Pig farmers in Plateau State have appealed to Governor Caleb Mutfwang for urgent intervention following a devastating outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) that has reportedly killed thousands of pigs, forced the closure of hundreds of farms and caused losses estimated in billions of naira.
The appeal was contained in an open letter addressed to the governor, with stakeholders warning that the outbreak poses a serious threat to one of Plateau State’s most important livestock industries.
According to the farmers, the disease has disrupted pork production, destroyed livelihoods and raised concerns over food security, employment and the state’s economy, leaving many producers unable to continue operations.
Speaking on the severity of the outbreak, the Chief Executive Officer of Topnotch Pig Farms and Services and veterinary consultant with Saction Hub Limited, Joseph Yonkpa, said the death toll had reached alarming levels, although a comprehensive assessment was still underway.
“The number at the moment I cannot quantify, but they are in the thousands. You can rightly say thousands of pigs have died,” he said.
Yonkpa disclosed that the outbreak has crippled pig farming across Plateau State, affecting both smallholder and commercial producers.
“At the moment, hundreds of pig farms have closed. Both small and large farms have been affected. The big farms in Plateau State have already shut down because of the outbreak of African Swine Fever,” he stated.
He described the situation as catastrophic for Plateau, which is widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s leading pork-producing states, supplying pork to neighbouring Kaduna and Nasarawa states as well as markets across southern Nigeria.
Beyond the direct losses suffered by farmers, Yonkpa said the outbreak is threatening thousands of jobs across the pork value chain, including those of farm workers, transporters, processors and marketers, while also reducing revenue generated from the livestock sector.
He explained that African Swine Fever is a highly contagious viral disease with no approved cure or vaccine, adding that the outbreak has triggered panic sales as farmers rush to dispose of surviving animals.
According to him, the resulting oversupply has caused pork prices to crash to below ₦2,000 per kilogramme of carcass, further worsening the financial hardship facing pig farmers.
“Thousands of pigs worth billions of naira have been lost. The price of pork has crashed to less than ₦2,000 per kilogramme of carcass due to panic sales and loss of consumer confidence. Farmers are unable to restock and are struggling to survive in this harsh economy,” he said.
To contain the outbreak and support affected producers, the farmers called on the Plateau State Government to establish an Emergency Response Committee through the Ministry of Livestock Development, Veterinary Services and Fisheries.
They urged the committee to assess the scale of the outbreak, coordinate emergency technical assistance, provide biosecurity materials and relief support to affected farmers, and develop a comprehensive recovery and restocking programme for the state’s pig industry.
Yonkpa warned that failure to respond promptly could worsen food insecurity, increase unemployment and further weaken a livestock sector that contributes significantly to Plateau State’s agricultural economy.
Despite the scale of the losses, he expressed confidence that Governor Mutfwang would take decisive action to protect the industry, stating that pig farmers remain hopeful that the state government will provide the necessary support to restore production and safeguard livelihoods.
