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Public update

Mizoram Lost Rs 960 Crore in Pig Farming to One Disease. The Government Compensated 1.6% of That and Announced the Rest Would Be Covered If Surviving Farmers Pay the Premiums.

23 February 2026 - Mizoram

Record date
23 Feb 2026
Location
Mizoram
The odd part

African Swine Fever killed 71,912 pigs across Mizoram since 2021, wiping out Rs 960 crore in livelihoods for 8,966 farming families. By February 2026, the government had disbursed Rs 15.59 crore — about 1.6 cents on the rupee — and resolved the shortfall by launching an insurance scheme that requires surviving pig owners to pay 15% of premiums on their remaining pigs.

What happened

Since March 2021, African Swine Fever has killed 71,912 pigs in Mizoram, devastating 8,966 pig-farming families and erasing an estimated Rs 960 crore in livelihoods — roughly Rs 10.7 lakh per affected household. By February 23, 2026, the total state compensation disbursed stood at Rs 15.59 crore: a figure equal to 1.6% of verified losses, or approximately the price of a mid-size government conference centre inauguration. The official government response to this gap was a new Animal Insurance Scheme, launched in February 2026, under which the state subsidises 85% of future insurance premiums and farmers pay the remaining 15%. The scheme does not cover pigs that are already dead. Mizoram's government has characterised this as a comprehensive recovery programme for the pig-farming sector.

Source material