PFA Pasir Puteh, Simunjan will fully operational by 2020

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 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 RM86million 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 produce 500,000 porkers a year, providing a total turnover of RM500 million in contribution to the state.

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 3) 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 occurance of diseases such as Japanese Encephalitis (JE).

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/03/25/pasir-puteh-pfa-to-house-all-pig-farms-in-kuching-samarahan-by-2020-nreb/#ixzz3VOlkFKN5

Modern abattoir meeting international standard and passed the food safety requirement (HACCP & Veterinary Health Mark certification).

Modern closed house system to ensure high productivity and Good Animal Husbandry Practice  (GAHP)

Cattle integration with oil palm

Cattle integration with oil palm project owned by SALCRA, Mongkos.

Indigenous Pig in Lundu, Sarawak

Local pig project at Kpg Sebat Dayak, Lundu. Current population is more than 100 heads in an area of 6 acres . More than 65 heads sold every year at RM12 per kg. The average weight is 40 kg per head.  

Farmers Union in PFA

Construction of multification unit by Farmers Union started in 20 February 2014.

Meat Inspection in Pig Abattoir

Meat inspection in a Pig Abattoir.

Pig blood samples taken

KEPALA BATAS: Blood samples of pigs were taken in Kampung Selamat to determine whether the latest Japanese Encephalitis case was caused by those animals in the village.

State Veterinary Department director Dr Johari Abu Bakar said 40 officers were sent to 19 pig farms located within a 1.5km radius of SK Kampung Selamat to collect blood samples.

“A total of 190 samples were taken and sent to the department’s laboratory in Bukit Tengah and Ipoh. The results are expected to be known on Friday.

“For the time being, our department will closely monitor the Kampung Selamat pig farms, which have more than 10,000 such animals,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Year Six pupil Muhammad Ammar Muqrish Zulkifli from SK Kampung Selamat in Tasek Gelugor, Butterworth, was believed to have contracted JE while on a camp programme organised by the school at its premises in April.

Pig farmer Teoh Chiew Seong, 72, said there should be no finger-pointing before the blood test results are out so that any public anxiety can be avoided.

“No one can confirm whether the disease originated from the pigs here (Kampung Selamat). Pigs are not the only animals which carry the JE virus. It can also be from birds or even cows or goats (through its vector, the Culex mosquito).

“However, pig farmers here are willing to cooperate with the authorities by allowing them to collect blood samples from the pigs for test,” he said, adding that there were about 700 families staying in Kampung Selamat, of which 80 were involved in pig farming activities.

Doctors said Muhammad Ammar was out of danger but the disease had damaged his brain.

Consultant neurologist Dr Wong Yee Choo said that the boy suffered permanent oral disability, was unable to talk or walk and in a semi-conscious state.

“His fever is under control but the infection has damaged his brain and he suffers from occasional seizures.

“He will have to undergo rehabilitation. Even then, he may never fully recover,” he said when met at Pantai Hospital in Bayan Baru.

Muhammad Ammar’s mother Haniza Ayob, 40, who is a factory worker, said she had accepted that her son would need constant care.

“My eldest child can open his eyes and move his hands but he is unable to say anything to us.

“My husband works as a factory supervisor. We are at our wit’s end as we have already spent RM87,000 for his treatment.

“I do not know how we are going to come up with more money,” she said at the hospital.

They have four other children.

State Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said the state government would see what it could do to provide financial help to the family.

On the pig farms being the possible cause of JE, he said he would work with the local council and state health department to conduct tests before deciding on the next course of action.The Star

S’pore keen to import pork from Simunjan

KUCHING: Singapore is keen to import pork from the centralised pig farming area in Pasir Puteh, Simunjan.

Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) controller Peter Sawal said an official delegation from Singapore inspected the centralised farm in February, conducting assessment and auditing for certification purposes.

“Singapore is keen to make the centralised farming area in Simunjan as its main producer and supplier of pork.

“The interest from Singapore is a great encouragement for the local farmers to breed pigs and produce pork there, not just for local consumption but also for the international market,” he told The Borneo Post.

Peter said Singapore is keen to import pork from the region as it is free Foot amd Mouth Disease (FMD)

He said piglets for rearing would also be produced at the centralised farm, adding that the brood stock was imported from Europe. Peter said the 2,000-acre farm, which is about 120km from here, costs RM163 million and is currently the biggest such facility in Sarawak.

It is equipped with a biogas waste treatment plant, which if fully operational would be able to produce between three and five megawatts of methane-powered electricity. The whole farming area could accommodate a standing pig population of 250,000.

“Pigs are high waste producers. One pig produces about five times more excrement than a human being does. So the biogas may be sufficient for internal use,” he said. The establishment of the centralised pig farming area is for the purpose of relocating existing pig farms in Kuching and Samarahan divisions for better control of environmental pollution associated with the industry.

It is a fully integrated complex covering the entire value-chain and is designed for zero waste discharge aside from eliminating unpleasant smells.

The facilities and management systems are designed to comply with national and international standards with modern pig farms, feed mills, abattoir and meat processing plants.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/04/16/local-news-coming-soon-booking-minits-16-april-12/#ixzz34K1Av7xE