China will no longer require small pig farms to get environmental approval from the government before breeding pigs as the country seeks to rebuild its hog herd following a devastating outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) which decimated the country’s herd, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.
The move will reduce costs and red tape for small farmers and comes as China tries to lure them back into pig production, according to a report from Reuters.
“For pig breeding projects with annual output of less than 5,000 pigs, the environmental impact registration form shall be filed online, without requiring environmental impact assessment approval,” the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
The agriculture ministry has warned that China’s hog production recovery still faces uncertainties and that the risk from the African swine fever outbreak remains “relatively great”, which has caused small farmers to be hesitant to rebuild their stocks.
