From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Northeast Progressive Pig Farmers’ Association (NEPPFA) is eyeing more than three-fold increase in annual pork production in the region from the 1.16 lakh metric tonnes in 2018 to 4 lakh metric ton by 2025.
“We are not self sufficient in pork production. It’s time to organise ourselves and change the scenario, which can be an economic game-changer for the entire region,” Manoj Kumar Basumatary, founding president of NEPPFA, said on Monday.
According to the 19th Livestock Census conducted in 2012, pig population in the Northeast is 6.5 million whereas the figure for the entire country stands at 10.3 million.
“NEPPFA has set a goal to create an eco-system for commercial piggery and position commercial piggery as a sustainable and profitable means of employment generation,” Basumatary said.
The pig population of Northeast is 65 lakh which is 63 per cent of the total population. Assam with 16.3 lakh has the highest pig population followed by Uttar Pradesh with 13.3 lakh, Jharkhand with 9.6 lakh, Bihar and West Bengal with 6.5 lakh each.
India produced 4,64,000 metric tonnes of pork meat in 2014-15. Of this, 30 per cent is contributed by Uttar Pradesh and 25 per cent by Northeastern region.
“With a 63 per cent pig population of the country we are producing only 25 per cent which means that the average
weight of the animals during culling is much lighter in the Northeast,” Basumatary said.
Northeast consumes around three lakh metric tonnes of pork meat annually against a production of 1.16 lakh metric tonnes.
More than 60 per cent of meat consumed in Northeast comes from outside the region.
NEPPFA was formed on April 22 this year in a bid to organise the piggery sector and create a piggery hub in Northeast through promotion of commercial piggery. The association’s vision is to establish pork produced in Northeast India as a global brand. Further, it has a two-pronged mission of making the region a hub of piggery and make quality pork available to consumers.
Of late, the association has been organising programmes to create awareness and give prospective pig farmers a bird’s eye view of commercial piggery, which according to many is a high potential sector here. In this connection, a daylong awareness programme on commercial piggery was organised at LOKD College at Dhekiajuli on Sunday.
Other goals of the association include positioning pork as the preferred source of protein among local communities, protection of farmers from devastation caused by epidemics, diseases and disasters and becoming part of government policy formulation for the sector.
“To achieve these goals, NEPPFA will make good breeds of pigs available to farmers, work with government to provide feeds at subsidised rates, educate farmers about best practices and impress upon the government to make veterinary care and vaccines easily available,” he added.