KUCHING: All pig farms in Kuching and Samarahan divisions are expected to move to the state-of-the-art Pasir Puteh Pig Farming Area (PFA) near Simunjan by 2020, said Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) controller Peter Sawal.
He said the present anchor farm that had been operating there since 2007 would be joined by four main pig farms that would be moving there soon, as the farmers were constructing the pens and other infrastructure.
“By 2020, all pig farmers from both Kuching-Samarahan divisions are expected to operate from there,” Peter told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
The 804ha Pasir Puteh PFA is implemented in accordance with European Union (EU) standard.
Peter added that that once all the pig farmers had moved to the PFA, rivers and streams which were now badly affected by the discharge from their present farms could slowly be rehabilitated.
Some RM200 million has been spent on the facilities and infrastructure at PFA but another RM200 million is needed to complete the whole project.
When completed, the PFA would be the biggest of its kind in the country and the most advanced in the region. Waste products such as biomass from the farm would be recycled and used for generators for the farm, thus making the farm sustainable.
When fully operational, the farm will be able to process 500,000 porkers a year, providing a total turnover of RM500 million.
The PFA has a capacity of 250,000 standing pig population (SPP) and the abattoir facilities will be able to process up to 1,500 heads of pigs a day.
The abattoir facilities, based on a German technology, consist of a modern slaughter house cum processing plant.
Pasir Puteh PFA is implemented under the National Agriculture Policy (NAP) 1984, which requires pig production to be carried out in designated areas.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Assistant Minister of Public Health Datuk Dr Jerip Susil agreed that all the pig farms in Kuching and Samarahan divisions be relocated to the Pasir Puteh PFA to prevent the outbreak of deadly diseases such as Japanese Encephalitis (JE).