WALAILAK KEERATIPIPATPONG
From low-tech herb-based feeds to
high-tech screening, Thai pork producers have been working
hard to overcome longstanding problems of poor quality meat.
Sampran Farm is among the operations that
have succeeded with the traditional approach. It mixes
herbal plants such as turmeric, fah thalai jone (andrographis
paniculata), guava leaves, and cat's whisker in the meal for
pigs at different ages.
The company believes in applying local
wisdom by using herbal plants to strengthen animal health
instead of dosing them with antibiotics that would release
hazardous residues and raise concerns among consumers over
hygiene.
"We've tried natural-bred farming for a
few years and the result is good. Our pigs are healthy and
provide better quality meat with less smell," said Subin
Treeranuwat, director of Sampran Farm Co.
The herbal approach was the result of a
lot of hard work and experimenting by farm staff and
veterinarians in an attempt to avoid the use of antibiotics.
For example, guava leaves are put in the
feed for piglets to prevent indigestion. Wild mustard and
fah thalai jone are added for bigger pigs weighing between
30 and 70 kilogrammes to strengthen their lungs and livers,
and turmeric fed to adult pics of 70-100 kg can promote
healthiness and tender and juicy meat.
Sampran Farm also breeds pigs on a
free-range farm, which is rare in local farming practice.
About 6,000 pigs at its 100-rai farm in Kao Sadet in
Ratchaburi are allowed to roam around, with shady areas and
ponds to help them keep cool."This lessens stress at the
farm and before slaughtering, which meets requirements of
the international Animal Welfare rules," Mr Subin said.
Free-range farms are rare, and big
raisers have opted for closed-farm systems for better
disease control.
Diseases such as dysentery, babesiosis
and pseudorabies have hurt the Thai swine industry,
prompting the use of antibiotics but causing worry among
foreign and local buyers over sanitation.
Some producers apply advanced and costly
technologies to prevent pigs from contracting diseases at an
early stage. Betagro Group, the country's largest pork
producer, applies a specific-pathogen-free system (SPF)
system to keep parent breeders free of major diseases. This
involved raising them on a site in Prachinburi where no
other pig farms are found for many kilometres, reducing the
risk of diseases spreading. The disease-free breeding cuts
the need for antibiotics.
Betagro has invested over one billion
baht over the past five years for SPF pork including 270
million-baht in its abattoir, 400 million for its processing
plant, and the latest investment, a 190-million-baht
pedigreed pig farm. The company produces 1,500-1,700 pigs
daily to supply its food business and exports.
Kriengmas Punchai, senior vice-president
of swine integration, said while the market for
higher-quality meat is rising, the volume remains small
compared with meat from traditional farms.
Thailand produces 16 million pigs a year,
over 90% from traditional farms.
