FAO teams up with backyard pig keepers to improve resilience against African swine fever

African swine fever (ASF) is a serious animal disease that may kill up to 100 percent of infected animals, both domestic pigs and wild boar, and for which, currently, there is no commercially available vaccine or treatment. It poses significant economic, livelihood and biodiversity threats to the region's pig sector and hunting.

As part of its work to combat African swine fever in the region, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) initiated a Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) project on “Improved and protected livelihoods against ASF in Kosovo¹” that started in October 2024 and which concluded today.

To support and safeguard rural Kosovan livelihoods, FAO has provided several groups with various activities. Among others, project implementation included training first responders (namely veterinarians and hunters) on the disease and for backyard pig holders to increase their knowledge of ASF and how to improve farm biosecurity, and as well as collecting feedback about the economic impediments to backyard pig keeping.

At the closing event held today in Pristina, the outcomes of the activities conducted were presented and discussed with local veterinary services, with a particular focus how the results could be upscaled.

Backyard pig keepers received assistance during the entire duration of the project involving three locations in Kosovo: Doblibare, Gjurakoc and Strpce. In total, 62 backyard farmers were enrolled in the activity “Community African swine fever (ASF) Biosecurity Interventions” (CABI) – an innovative approach originally piloted by FAO in the Philippines – to enhance local awareness of biosecurity measures. Smallholder farmers keeping pigs in their backyard were surveyed to assess their production system, knowledge of ASF and biosecurity measures applied of their farms.

The assessment was followed by three trainings dedicated to topics such as feeding and breeding of pigs, pig diseases and ASF, and cleaning and disinfection and farm biosecurity. During the last training, participants received a biosecurity intervention kit, containing working boots, hand sprayers, brushes, detergent, a log template to track visitors to their farms and disinfectant to improve their farm biosecurity. To reinforce the training, an FAO expert visited the farms to address remaining questions from the farmers after the kits were delivered and the training completed. Additionally, FAO posters summarizing key information related to African swine fever are displayed in nearby public spaces and community areas. Finally, farmers were surveyed a second time to measure the change in ASF knowledge and farm biosecurity.

¹All references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).