BUTTERWORTH – Pig breeders in Penang are urged to implement the modern, closed system for pig breeding and not channel sewage waste directly into the drainage system.
State Agrotechnology, Food Safety, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Norlela Ariffin said from next month, the Penang Veterinary Services Department will issue licences for livestock breeding. Farm activities without these licences will be subjected to compounds not exceeding RM15,000.
“In addition, all pig farms must be upgraded to the modern pig breeding system by December 31, next year, before the modern pig breeding system enforcement begins on January 1, 2022. If they still have no licence and permission from the local authority, their farms can be demolished.
“The department has received licence applications for 126 farms from March 1 to October 7. However, an extension was given to pig farmers and applications were accepted until November 27. All applications must have permission to plan and contain relevant documents, such as land grants and pig farm building plans,” she said, adding that in Penang, there are 166 pig farms in operation.
Norlela said inspections found that 11 farms have been completely upgraded to the closed system, 57 farms are in the process of upgrading, and 58 farms yet to be upgraded.
She said the department also found that pig farming in the state did not comply with the prescribed capacity of pigs, namely 1,750 pigs per hectare or 700 pigs per hectare (depending on the size of the pig), and a sewage pool capacity of 40L for each pig in a day.
“Revenue from the sales of pigs in Penang reaches RM268 million a year. Farmers should be able to buy liquid-solid separator machines that cost between RM10,000 and RM15,000 to manage sewage waste so as not to pollute rivers, the sea and crops.
"We are planning to set up a sewage treatment plant and also in the process of finding land to bury pig manure away from settlements and water resources to address the issue of pollutants.” – Bernama, December 16, 2020
