China’s Small Farmers Pose Huge Challenge in Swine Fever Battle

A farmer feeds pigs at a backyard farm on the outskirts of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, China, on September 5, 2018. Hallie Gu/Reuters

HARBIN, China—Even after 14 outbreaks of African swine fever across China in just over a month, pig farmer Wang Wu does not believe the threat to his livelihood is real.

“I heard about the African swine fever thing. But then people said it was just rumor. It was fake news,” said Wang, who raises about 60 pigs in a village near Harbin, capital of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang Province.