BALINGIAN, Feb 16: Modern pig farming industry can become a big business for Sarawak that would benefit local landowners, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
He revealed that last year, Sarawak exported over RM80 million worth of pig and pork products to Singapore.
“Sarawak are exporting 1,200 live pigs every week to Singapore and the demand is increasing.
“The industry still has more room to grow and we are looking at a few more areas for new developments,” he said during an agriculture outreach programme at Rh Gansau Antas, Sungai Arip, here yesterday.
Uggah, who is also Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Minister, added that the state’s first modern pig farm, on a 804 hectare site in Pasir Putih in Simunjan, has a population of over 50,000 pigs.
He said Sarawak is still free of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and also the African Swine Fever, which have affected many countries in Asia.
“This is our big advantage and we still have plenty of land,” he said, adding that developments will be done by the private investors in collaboration with established pig farm companies.
He said two new farms have been proposed in Kelawit (500 hectares) and Samarakan (1,000 hectares) in Bintulu.
Uggah assured that the modern farms will not pollute the environment or affect the health and well being of the operators because any farm discharge will be properly managed.
“There will be other strict protocols to follow and it will create job and business opportunities,” he continued.
At the same time, Uggah said there was a shortage of piglets to distribute to longhouse folks who had applied to the Agriculture Department to do their own rearing.
“We want to train some locals in artificial insemination to overcome this issue,” he said. — DayakDaily
