Kapuk pig farms to move to W. Java

JAKARTA (JP): The City Administration has decided to move the pig farm complex in Kapuk, West Jakarta, to a more appropriate location.

The head of the City Animal Husbandry Office, Sumitro, said recently that the new location would be in Bekasi or Tangerang, West Java.

According to Sumitro, the 18.7 hectares of farm land in Kapuk belong to 60 farmers who breed a total of 40,000 pigs. "The rapid growth of residential houses surrounding the farm has forced the administration to seek a more appropriate location."

The plan to remove the 18-year-old pig farm is based on the gubernatorial decree no. 582 issued last year, which says that farmers must give up any of their land that has been allotted for residential and industrial sites by 1997.

Recently, the Association of Pig Farmers asked the City Administration to extend the relocation deadline until 1999, saying that it is not that easy to find a suitable site for a pig farm.

Kapuk is the only pig farming area in the city, which currently provides ten percent of the city's daily need of 750 pigs. (32)