Pig farming is a lucrative farming business in Nigeria that involves the rearing of pigs either for domestic or commercial purposes.
Many Nigerians are unaware of the fact that pig rearing business is actually profitable due to the common mindset of pigs being a very dirty animal.
In this article, I will be telling you the benefits of pig farming and afterwards teach you how you can set up this business in Nigeria.
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What are the benefits of pig farming business?
In a country like Nigeria, there are numerous reasons why entrepreneurs should venture into rearing of pigs.
Therefore, I shall briefly discuss on the importance of pig farming in a commercial scale:
Profitability: just like other Agricultural businesses, pig farming is very lucrative. Due to a high market value of pigs in Nigeria, there is a high percentage of returns on investment in the business. What this means is that you have a higher chance of making close to a 100% of the expenses accumulated in the course of managing the business.
Source of meat: pigs are known to be endowed with enough meat. As a pig farmer, you can either choose to sell your pigs in terms of meat parts or you may sell them as a whole, alive. Moreover, pork consumption is gradually gaining its ground in Africa.
Growth rate: pigs are expected to be of full grown and marketable size in about 6 months if properly taken care of. They convert their energy into protein which makes them grow at such a fast rate. With its ability of fast growth, farmers are assured of making huge profit in a short period of time.
Reproduction: pigs have been blessed by nature to be able to furrow between 8 to 18 at once.
Cool, right?!
The amazing part is that with just a male and a female pig, you are in business. It will only take a small amount of time and hardwork for your farm to grow unimaginably.
Management: pig farms are very cheap to manage. Pigs have high immunity to diseases and are highly adaptable to the environment they find themselves. Feeds are relatively cheap since they consume any edible food at all.
Other Agricultural purposes: Nothing is a waste when it comes to pig rearing. They can also be used to suit other Agricultural purposes. For example, their dungs are used as organic manure for plants. The issue of waste management is properly handled once it comes to pig farming in Nigeria.
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How to set up a pig farm in Nigeria
Before setting up a pig farm in Nigeria, it is important to note that:
- Pigs have no sweat gland so they need constant supply of water to survive. That is the reason why they tend to rub themselves against their faeces and urine just to cool themselves.
- Pigs are neat animals. Yes, you read that correctly. When there is inadequate supply of water and their pen is not properly cleaned up on a daily basis, how do we expect them to be clean?
- Pigs are like computers that operate on GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out). They need highly proteinous feed with vitamins to grow fast.
- Though they have resistance to diseases, vaccination is always advised.
- Pigs are sold in kilograms. The bigger the weight the higher the price.
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Now to successfully set up a pig farm in Nigeria, you should follow the steps below:
Identify your target market
Before going into piggery, it is advisable that you identify your market. Failure to do so can land you in a big mess after the whole farming process.Become friends with most grocery traders and meatsellers in your neighbourhood or in your choice of location for the business.
If possible make your intention of becoming a pig farmer known to them. It makes selling the pigs more faster and easier.
Acquire a farmland
The farmland is a space where you want to build your pig pen. The size of the farmland is dependent on the amount of pigs you want to breed for starters.For small scale pig farming, you do not need a large area of land for you to start up this business. Maybe as time goes on, you can then decide to expand the business.
Secure location in a place where pigs are commonly consumed and not despised or seen as a taboo if consumed.
I advise you purchase a land that encompasses the pig pen and also creates space for cultivating pig feeds like grasses and so on.
Build A Suitable Pen
A pig pen is an enclosure for pigs to keep them protected from harsh weather conditions, unwarranted injuries and spread of diseases.Build a well spaced pen for pigs with strong concrete walls. Pigs love to move around and can be rough at times. They need space to be able to move around and and get enough ventilation.
Pig pen should be divided into quarters for different sizes of pigs so the big ones do not end up killing or eating up the young ones.
Each quarter can then be subdivided into 4 corners; where they can walk around, where they can urinate and defecate, a pool for swimming, and where they can sleep.
Purchase healthy pigs
Next is to stock your pen with healthy pigs. Depending on how you want to start, you choose to buy matured pigs or piglets.For matured pigs, you can start with just a male and a female pig so that they can reproduce and then multiply.
You can do the selection of the pigs with the help of a veterinary doctor so you don't make the mistake of purchasing unhealthy pigs.
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Feeding
Nutritious feeds helps pigs to grow faster and healthier. Pigs should be adequately fed to improve their performance.Drinking water is also important. Some people prefer to mix pig feed with water before serving it to the pigs.
Ensure the feeds are nutrients equipped with protein, vitamins and other supplements. Do not forget to add sufficient water both in the pool and the one for drinking.
Employ staff
You can decide to employ staffs but it is left to you to make such decision. If you can handle the management procedures on your own then there is absolutely no need for employing anybody.Keep the pigs healthy
Keep the pigs in a healthy state at all times by cleaning their pen, contacting the veterinary doctor for proper vaccination and frequent changing of water in the pool.Quarantine disease infected pigs and the environment clean to prevent the spread of diseases.
Some terminologies you should be conversant with as a pig farmer
- Piglet: a baby pig.
- Boar: a mature male pig.
- Sow: a mature female pig.
- Herd: Group of pigs.
- Pork: pig meat.
- Gilt: young female pig that has not Farrow.
- Farrow: process of giving birth to piglets.
- Pen: enclosure for breeding pigs.
- Barrow : castrated male pig.
