An outbreak of African Swine Fever has devastated Plateau State's pig industry, killing thousands of animals, forcing hundreds of farms to close and inflicting losses that farmers put in the billions of naira. Pig producers raised the alarm in a Save Our Souls letter to Governor Caleb Mutfwang, describing the situation as catastrophic for one of Nigeria's leading pork-producing states, according to Leadership.
A Livelihood Wiped Out in Weeks
The Chief Executive of Topnotch Pig Farms and Services, Joseph Yonkpa, said thousands of pigs worth billions of naira had been lost, with both smallholder and commercial farms affected and the largest operations already shut, according to The Sun. Only months earlier those pens had held healthy animals supporting a thriving business, but many now sit empty after the disease spread rapidly and wiped out years of investment within weeks, AIT reported. Plateau supplies pork to neighbouring Kaduna and Nasarawa as well as markets across southern Nigeria, so the damage reaches well beyond the state, The Sun noted.
Prices Crash as Panic Spreads
The market has turned against farmers at the worst moment. Panic sales and a collapse in consumer confidence have pushed the price of pork below ₦2,000 per kilogram of carcass, leaving producers unable to restock or recover their costs, according to Leadership. African Swine Fever is a highly contagious viral disease with no known cure or vaccine, though it is not zoonotic and poses no direct risk to human health, as AIT explained. That combination, deadly to pigs but harmless to people, means the harm falls squarely on farmers and on the supply of a protein many households rely on.
A Race to Contain It
Farmers have appealed for urgent government action, calling for an emergency response committee under the Ministry of Livestock Development to assess the damage, supply biosecurity materials and design a restocking plan, according to AgroNigeria. By late July, the Director of Plateau Veterinary Services, Sipak Shase'et, said the disease was largely under control after intensified surveillance, farmer sensitisation and stronger biosecurity, adding that the outbreak, which began around April, had affected 350 farms and killed more than 4,000 pigs and 2,500 piglets, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Pork is an affordable source of animal protein for many Nigerians, and a shock this severe removes supply just as prices for other proteins remain high. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified retail prices across Lagos markets and follows the disease and supply shocks that ultimately decide the cost of a protein-rich meal.