Pig farming has become extremely popular business nowadays and becomes even more popular day after day. If you have decided to begin a profit-making business than pig farming is for you. The popularity of pork is far beyond Nigeria. Piggery farming is an investment that brings a quick return.
Pig farming in Nigeria plays a great role in the country economy, it reduces unemployment, lack of nutrition, poverty etc. Breeding pig cannot only bring you money but also fulfill meat demands of your family.
Pros of piggery farming in Nigeria
Piggery in Nigeria has many pros, they are:
- Pigs have a very short reproductive period if to compare with goats and cattle. A sow gives birth to approximately 12piglets two times per year, the period of gestation is about 115 days. Pig grows fast.
- Pigs are not particular about food, so you will be able to reduce your expenses
- The climate of Nigeria is appropriate for pig farming.
How to start pig farming?
Beginning pig farming in Nigeria has general steps for either domestic or economic goals.
Land selection
To begin a pig farming business firstly, you should choose an appropriate land, choose a peaceful and dormant place. You should think over what acreage of land will be good for the number of the animals you plan to raise. It will be the biggest investment. Please note, that in rural areas lands are cheaper, so you will need to invest less, but consider the transportation issue in this case.
Advice: divide the land into few parts to breed pigs of different ages separately.
Choosing a land for your future, remember the following:
- Pigs will need fresh and pure water, so think about a water supply.
- It is better to choose an area close to the market, for good transportation and availability to buy food.
Buying high-quality piglets
You will reap what you sow, so to have healthy and big pigs you should select upright piglets for future breeding. They can be local or hybrid piglets, breeding several breeds of pigs. Several popular breeds in Nigeria are: local breeds of white, brown, and black color, and foreign breeds: Hampshire, Hereford pig, American Yorkshire, Berkshire pig, Landrace, Tamworth pig, Duroc, Mulefoot pig, and others.
Hybrid pigs grow quicker and are much healthier in comparison with other breeds.
For the very beginning, it is advisable to buy a small amount of piglets, to understand if you can cope with them, and then gradually increase the amount, so you will have minimal risk.
To make a right choice you should pay attention to the signs of a good piglet:
- Glossy coat;
- Good temperament (be aware of aggressive pig);
- Having good appetite;
- Bright eyes;
- Without claudication;
- Buy only from trusted sources and assure the vaccination.
Housing
For profitable farms in Nigeria, housing is essential. Building of a good house for your animals is a guarantee of healthy pigs and will prevent predators’ attacks. Places, where pigs sleep and eat are called pens. Housing helps to control temperature level during cold weather and excess of heat. Pigs are vibrant to temperature, they even can die. You can raise pigs both indoor and outdoor. If you keep pigs outdoor just remember that they will need a good place to survive hot and cold weather. If you keep pigs indoor, ensure good ventilation, sanitation and illumination inside. You should also organize a place for pig’s bedding and feeding. The bed should be dry. Some people consider pigs as dirty animals, in fact pigs love clean environment. You should create a drainage system of free flow of pigs’ waste.
If you want your piggies to be happy, just build a small water pool, where they will be able to play and swim, as well as get rid of dirt and cool themselves in hot weather. Change the water in the pool periodically.
Pig farming guide
To receive pig-farming profits you should build your business taking into account many things.
Provide your pigs with fresh, nutrient rich and high-quality food, to be healthy and grow fast. Feeding good your pigs, you also prevent different pig illnesses. Pigs are not choosy about food, they can eat kitchen trash, forage, stalk, agricultural residues. It is advisable to add to your pigs’ daily ration rice, corn, soybeans, vegetables, cooked meat. Please remember that piglets need more protein than mature pigs, due to intensive
growth. By the way, you can find a ready-cooked food for pigs in the market, but it is cheaper to cook food for pigs at home. Pigs require not only high-quality food, they also need a satisfactory amount of fresh and pure water each day. We have mentioned above that a good water supply is a first need at your farm.
The pigs’ gestation period is about 115 days. Usually, piglets are born two times a year. Each sow can have approximately 10 piglets a time. A sow feeds piglets by breast milk for the first 9 weeks, after this period a sow is ready again for semination.
You can market pork both on the local and international markets, the demand for this type of meat is rather high. China is the leading international consumer of pork. Pig farming for beginners can become a real challenge but if to read special books or search on the Internet, ask for advice of more experienced farmers, very soon you can become a successful pig farmer. Knowledge is always a big plus, if you comprehend business you will get profit and achieve success.
Having a hundred pigs or more, it can be difficult to cope with such amount of pigs by your own, so it will be wise to employ 4-5 people. They will assist you in feeding, cleaning and other. You also will need service of a veterinary doctor, a successful business is impossible without him.
How profitable is pig farming in Nigeria?
You can begin piggery business with a little start capital and still have a profit. Pig farming can bring you a impressive sum of money, successful farmers get a decent sum each day. The demand is high, and pigs grow quickly, pig meat is sold very quickly, breed almost like rabbits, and have no demands in food. The rest is the elementary calculation. Of course, you will need money for the beginning: to purchase land, build housing, piglets, food for the primary period. Probably, you will be supposed to ask for a loan in a bank. Don’t be afraid of this, final year end quantity of pigs depends of the primary amount of the animals, the more you have the quicker you will pay back the loan. For instance, you will sell a grown pig for approximately N35,000, if at the year end you will have a hundred mature pigs, you will get for selling them more than N3,5 million. Each year you can increase the amount of the piglets and get higher annual profit.
In addition, you can save money on a feeding of pigs if you will have an own pasture, or to plant potato, maize, cassava etc.
Pig farming business plan
Each successful business starts with a business plan, piggery is not an exception. Don’t be lazy and create your personal pig farming business plan, this can safe from the failure or even a disaster in future. Calculate the expenses for one year: land, housing, breeding, feeding, supplies, medicines, salary, transport expenses and other. You also will need to write down all necessary things. Another important calculation is a breeding plan, it helps to avoid overcrowding. For instance, take that one sow will bring you 20 piglets a year, invoke from this quantity and a planned quantity of pigs. Of course, it will only budget and real amounts will be a bit different. Analyze the experience of the ongoing farmers, who know the secrets of building a prosperous farm.
Pig farming equipment
Modern pig farming is impossible without special equipment, so please note that it would not be a miss to buy special hog pens, watering system, water bowls, feeder nipples, pit scrapers, fogging systems, scales, hog feeding, buckets, heat lamps, dirt blaster wash and other.
As you see, piggery is not a very difficult business, you just need to make your own business plan, have money and desire, take into account experience of other farmers, who work in this field for at least several years. We hope that we have provided you with necessary information that will be useful for building a successful business.
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