Pig farmers in Plateau State have appealed to Governor Caleb Mutfwang for immediate 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 inflicted losses estimated in billions of naira.
The appeal was contained in an open letter addressed to the governor, where stakeholders warned that the disease threatens the survival of one of the state’s most important livestock industries.
According to the farmers, the outbreak has disrupted pork production, destroyed livelihoods and heightened concerns over food security, employment and the state’s economy, with many producers unable to continue operations.
Speaking on the scale of the crisis, the Chief Executive Officer of Topnotch Pig Farms and Services and a veterinary consultant with Saction Hub Limited, Joseph Yonkpa, said the death toll had reached alarming levels, although a comprehensive assessment was still ongoing.
“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 added that the outbreak had crippled pig farming across the Plateau, 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 outbreak as catastrophic for a state widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s leading pork-producing hubs, supplying pork to neighbouring Kaduna and Nasarawa states as well as markets across southern Nigeria.
Beyond the direct impact on farmers, Yonkpa noted that the crisis is threatening thousands of jobs linked to pig production, including farm workers, transporters, processors and marketers, while also reducing revenue generated from the livestock value chain.
He explained that African Swine Fever, a highly contagious viral disease with no approved cure or vaccine, has triggered widespread panic within the industry, leading to sharp declines in pork prices as farmers rush to sell surviving animals.
“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 urged the Plateau State Government to establish an Emergency Response Committee through the Ministry of Livestock Development, Veterinary Services and Fisheries.
According to Yonkpa, the committee should assess the extent of the damage across the state, coordinate emergency technical support, provide biosecurity materials and palliatives to affected farmers, and develop a recovery and restocking programme for the industry.
He warned that failure to respond promptly could deepen food insecurity, increase unemployment and further weaken a livestock sector that plays a significant role in Plateau’s agricultural economy.
Despite the scale of the losses, Yonkpa expressed optimism that the state government would act decisively, saying pig farmers remained confident in Governor Mutfwang’s commitment to agriculture and the welfare of citizens.
