National Taiwan University (NTU) researchers are working on a project to improve hog farming efficiency, hoping to help farmers eradicate odor pollution, the team said yesterday.
The nation’s hog farming industry generates annual revenues of at least NT$70 billion (US$2.49 billion) and the quality of local pork is widely considered good, Stone Ding (丁詩同), a professor in NTU’s Department of Animal Science and Technology, told a news conference in Taipei.
However, environmental pollution remains a major concern, he said.
Photo: CNA
To promote the application of technology in farming, the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2018 launched a program with NT$2 billion in funding over four years, said Ding, a former deputy executive secretary of Executive Yuan’s Board of Science and Technology.
As part of the project, the team of nine professors is seeking to help farmers reduce waste and pollution, Ding said.
Microbiological research, and information and communications technology tools play key roles in solving the problems, he said.
To make pig excrement less smelly, the team added cinnamaldehyde, an organic compound that gives cinnamon its smell, and essential oils to pig feed, and found that the additives improved the animals’ digestion and minimized the production of ammonia, a byproduct of their protein metabolism, Ding said.
The researchers also developed precision microbial agents as feed supplements, which were found to accelerate the animals’ growth, while reducing bad gut microbiota, such as Clostridium perfringens, he said.
It usually takes six months for a pig to grow to 110kg or 120kg, when it is sent to the slaughterhouse, said Chen Ming-ju (陳明汝), another professor at the department.
Pigs fed with the microbial agents grew to that weight two weeks faster than expected, she said.
Saving farmers two weeks of pork feed, the additives would help them farm more efficiently, Chen said.
The team also developed a system, featuring mobile sensors and cameras to be installed in pig pens, to collect data on carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which cause foul smell, as well as data on airborne particulate matter, temperature and humidity.
With the image recognition tools, farmers can remotely monitor the pigs’ movements around the clock, estimate their growth and adjust their feed supply when necessary, he said.
The team also developed smart wastewater disposal and methane desulfuration systems equipped with remote monitoring tools, he said.
These tools can also reduce human interference where transmissions of disease might occur, Ding said.
The techniques have been tested at three farms with nearly 3,000 pigs in total, Ding said, hoping to promote the tools to more farms nationwide.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by