Lantang Pig Urgently Needs Conservation, Protection of Local Fine Breeds Is a Pressing Task

Lantang Pig: A Local Fine Breed Urgently in Need of Conservation

China's only inbreeding-tolerant local fine breed, priced as high as 8 yuan/jin

The Lantang pig originated in Lantang Town, Zijin County, Heyuan City, and has excellent characteristics such as early maturity and easy fattening, a docile temperament, tolerance of coarse feed, strong adaptability, strong reproductive capacity, thin skin, delicious meat, and a high degree of inbreeding tolerance. It is a local fine breed of China and has been included in the national-level livestock and poultry breed resource protection scope. However, due to changes in market demand in recent years, the number of Lantang pigs has dropped sharply, and the breed is in danger of extinction.

It is understood that the formation of the Lantang pig was due to inconvenient transportation in the mountainous areas and long-term inbreeding, forming a single-line transmission method of "the father passes to the son, the mother dies and the daughter replaces her, passed down from generation to generation." Undesirable genes were gradually eliminated, genetic material homozygosity is high, quality is uniform, and genetic diseases and inbreeding depression do not occur. It is China's only inbreeding-tolerant local fine breed.

A multiparous Lantang sow gives birth to 11-12 piglets per litter and can be used for more than 5 years, and its crossbreeding results are better than those of other breeds. Data show that the first filial generation of a Landrace boar crossed with a Lantang sow has a daily weight gain of 638 grams and a carcass lean meat rate of 39.48%; the first filial generation of a Duroc boar crossed with a Landrace-Lantang sow has a daily weight gain of 622 grams and a carcass lean meat rate of 50.35%.

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Lantang pigs were very popular. At the peak, Zijin County alone had 38,000 sows, producing more than 600,000 piglets annually and selling more than 300,000 piglets outside the province. It was one of the main piglet-producing areas of our province.

However, after entering the 1990s, with the improvement of people's living standards, the meat diet structure changed. In order to adapt to market demand, farmers turned their attention to lean-type pigs. Lantang pigs suffered an unprecedented impact, with out-of-province sales blocked and local sales shrinking. They lost their former glory and gradually faded out of the market. According to a 2003 survey, the number of Lantang sows in Lantang Town was only 1,800, with 4 boars; across Heyuan City there were 15,000, with 30 boars; the vast majority were raised in scattered household farms. If feasible measures are not taken for conservation, the Lantang pig will face extinction.

Fortunately, in recent years, with the improvement of living standards, the problem of food and clothing has basically been solved, and people are gradually moving toward a moderately prosperous life. People are pursuing a higher quality of life and have raised requirements for high-quality, safe and hygienic meat. Some consumer groups, especially citizens who have lived in large and medium-sized cities for a long time, have once again taken a favorable view of Lantang pigs. Against this background, Heyuan Sanyou Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Group Co., Ltd. proposed to develop and utilize Lantang pigs on the basis of conservation, and to develop production through a "company + farmers" model to meet consumer demand at different levels.

According to You Zhibing, office director of Sanyou Company, the company is the only local conservation enterprise, and currently has more than 300 conservation sows on hand. Director You introduced that the company focuses on conservation and provides piglets to farmers free of charge, then buys them back after they are raised. According to reports, the current price of Lantang market pigs is about 8 yuan/jin, and the pork price on the market is also 12-13 yuan/jin, much higher than lean-type pigs, so it can still attract quite a few farmers.

In 2003, the Heyuan Municipal Agriculture Bureau adopted a method combining socialized conservation and base-based conservation for Lantang pigs, developing and utilizing Lantang pigs on the basis of conservation. In terms of socialized conservation areas, according to the distribution of Lantang pigs, a Lantang pig nature reserve was established in the area of Lantang and Feng'an Towns in Zijin County, raising 500 Lantang sows and 15 boars.

In terms of base-based conservation and utilization, a production line with 50 purebred Lantang sows and 400 Landrace-Lantang crossbred sows was newly built at the Lantang breeding pig farm. On the one hand, purebred selection and breeding were strengthened, purification and rejuvenation were carried out, and through correct and reasonable mating, the original excellent performance of Lantang pigs was stably inherited; on the other hand, taking advantage of the significant heterosis of Lantang pigs, Landrace and Duroc boars were introduced to carry out three-way crossbreeding and produce delicious Duroc-Landrace-Lantang commercial piglets for farmers to raise, with commercial pigs bought back by the breed improvement station @#@136@#@. After the project is put into normal production, the farm can produce 350 Lantang breeding sows and 7,600 Duroc-Landrace-Lantang commercial piglets each year.

However, to maintain the unique quality and flavor of Lantang pigs, they must be fed agricultural products throughout the whole process. If switched to feed, their growth performance and meat quality will change. On the other hand, Lantang pigs have a relatively long raising period and need at least 8 months before they can be marketed, so the cost is relatively high. Therefore, the conservation work for Lantang pigs still faces many difficulties.