The National Pork Producers Council is applauding a new joint effort to address the challenges of African Swine Fever.

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service joined with leaders from the Philippine Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to announce the new project. It’s titled “Capacity building in risk assessment to support safe international trade of U.S. pork producers in the Philippines.”

NPPC President Terry Wolters of Minnesota says, “Creating international partnerships provides further safeguards to keep American agriculture safe from foreign animal disease. That helps U.S. pork producers to continue providing customers in both countries with safe and affordable pork.”

The Philippines has had ongoing ASF outbreaks and is seeking better ways to control the virus and the subsequent food price inflation. NPPC worked with the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C., to ascertain the needs of the Philippine government and the country’s producers to help them better manage ASF outbreaks.