Cebu town tests comm’l breeding of native swine

MANILA, Philippines - The Conservation and Development Specialists Foundation Inc. (CDSFI) entered into a memorandum of understanding with the municipality of Tuburan, Cebu and Cebu Technological University (CTU) Tuburan campus to commercialize native swine and show its socio-economic potential and marketability in the municipality.

Funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) under its National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP), the project covers the transfer of the feeding and housing strategies to project cooperators including initial stocks of native swine.

The BAR-CDSFI team visited the Ubay Stock Farm in Bohol to seek assistance in the procurement of native pig stocks to be brought to the technology demonstration facility to be set-up at the CTU Tuburan Campus.

The Ubay Stock Farm committed to assist in the procurement of the initial stock for the technology demonstration as they have farmer cooperators who are dispersal recipients and are now into native pig production. 

A seminar on native pig production was also facilitated by CDSFI with the assistance from the LGU.

During a visit at the proposed site for the technology demonstration, BAI-NSPRDC Center chief Rene C. Santiago provided some suggestions on the location of the housing and range area for the native pigs.  He also initiated the planting of cuttings of Trichanthera, a forage crop that can be fed to native pigs, at the demonstration site.

Under the MOU, CTU-Tuburan will be responsible for the maintenance of the breeder stocks (feeds and drugs/medicines) and forage crops (Madre de agua/Tricanthera). 

On the other hand, LGU Tuburan will conduct monitoring activities to determine the performance of the technology demonstration facility in CTU-Tuburan.  

It will also be tasked with providing a shortlist of possible project cooperators and in coordinating future dispersal and facilitating distribution of repayment stocks to selected project cooperators. 

The BAR has funded four completed projects and is working on a total of eight projects on native pig production and processing including value chain analysis implemented in collaboration with other R&D and private institutions in the country.

Native pig is one of the priority commodities under the bureau’s R&D programs for  2011 to 2016.