July 15, 2008

 

PIC goes out of its way to send pig breeding stock to Angola

 
 

PIC South Africa has successfully sent pig breeding stocks to a village in Angola after tackling transport hurdles and seemingly impassable red tape.

 

The company was earlier chosen to provide quality pig breeding stock to the OFEK Aldeia Nova project, an initiative of the Angolan government aimed at producing foodstuff and creating employment opportunities.  

 
The project, covering an estimated 8,000 hectares, was initiated in 2003 in the Waco Kungo district, in the central Kwanza Sul Province. Aldeia Nova is self sufficient in their grain needs, and has their own feed mill, hatchery, dairy factory and abattoir.

 

About 600 family farms were involved raising livestock and planting cash crops such as vegetables.

 

The project was run by Agricultiva, a subsidiary of SLB Holdings a Cyprus based company.

 
SLB Holdings then contacted the South African Pork Producers Organisation (SAPPO) in 2004, to search for a suitable world class pig genetics from South Africa to stock their planned pig project.

 

PIC was finally chosen as the provider of choice. However, the stocking of the project was then postponed until 2007 because of the PRRS outbreak in the Western Cape. 

 

Later, breeding stock had to be flown in due to transport problems and massive red tape.

 

The pig producing village at Aldeia Nova consists of 84 families of which 80 operate as pig farmers.

 

Agricultiva now operates in close collaboration with PIC South Africa, who provides them with technical assistance on how to develop their gilts into successful breeding females as well as all other aspects of pig production.

 

The companies are also planning an in-house AI Station providing for both damline and terminal sires at Aldeia Nova to provide them with all their semen needs.

 

PIC South Africa said the success of this endeavour has encouraged the company to provide more quality breeding stock into developing Africa.

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