Dimapur: The Nagaland government's move to import pigs to the state from Punjab has not gone down well with the stakeholders in the state.

Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO), the state animal husbandry and veterinary services department and the Pig Farmers Association of Nagaland have opposed the government's move to import pigs worth Rs 200 crore annually from Punjab to the state.

The CPO asked the state government what prompted it to decide to import pigs when they could be produced locally.

It also sought to know whether the state's climate was not viable for pig farming or was there any shortage of local entrepreneurs or was pig farming outside the purview of state's animal husbandry and veterinary services department.

In a press communiqué on Tuesday, CPO president Kekhwengulo Lea and general secretary Mutsivoyi Kotso asked the government to constitute a high-level committee to study the impact of livestock import on local economy, besides examining setting up of an amalgamated society for improvement of livestock rearing and marketing in a time-bound mission mode programme.

The CPO reminded the government that it had imposed a ban on import of pigs in the Chakhesang jurisdiction for commercial purposes since 2000, except for rearing, that too below 30kg with certification from the animal husbandry and veterinary department. This has encouraged the farmers to rear pigs and lifted their economy besides preventing epidemics, the CPO stated.

The organisation suggested that the state government constitute a high-level committee to study the impact of livestock imports on the economy and examine constitution of an amalgamated society for improvement of livestock rearing and marketing in a time-bound mission mode programme.

According to reports, director of animal husbandry and veterinary services Aomangyang Walling expressed surprise over the reported move by the department of underdeveloped areas to import around 8,000 pigs per month to the state from Punjab.

The reports quoted Walling as saying that the department of underdeveloped areas is initiating the move without even consulting the AH&VS department, which only has the authority to initiate import of meat products into the state.

According to him, the move is against the Pig Breeding Policy of the state. Under the new policy, he said, the AH&VS department has been working hard to make Nagaland a self-sufficient state in meat products by initiating various measures.