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| Pigs |
Pig keeping business is no doubt a profitable
agribusiness that has been in existence for a very long time. Most commercial
pig farms keep their pigs under intensive system of management which aims at producing meat for market
efficiently and profitably, usually with larger numbers of pigs. Nevertheless,
this requires significant inputs of time and money, with careful calculation of
the costs and the resulting benefits. Pig provides a cheap source of protein for the
people. Amongst the benefits of pig keeping are rapid productivity; quick
conversion rate with ability to feed on waste of animal and plant; high
dressing percentage; high adaptability and ability to produce large manure.
Pig industry in Nigeria has lot of challenges. It is
frustrating that many pig farmers still get low rate of return from their pig business.
Mr. Deji is an International farmer who runs a commercial pig farm in
Ilorin, he also has Moringa and Orange farm of about four hectares. Mr. Deji
shares his experience on how he runs a profitable pig farm in Ilorin.
“Piggery
is a bit tricky, because Nigeria is still 50 years behind most countries who
keep pigs extensively. My three years experience has shown that pig keeping is
all about Genetics and Feed. Pigs are like chicken, you have local chickens,
cockerels and broilers, where most people fail in Nigeria is, they buy local
chicken (pigs) and give them broilers feed. I have made profit from piggery; I
have a fifty sow production unit, I got semen from South Africa and carried out
artificial insemination (A.I) on my sows in Nigeria to get better hybrids”.
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| Sow and Piglets |
“Piggery is
profitable. The Maths is simple; a pig should convert 2.5kg of feed to 1kg of
weight. Your feed cost should be about N60 per kg, that’s like N150 to gain 1kg
of weight. Your sow should litter two times a year and you should at least wean 20; I sell my weaners at 40 days for N8000 per weaner. To be honest, I think piggery
is the cheapest source of protein. Your pig should add 1kg daily if you do it
the right way and you have the right genetics. Live pigs sell for N300/kg; the
demand for pigs is huge”
In addition, it
takes about 2years to start making money and if you don't have up to five million
after purchasing the land it might not be so advisable to go into commercial
pig production. It’s for big players, any farm less than 25 Sows might struggle
to make it in the industry.
“But my breed are different, I think is like selling local chicken day old and broilers. My farm is in ilorin: I do deliveries all over, I have a truck that does delivery’’
Mr, Deji sells most of his pigs at weaner’s stage because of limited space and structure. He revealed that the market for pigs are biggest in Ogun, Benin Republic and Warri. He intends going into processing of pork into Ribs, Ham and many other important value added pig products. Processed pork sells for N1,000 per kg.
“But my breed are different, I think is like selling local chicken day old and broilers. My farm is in ilorin: I do deliveries all over, I have a truck that does delivery’’
Mr, Deji sells most of his pigs at weaner’s stage because of limited space and structure. He revealed that the market for pigs are biggest in Ogun, Benin Republic and Warri. He intends going into processing of pork into Ribs, Ham and many other important value added pig products. Processed pork sells for N1,000 per kg.
Feeding in pig
production is 85% of the cost of production. According to Deji, in order to make
huge profit from pig production, it is essential to consider high yielding type
of pigs and also feed them with a balanced concentrate. There are basically two
breed of pigs that should be considered for commercial production. He calls first
one, the Foreign type (Broiler version) this type has been genetically modified
and they don’t pick worms at all. It takes 2 months for broiler version to reach
maturity. It is essential that standard biosecurity be put in place for this
type. The second he calls the Hybrid type (Cockerel version) this type are
tougher and mature in about six months and can adapt to rough condition.
With a good
breeding activities, a sow should give birth to a minimum of 20 piglets per
year and they should take feed of about 4 percent of their weight daily, say
4kg daily for 365 days and that’s N240
multiply 365 days which amounts to N85,000 in a year.
“If you sell off
weaners at N7,000, you will still get N140,000 and still have your sow”
Deji also
explains how he managed his pigs’ dungs,
Piggery is profitable but requires passion and patience, he concluded.
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