feed and disease-control materials. He also urged the government to provide relief to farmers struggling to meet their families’ basic needs.
Eko called on the Federal Government to invest in research aimed at developing vaccines and drugs against the disease, suggesting that Nigerian institutions, including the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Plateau State, could contribute to the effort.
He also proposed a technical committee comprising scientists, farmers and other professionals to explore ways of developing effective treatments and vaccines.
One of the affected farmers, Folorunsho Ayodele, said he had lost more than N18m worth of pigs, while a neighbour lost over N30m.
“The outbreak began about two months ago, and over 2,000 farmers have lost their animals to this cruel disease,” he said, adding that many farmers had borrowed money to finance their businesses.
Ayodele said the losses had left some farmers in severe distress and appealed to President Bola Tinubu and Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun to help them return to business.
Another farmer, Adeola Oyeleye, said she had lost more than N10m in investments, while some farmers in the area had lost over N100m.
“Our pens, as we speak, are all empty; the trauma is immense because we have lost our pigs to this disease,” she said.
Oyeleye urged the governments to provide compensation, grants and soft loans, while intensifying efforts to develop a vaccine against African Swine Fever.
The farmers carried placards appealing to Tinubu and Abiodun to intervene, warning that the outbreak had destroyed their livelihoods.
African Swine Fever is a highly contagious disease affecting pigs. The farmers said it was not transmissible to humans, but its impact on their livestock had severely disrupted pig production in the area.
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