Noting that there was huge demand of pork in the North East region, the North East Progressive Pig Farmers’ Association (NEPPFA) advisor & National Animal Disease Control Programme, Assam, consultant, Bhagat Lal Datta called for increase in pig farming the region. The advisor said this at the one day awareness camp on piggery organised by NEPPFA at Veterinary Hospital, Kohima on Saturday.
He said a total of 1 lakh Kg of pork was on demand in the region on a daily basis which indicates that there was a high need for the region to be self-sufficient as most of the pork requirements were procured from other States.
Datta said proper investment in this area would help the economy of Nagaland to become self-sufficient and cater to the daily needs of the essential food product.
In a power point presentation, Datta also highlighted the various special livestock sector packages that were provided by the government which included: Development programmes like Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), National Livestock Mission (NLM), Livestock Census and Integrated Sample Survey (LC&ISS).
Infrastructure development funds such as, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) plus Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), Support to Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (SDCFPO).
Livestock Health & Disease Control Programme like National Animal Disease Control Programme for FMD & Brucellos (NADCP) and Livestock Health & Disease Control (LH&DC) scheme.
Datta also pointed out that the plans and vision of NEPPFA was to work towards making North East India a piggery hub and to make quality pork available to consumers.
Some of its goals included enhance pork production, to re-position pork through quality assurance and value addition, protect farmers from the devastations caused by diseases, epidemics and disasters, become part of government policy making and work towards positioning NE pigs as a global brand.
Datta added that NEPPFA envisions to start a pig revolution in the region to help the economic growth and food sustainability of the region.
Earlier in a brief remark, Veterinary Hospital, Kohima, surgeon, Dr. Elizabeth Yhome said rearing of pig had been an integral part of Naga household from time immemorial however, pork production in the State still remained critically and could hardly meet 50 percent of the State’s requirements.
Due to this, Nagaland imports from other States like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Manipur to meet the demand thus resulting in huge revenue loss to the State, she said.
On that note, she said it was a huge potential for the people to invest in this sector.
She disclosed that the department had introduced exotic breeds such as Hampshire from UK for producing pedigree stock for distribution to interested breeders for upgradation of our present stock.
She pointed out that Nagaland had a comfortable climatic condition suitable for pig rearing and at the same time there was high demand for pork meat which was an added bonus for pig farmers.
Dr. Yhome also highlighted key measures which could help in piggery including rearing good breed, proper feed, management and health care.
This would result in getting more demand for pork, be able to provide hygienic and quality meat, help generate income for the State and also provide employment opportunities for the people.
She pointed out some of the ground works which were needed to be looked into for more productivity such as conducting pre-investment feasibility study on prospects of the unit problems, develop a model/vision for developing pig farming in the State.
Others included locating the market channels, pricing policy, transportation system and marketing problems, statically find out the present internal production, present and future demand.
She said various action plans would need the active participation of farmers at the rural level, intermediary service providers at block level, civil society and agencies at the district level and nodal officers, state department, banks and pharmaceutical companies at the State level.
Other NEPPFA members during the camp included, vice president-Mrinal Borah, general secretary- Timirbijoy Srikumar, farmer welfare secretary-Binanda Boro and membership secretary, Niepukhrielhou Kense.
The camp was attended by around 60 participants from all across the State, who were also handed out participation certificates and feed samples.