KOHIMA — In an effort to promote pig farming, the Indian Council of Agriculture under All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on pigs, conducted a one-day on-campus a hands-on awareness programme on pig farming at School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS), Medziphema campus, on Saturday.
An update from the organisers informed that Dr. Joshua Kath, who was the resource person, highlighted on the common diseases of pigs prevalent in the Northeast region with focus on Nagaland. He has urged to adopt preventive measures to prevent occurrence of epidemic in the state.
Report stated that increasing outbreak of animal diseases such as diamond skin disease, swine fever, African swine fever and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome were highlighted during the programme.
He expressed concern that despite a substantial number of livestock being contaminated and infected, mass culling was not consistently practiced, leading to further contamination.
It stated that Dr. Kath has stressed on the importance of segregating infected pigs, ensuring the proper disposal of carcasses and enforcing strict biosecurity protocols on farms as critical steps to curb disease resurgence.
Another resource person, Dr. V. Rutsa has delved into the economics of pig production in the Northeastern region (NER). He enlightened the participants about the various government schemes available to farmers in the NER and the massive potential for piggery in the region.
He informed that the NER’s demand for pig products stands at 1232.27 metric tonnes amounting to INR 36.968 crore, while the availability was only 80.75 thousand metric tonnes amounting to INR 2,250 crore.
The training featured hands-on sessions covering various aspects of scientific pig farming including housing management, nutrition management, disease management, biosecurity, and waste management.
Earlier, the welcome address was delivered by Dr. M Catherine, training in-charge of ICAR-AICRP on Pig, while Dr. Nizamuddin, head of department, also delivered short speech.
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