At China's largest eco-friendly pig-raising farm, there is no smell and no pig manure underfoot. The 200 million yuan facility in Fengxian county, Jiangsu province, has more than 6,000 organically bred pigs.

In contrast to traditional pig farms, this farm is much tidier, thanks to newly developed technology, which can compost pig manure. In the pigpen there is a bed of micro-organisms, straw, manure and rice hulls which composts wastes without leaving behind any foul smell.

The owner of this eco pig farm, Nanjing-based Fu Teng Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Company, said it intends to build a nationwide network of pig farms to raise 1.8 million pigs within the next five years. The company currently has another two eco pig farms under construction in two counties in Nanjing.

"Pigs raised in this way are much tastier because they are cleaner, and are organically bred," said Meng Xianjun of the company's sales and marketing department. He added that these pig farms are also more productive than conventional types.

As thousands of smaller pig farms are shut down by environmental pollution reduction measures, companies like Fu Teng are promoting what they see as the future of pig farming in China.

Liu Guoze, director of the Wuxi bureau of agriculture and forestry animal husbandry department, said centralized and eco-friendly pig farms have enormous market potential in the future development of the industry.

Aside from the environmental benefits, eco pig farms are also cost efficient. Fu Teng finds that it can save 75 to 90 percent of water consumption and 30 to 50 percent of labor power, compared to a conventional pig farm.

Fu Teng has also worked with local farmers to teach them how to breed pigs ecologically. "They find it very rewarding, since it saves labor, and breeds better pigs, " said Meng.

"Over the next few years, we will expand and promote this eco technology around the country," he added.

(China Daily September 3, 2008)