Corporation gives K50,000 to piggery business in aim to develop livestock

THE Livestock Development Corporation Ltd (LDC), in its effort to invest in developing livestock in the country, has allocated K50,000 to a small holder piggery business in Port Moresby.
LDC managing director Terry Koim said the Bushwara piggery was a smallholder farm which held about 250 pigs and was a potential investment set up to add value to the growth and production of livestock.
He noted that the piggery had been supplying pigs for slaughter to LCD’s abattoir at 12-Mile however it had scaled down due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
The piggery was also the first farm to be recognised by LDC under its 2020 intervention programme to rehabilitate and invest in development of livestock.
An agreement was signed last week between owner Dr Merewa Degemba, Koim and Department of Agriculture secretary Daniel Kombuk which saw LDC allocate K50,000 to rehabilitate the piggery.
Koim said LDC had been given K1 million under the Government intervention programme for small livestock development and this was the first small holder business that LDC had identified and assisted.
He said under the agreement, the piggery was required to resume supplying up to 10 pigs weekly starting February.
Koim said the number could increase once production was into an advanced stage.
“With kill fees at K100 per pig, Bushwara piggery will be charged about K200, the extra K100 will go toward recouping some of the monies LDC had assisted the piggery with; this money will again go toward investing in other similar projects.”
Koim noted that LDC had already assisted major piggeries including Boroma piggery in Port Moresby and it believed that a small holder business had a great potential to grow and be a major contributor to development of livestock.
Dr Degemba, in acknowledging LDC, stated this was an overwhelming gesture that would see such small businesses grow in a small space of time adding that with the intervention programme comes great promise of growth and development in small holder businesses.
He said that the money would go towards three main rehabilitation points of the piggery including its waste management section.
Dr Degemba said he had agreed to the terms and conditions under the agreement and looked forward to working closely with LDC.
Koim said the assistance was also a trial support under the intervention programme and there was space for an increase in funding assistance depending on the outcomes.
Meanwhile, Koim appealed to pig farmers who needed assistance to contact LDC for possible assistance.
He encouraged farmers to come forward although any support would be based on terms and conditions.