Papua New Guinea (PNG) implemented an emergency response action to contain the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) reported in the provinces of Southern Highlands, Enga and Hela. PNG reported the first ASF incursion in Mendi, Southern Highlands on 28 March 2020; ASF has killed pigs across the world and has no known vaccine or effective treatment. The disease poses a combined social, cultural and economic threat to PNG and PNG’s biosecurity agency, the National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA), took swift action by mobilizing personnel and resources to the ASF declared areas. While the response has significantly raised awareness of the disease and helped limit the spread beyond these declared provinces, an African Swine Fever (ASF) assessment was carried out in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to evaluate the impact of ASF emergency response work in declared disease areas. In the declared disease areas, approximately 143,000 households own over 719,000 pigs, and ASF poses a significant economic and cultural threat to these communities. We talk to two female pig farmers who share their insights on the ASF response work.

Our first Family Farm Teams (FFT) training in Port Vila, #Vanuatu was a success! 🇻🇺 PHAMA Plus is excited to implement the FFT program which enables and facilitates farming households to work together as a family team and collaboratively plan the development of their agricultural and family activities. With the support of #Australia and #NewZealand, we’re rolling out the program through a series of Training of Trainers to our export partners across the #Pacific to encourage more effective, sustainable and gender equitable farming and business practices. Watch two of our participants from Vanuatu talk about the training and how it complements the work they do.