December 7, 2021

Legazpi City, Philippines supplies free piglets to raisers to rebuild hog numbers

The City Veterinary Office (CVO) in Legazpi City, the Philippines, recently distributed free imported piglets to pre-identified raisers to rapidly propagate hogs and help the industry recover from the slump brought by the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

Each recipient was handed at least two imported female piglets that could propagate 10 or more piglets per breeding season.

CVO chief Dr. Emmanuel Estipona and Aldine Miña, president of the Legazpi Livestock and Poultry Raisers Agri Cooperative (LLPRAC), led the initial piglet distribution in Barangay Pawa last month.

Estipona said once fully grown, the pigs would be subjected to artificial insemination to make sure that the offspring would be of first-class quality.

"These will not only augment the income of the hog raisers but will also repopulate rapidly the present scarce livestock in the city and would produce more pork for the consuming public," he said.

The project materialised after the city government allocated ₱1.2 million (US$23,820) for the purchase of at least 200 hybrid piglets, Estipona said.

He added that the piglets would be distributed to LLPRAC members in the 70 barangays of Legazpi City.

After seven months, imported semen would be injected into the full-grown breeder hogs by the Univet Nutrition and Animal Healthcare Company (UNAHCO), the city's partner private group, he noted.

Mina said: "The UNAHCO will bring here imported semen to be used for injection or insemination process to make sure the bloodline of the piglets is all imported hybrid."

He noted that during the production period, the recipient hog raisers would also give two female piglets to CVO, which, in turn, would also be distributed to other hog raisers as part of the tripartite agreement and in order to make the programme sustainable.

Mina said the hog raisers will buy their feeds from the LLPRAC store to avail of discount, and later on sell their meat to the cooperative.

Legazpi City is known for its unique programmes in agriculture through its CVO.

- Philippine News Agency