Friday April 1, 2011

Pagoh set to be modern breeding ground for cattle and livestock

By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

MUAR: Pagoh is set to become a major cattle and chicken breeding centre by adopting high-technologies in a move to further boost the nation’s food production. A 200ha site located at Ulu Bakri in the Jorak constituency has been developed and sub-divided among 11 cattle and chicken breeders to expedite the project.

Muar Veterinary Department officer Zamari Mohd Amin said the area where villagers previously released their livestock for grazing several years ago, is now a modern feedlot and breeding premise.

First-hand view: Shahruddin (left) looking at heatlthy cows being bred by Abdul Rahman Juki (right)in a feedlot premise in Ulu Bakri.

Besides cattle, a modern chicken breeding centre with six breeder blocks using high-technological concept and one block for hatchery is also part of the project.The chicken breeding venture, undertaken by Jahasrat Poultry Processing Sdn Bhd from Selangor, aims at hatching and breeding the Kop chicken.

“The company will sell the chickens to local breeders who supply them to KFC outlets in the country,” he said, during a certificate and farm machine presentation to three cattle breeders here. Zamari said Ulu Bakri, along with Kampung Paya Bakul near Pagoh, Kampung Tui near Bukit Kepong and Tulang Gajah near Lenga has been earmarked as cattle breeding areas.

He said these four areas, with land mass totalling more than 850ha, had started to produce goats and cows for breeding as well as slaughtering to meet the nation’s demand for meat.

In appreciation: Shahruddin (right) giving certificates to some of the cattle breeders.

Commenting on the project, Jorak assemblyman Datuk Dr Shahruddin Mohd Salleh said cattle breeding in the four areas were part of the government’s National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project.

He said project was launched several years ago to increase food production in the country which depended most of its meat supply from overseas.

Some 90% of beef and 98% of dairy products, added Dr Sharuddin, were imported from other country, including India and Australia, and the Government wanted to reduce import. He said the cattle and chicken breeding ventures were regarded as high-impact projects to produce food for the country and urged the breeders to be committed in their undertaking.

Dr Shahruddin added that Ulu Bakri, located about three kilometres from Bukit Naning, was not a well-known cattle and chicken producing area until now. The assemblyman also praised the veterinary Department for developing Ulu Bakri, which was once a wasteland, into a modern and productive livestock breeding centre.

“If we can restructure villages where all residents live in one area and join their plots to form big cattle farms or plantations, we can generate greater income for the villagers. “At present many live on small plots with several fruit trees around the house and a few goats or cows and as such they dont make much,” he added.