EFFICIENCY OF ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION IN PIGS AT GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE BREEDING FARMS IN BHUTAN

Abstract

The study assessed the conception rate of Artificial Insemination (AI) and other reproductive parameters in government and private pig breeding farms. The study also evaluated the performance efficiency of the AI services in both government and private pig breeding farms. In private pig breeding farms, the beneficiaries under Contract Piglet Breeding (CPB) farms and Big-Ticket Initiatives (BTI) were included. The breeding unit of National Piggery Research and Development Centre (NPiRDC) was the lone government breeding farm in the study. The fresh semen collected and processed/extended from the semen processing laboratory at NPiRDC was used for AI. A total of 87 numbers; (government farm = 48, private pig breeding farms = 39) of female pigs were inseminated with extended fresh semen (3 × 10⁹ motile sperm/dose in 100 ml semen collection tube) at 12, 24 and 36 hours after the onset of standing heat. The data were subjected to descriptive analysis and differences among the variables were measured using independent t-test. The study found that the conception rate in the government breeding farm (81.25%) was much better compared to private pig breeding farms (71.79%). Among the pigs impregnated with AI, there was no significant difference in terms of farrowing rate, litter size and stillbirth between government and private breeding farms. The study concludes that AI service in pig breeding is an efficient technology and can be widely adopted to boost pork production in the country.