Pigs ready for fattening and breeding are being offered as gifts to local people by the Linhares parish in Paredes de Coura in a bid to encourage farming in the municipality.
A total of 80 pigs, each weighing an average 20 kilos, are on offer in an investment amounting to €5,000.
The enterprise, which starts this year, is part of the Rural Development Plan launched in 2011 by the parish which has so far cost more than €40,000.
“It all started with seeds, then chicks and finally pigs in 2013,” said the President of Linhares Junta de Freguesia, Amândio Pinto.
“In the last two years, the number of people working in the fields increased 50%,” he added.
The measure was not solely designed to promote farming. It has also enabled the local people to focus on producing enough food to feed themselves and their families and a way to save money for “rainy days”.
