The Philippines has approved its first commercially available vaccine against African swine fever (ASF), giving hog raisers a new weapon against a disease that has devastated the local swine industry since 2019.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) cleared AVAC ASF LIVE, a live, attenuated, gene-deleted vaccine developed by AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company, for commercial sale to protect fattening pigs.

The approval comes as the government pushes to rebuild the country’s hog population, which has fallen to about 8 million heads from roughly 13 million before ASF hit the Philippines.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the vaccine would be crucial to the government’s repopulation efforts.

“The availability of a commercially approved ASF vaccine is crucial to our repopulation program,” Tiu Laurel said. “It gives hog raisers another tool to protect healthy animals as we work to rebuild the industry and secure a more stable supply of pork.”

Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Constante J. Palabrica said a second vaccine, PROVAC from South Korea, is undergoing BAI testing and could provide another option for hog raisers by next year.

ASF outbreaks have reached 76 of the country’s 82 provinces, hitting backyard raisers particularly hard. The disease does not infect humans but can kill pigs, force the culling of infected or exposed animals and disrupt pork production.

Palabrica said he has requested P1 billion next year to subsidize ASF vaccination, including programs for backyard farms.

Vaccination will form part of a broader government strategy combining disease surveillance, biosecurity, movement controls and targeted restocking.

The goal is to restore the swine population to pre-ASF levels, strengthen domestic pork production and reduce supply gaps and reliance on imports.

After years of relying mainly on containment, culling and biosecurity, hog raisers now have a vaccine to add to the fight.