Dr. Arcely Robeniol from the Office of Provincial Veterinarian in Pangasinan demonstrate the proper way of collecting blood sample for laboratory testing.
The Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center 1 (ATI-RTC 1) in collaboration with the Office of Provincial Veterinary (OPVet) of the four provinces in the region continued their efforts to train Barangay Biosecurity Officers (BBOs).
As to date, ATI-RTC 1 has already conducted seven (7) batches of BABay ASF: Training on Specimen Collection for BBOs in various municipalities with a total of 144 heads of barangay committee on agriculture trained.
The objective of the said training is to capacitate BBOs with knowledge and skills on restraining technique, collecting and handling specimen for laboratory testing through lecture-discussions and actual demonstrations. The collected specimen will be used to detect animals that have survived infection from African Swine Fever (ASF) and to determine whether the disease is rampant in the area. The participants also learned the status of ASF in the region and their role as frontliners in combatting the spread of the disease.
In totality, ATI-RTC 1 has 13 batches of the training and seven (7) of these were conducted in the following cities and municipalities in the region:
1. Asingan, Pangasinan on April 21-22 (Batch 1);
2. Bacarra, Ilocos Norte April 12-13 (Batch 2);
3. San Juan, La Union April 21-22 (Batch 3);
4. Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur May 5-6 (Batch 4);
5. Batac City, Ilocos Norte May 10-11 (Batch 5);
6. San Quintin, Pangasinan May 19-20 (Batch 6); and
7. Balungao, Pangasinan May 25-26 (Batch 7).
Meanwhile, the six (6) remaining batches will be conducted in Natividad, Pangasinan; Balaoan and Bauang, La Union; Vigan, Ilocos Sur; Solsona and Marcos, Ilocos Norte.