Principles and Techniques of Veterinary and AH Extension

PIGGERY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

• Piggery development programmes helped the weaker sections of the rural communities. Before the introduction of the five-year plans except for some sporadic import of a few superior quality pigs of exotic breeds by a few missionary organizations, no organized measures were taken to improve pig production in the country. But it is an important activity among the tribal people of north eastern region of the country. This region has about 25 per cent of the pig population of the country. The major difficulty in pig rearing is the shortage of breeding males.
• During the second Five-Year plan, a coordinated pig development programme was launched. Under this programme, schemes were drawn up for establishment of baconfactories, regional pig breeding stations, pig breeding farms / units andpiggery development blocks. The selected blocks for implementation of piggerydevelopment are called the piggery block.
• Each piggery block is linked to adistrict livestock farm for supplying the foundation stock to the pig growers. The beneficiaries were selected from below poverty line groups of Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes. They were given 50 per cent subsidy, free health coverageand 3 to 4 days off campus training.