US Embassy funds piggery demonstration site in Pohnpei
U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia Doria Rosen participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new U.S.-funded dry litter piggery at the College of Micronesia National Campus on Monday, Nov. 19. The piggery will serve as a demonstration site to assist farmers with learning new methods for decreasing adverse environmental impacts caused by raising pigs.
USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Services estimates that there are over 3,000 piggeries on Pohnpei. The impact of these piggeries can be found in local streams and rivers after farmers wash the daily pig waste into nearby water sources, making the rivers unsafe for swimming. E. coli, cholera, and leptospirosis are serious illnesses that may be caused by swimming in water contaminated by pig waste.
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Dry litter piggeries use wood chips to line the floors of the piggeries. The waste materials are then composted, producing high temperatures, which destroy leptospirosis and other harmful bacteria. The finished compost can then be put on crops, as a safe and sustainable fertilizer.
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