Aizawl: Mizoram’s state Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (AH&Vety) department reported that the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak has inflicted staggering losses of Rs 963.14 crore since 2021, killing 68,172 pigs and affecting over 10,400 families.
The department said it has paid more than Rs 14 crore in compensation to pig farmers whose animals were culled to prevent further disease spread.
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Authorities first confirmed ASF on March 21, 2021, in Lungsen village, located in southern Mizoram’s Lunglei district near the Bangladesh border. Officials believe the disease arrived via imported pigs.
As of July 16 this year, the state lost Rs 66.51 crore, the department added. Between January and July 17, ASF claimed 5,871 pigs, and officials culled 1,942 more as a control measure.
Farmers suffered the heaviest losses in 2024, with damages estimated at Rs 336.4 crore. Mizoram recorded losses of Rs 334.14 crore in 2021 and Rs 210 crore in 2022, the data shows. The state experienced the lowest annual ASF losses in 2023, totaling Rs 15.77 crore.
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Since the initial outbreak, authorities have culled 51,301 pigs and provided Rs 14.51 crore in compensation to rearers during 2021–2023. Officials have also submitted a proposal to the Centre for an additional Rs 24.94 crore in relief for 2024.
ASF has now spread across 66 villages in three districts, affecting more than 1,700 families, officials said. They noted that while the disease subsides in winter, it resurges during warmer months.
In addition, officials reported past outbreaks of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2020, which collectively killed thousands of pigs and piglets and caused approximately Rs 10.62 crore in losses.