MELAKA: Operators of pig farms in Paya Mengkuang, Kuala Sungai Baru, Kuala Sungai Baru, must comply with two strict conditions if they wish to resume operations.

State Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Committee chairman Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said the main condition was that pig farming activities be conducted under a closed-house system instead of the conventional method used previously.

He said another condition was that any pigs brought in from outside Melaka must first obtain approval from the State Veterinary Services Department to ensure the animals were free from disease.

“If the farmers can comply with the conditions set, the state government has no objection to allowing their farms to resume operations.

“We have held a meeting with pig farmers in the area and they are aware of the conditions that have been set,” he told a press conference outside the Melaka State Legislative Assembly today.

Elaborating, Dr Muhamad Akmal said he had not received any applications from existing farmers for the construction of farms with a closed-house system, which was required to resume operations.

In January 2022, the media reported that the Melaka government had agreed to gazette 35 pig farms in Paya Mengkuang as African Swine Fever (ASF) disease outbreak and control areas.

The gazetting was to control the spread of ASF but no specific timeframe had been set.