• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.347-360
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• 1993

The project was undertaken to provide information on the present system of traditional pig farming in the South Pacific region, to identify the problems currently limiting productivity of such pigs and to offer practical strategies which could be used for increasing productivity of the animals. The problems were identified by surveying some 220 subsistence pig farms in eleven island countries in the South Pacific region using a prepared questionnaire. The units were found to be generally small, consisting of about 2-4 sows per herd. The productivity of the units as assessed in terms of sow reproductive efficiency was rather low, being only about 7.5. Feed, housing, breeding, disease, marketing, lack of capital, technical know-how and existing social traditions were identified as current constraints. Based on three of the most limiting factors identified namely feed, housing and breeding, strategies for improvement were developed on the basis of better and more effective use of locally available feed resources, better housing and genetic improvement through crossbreeding programmes. These improvement strategies were tested as a package model on some ten farms in two of the island countries. The results of these on-farm trials indicated that using the improvement strategies increased sow reproductive efficiency by approximately 60 percent, to nearly 12. The significance of these findings in the overall management of traditionally raised pigs in the South Pacific region is discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.401-412
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• 2000

Like other livestock, monogastric animals are essential components of the farming systems in the tropical countries. Pigs, chicken and ducks are by far the most important animals in the culture of the peoples of developing countries in the tropics. Traditionally these animals are raised in small farms and they are also the bulk producers of meat, eggs etc. in the tropics. In many countries the farmers of these small farms are unable to meet the requirement set by financial institution and other loan giving agencies for agricultural loan. Thus, the small farmers can get neither the opportunity to generate sufficient income to support the family nor to extend the livestock activities. The production systems are characterized by small number of animals with no or minimal inputs, low outputs and periodic destruction of animals by disease. Typically the litter size or flocks are small in number with each household containing 5-6 pigs and 7-10 poultry. Animals are owned by individual households and mostly maintained under a scavenging systems with little or no inputs for housing, feeding or health care. Because of the nature of this production system, productivity of these animals is rather low. The low level of inputs is due to a lack of capital and a low risk oriented outlook. The feed resource base for monogastric is scavenging and consists of household waste, roots and tuber, grain by-products and anything edible found in the immediate environment. Usually farmers select breeding gilts from their own female piglets or to a lesser extent, buy them from neighbors for natural mating. As regards poultry attempts have been made to increase egg and meat production by improving local poultry birds by upgrading and crossbreeding with exotic germ plasma in the tropics. Animal disease present a major constraint to animal production in the tropical region and the extent of the losses due to disease is very high.