KUCHING: Sarawak Veterinary Services Department (DVS) targets to train 50 farmers in Sarawak on the technique of artificial insemination (AI).
The first batch comprising ten farmers are being trained pertaining to the use of modern technology starting last month, said DVS director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud.
“We are assisting the state government to increase the ruminant (goat and cattle) livestock through this programme,” he told New Sarawak Tribune after attending Sarawak Agriculture Veteran Association (SAVA) 7th Anniversary Reunion Dinner, at Sarawak Club on Saturday night.
He said currently the state’s self sufficiency level (SSL) for cattle is about 10 per cent, and seven per cent for goats, while the rest were imported.
“Ninety per cent of the beef are imported from Australia and New Zealand, that is why the state government wants to have a SSL of 50 per cent by 2030 so that there will be sufficient of livestock to meet the demand here,” he pointed out.
As for pigs and chicken, Adrian said there is a sufficient supply, where there are about 1,200 live pigs from Sarawak are transported to Singapore every week.
Meanwhile, the director explained that AI technology has been practised by many countries and is considered new in Sarawak.
“AI means the male animal sperm is collected and manually deposited them into the reproductive tract of a female.
“Through this method it is faster to increase birth (rate of pregnancy), and also cheaper than the conventional method,” he pointed out.
He then said for instance in a farm, the farmer only needs to have a male bull, and ten female cows, and just use AI to produce more births.
“Also, if you were to wait for the animal to be ‘in heat’, it will take a long time,” he said.
He added the process of performing the AI on the female animals must be right too or else they would not get pregnant.
