Three steps at a standstill and 0.1 forward: or why did the Ministry of Agrarian Policy still not approve key documents to fight against ASF?

To make these changes, the Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association insisted virtually all the year round.
So, on February 14, 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved changes in the concept of the State Target Program for the Development of the Agrarian Sector of the Economy. The government clarified the structure of the tasks and activities of the concept, their financing and terms of implementation, and the duration of the State Program continued from 2020 to 2021. Financing of the program in the required amounts is provided for at the expense of state and local budgets, private investments and other sources. The document clearly indicates the need to combat ASF.

At the same time, we recall that as early as March 2017, to implement the order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy No. 569 of December 26, 2016, a special working group prepared the Program on Fighting Against ASF ("Program for preventing and fighting the spread of the disease of ASF in the territory of Ukraine for 2017-2022"). In the development of the document, the representatives of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association, independent experts, employees of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection took an active part.

For consideration and coordination of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the draft program was submitted on February 27, 2017 (by the letter of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection). After the approval of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, it is necessary to send the draft of the Program in accordance with the legislative procedure for approval to other interested state bodies and submit it to the Government for consideration.

Unfortunately, till now the Program on fighting against ASF about which we speak, is not accepted and is not transferred for consideration of the government. The Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association made several inquiries to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy about the stage at which the process of consideration and coordination of the Anti-ASF Program is in process? Why is it not submitted to the Government? As a matter of fact, the Association did not receive an understandable and clear answer.

In its replies, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy informed that the State Target Program for the Development of the Agrarian Sector of the Economy should include measures for the implementation of the ASF Program: "the decision was taken to include funding for the implementation of the Program" (ASF) "in the draft State Target Program for the Development of the Agrarian Sector of the Economy period up to 2021" (from the reply of the letters of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy No. 37-14-13 / 21789 of 21.09.2017 and No. 37-14-15 / 16571 of 11.07.2017).

All 2017 and part of this year, when the ASF raged in the country, we were waiting for the introduction of changes to the Concept of the State Program for the Development of the Agroindustrial Complex, where a few words about ASF would be mentioned. While the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported to the USBA’s letter of September 21, 2017 No. 37-14-13 / 21789 that the changes in the Concept of the State Target Program ... are being coordinated with the interested central executive bodies. After agreeing on the Concept, the State Target Program ... will be approved in accordance with the procedure established by law. "

After all, according to expert estimates, the ASF prevented Ukraine from earning an additional $ 12 million in pork exports. And the losses from the disease exceed already 1 billion UAH.

At the same time, the work is not finished, since the program on fighting against ASF (the Program for the Prevention and Control of the Spread of the ASF in the territory of Ukraine for 2017-2022), which has already been lying for a year in the Ministry of Agriculture and has not been adopted yet, and when it will be adopted is still not clear. In addition, the program is designed for 5 years, and   we have already lost year 2017.

The concept of the State program for the development of the agro-industrial complex, which now recollects one proposal of the ASF, is quite a political and general document in its content, which has little effect on the real prevention and fight against ASF. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy on its official website reported that: "Such changes will allow creating organizational and economic conditions for effective, socially directed development of the agricultural sector of the economy." As we can see, while a long state bureaucratic process continues in the future, it seems that the state hopes that the ASF will disappear itself.

In addition, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy has several more projects designed to fight against ASF: the draft order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy "On the introduction of compartmentalization", "On the approval of the Instruction on the content of pigs in order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases", "On Amending the Instruction for Prevention and struggle with ASF ". The approval from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy is delayed on all three documents.

The Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association has already addressed the relevant letters in December 2017 and demands their early adoption.

Compartmentalization, for which these acts are directed, is the world practice of all civilized countries, when pig farms can get the high status of a compartment - anti-epizootic protection, having fulfilled a number of requirements for biosafety, and continue to work, and not slaughter livestock or close the farm even if there is a flash of ASF.

Reference: From the dictionary of terms of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 2015: "A compartment is an animal subpopulation of one or more households with a single biosecurity management system that has a Separate Veterinary and Sanitary Status for one or more diseases for which surveillance measures are taken, prevention and biological safety for international trade. "