Investigating the financial impact of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome on smallholder pig farmers in Cambodia.
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) was first identified in Cambodia in 2010, causing serious problems on affected farms, although the costs of the disease have not been well defined. The household financial impact of a PRRS outbreak in Cambodia was investigated using partial budget analysis, examining the economic benefit of three proposed interventions: (i) quarterly PRRS vaccine use, (ii) biosecurity implementation, and (iii) implementation of vaccination and biosecurity. The analyses were applied to three farm models: (i) a two-sow breeder; (ii) a five-pig fattener; and (iii) a single-sow, three-pig farrow-to-finish/breeder. Data was derived from a knowledge, attitude, and practice survey of 240 smallholder farmers (61 with pigs) from 16 villages across 5 provinces, plus case studies of 12 farmers selected for more detailed financial analysis. The study indicated that financial losses associated with PRRS were severe, with a 25% mean loss to the annual household income of 61 interviewed farmers. Partial budget analysis identified a strongly positive incentive for vaccination and biosecurity to be implemented in combination, with the highest annual net benefit of USD 357.10 realised by the breeder system. However, due to current scarcity of the PRRS vaccine and its high cost to smallholders, biosecurity interventions may be more cost-effective, especially for low PRRS incidence regions. It was concluded that PRRS critically constrains the profitability of smallholder pig farms and that these findings will assist development of village-level livestock disease risk management programmes that encourage adoption of vaccination and biosecurity practices to enhance farmer livelihoods in Cambodia.
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia. azha9255@uni.sydney.edu.au.
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http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8006-2145
A
Zhang
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia.
J R
JR
Young
Department of Animal Health and Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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S
Suon
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia.
K
K
Ashley
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia.
P A
PA
Windsor
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia.
R D
RD
Bush
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000191:economics*; D000818:Animals; D002160:Cambodia; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D000067565:Farmers; D005260:Female; D058751:Livestock; D019318:Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013552:Swine; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics / Q000662:veterinary*
Biosecurity; Cambodia; PRRS; Partial budgets; Smallholders; Vaccination