Sibu Tales : African Swine Fever

I often visited my grandmother who lived in Nang Chong or Southern Village where my aunts and uncles grew green skinned oranges, rice and reared chickens, ducks and pigs.

Mum used to tell us about how she helped with the farm work and how she especially loved to rear pigs.

Her work in the pig rearing was mainly to collect the water lettuce to boil with rice left overs and sago husks. In her days, pig food was always hot from the kuali, and not the present scientific food.

She often had to forage for yam leaves in the wild, meeting a snake or two. But she enjoyed seeing her pigs growing fast. She enjoyed her work very much. The family slaughtered a pig for sale when there was a festival. She was most happy when a mother pig was expecting and she would take good care of her. Losing some piglets due to the carelessness of the sow was a sad part of her life and she would grieve as if she lost a dear one.

My ngie mah loved to eat pork leg and whenever the family slaughtered a pig, a large portion would go to her. That was part of their filial piety.

Now we are facing a lot of diseases related to our livestock. Ducks and geese die mysteriously and it is a sad financial loss for any one raising the animals. The African Swine Fever has struck many farms in Sarawak. Many people are scared to buy pork in the market. And butchers are shaking their heads. Business has done down by 30 %.

Times are really bad with Covid 19 still raging on.

May God bless you and keep you safe.