Pigs are kept in almost all the farms in Nigeria. It is still common to find pigs roaming freely around communities in rural areas of southern Nigeria than in the Northern parts due to religious taboo associated with pig farming.
However, pig farming enterprises are also found in and around towns and cities in many areas of Nigeria and stand a good lucrative source of income when properly managed like every other farming business.
Good pig farming in Nigeria relies on a combination of interconnected aspects such as housing, breeding, and reproduction, nutrition, disease prevention & control, and management; which are incorporated into the intensive system of pig keeping to achieve a desirable and sustainable production.
However, a blend of technical know how to make the right decisions at the right time, capital to provide improved building, feed and drugs, marketing viability to ensure that the animals have to be brought to the market when they have reached the desired weight and with optimum strategy for buying and selling of inputs (drugs, feed, farm facilities & equipment) and output (pork) with dependable sales outlet are key to sustainable income flow from pig farming.
PROFITABILITY OF PIG FARMING IN NIGERIA
NOTE: This is mainly for pig fattening aspect of pig farming
A simple way to judge whether pig farming is profitable is by comparing the pork price (pig meat) and cost of production.
Assumptions (NB: Based on the available contemporary experience on pig farming)
- Average daily weight gain of 0.4kg
- Average daily feed consumption of 1.64kg from weaner to finisher of (50kg live weight in this case)
- Target live weight of 50kg
- Resultant pork from pig as 80% of its market weight
- Average feed price per kg of diet= #150
- Selling price per kg of pork= #1100
- Other costs(drugs and vaccine) = #1500
Hence,
- The pig would require 50÷0.4= 125 days to reach the target market weight of 50kg
- Total feed consumed throughout growth (125×1.64) = 205kg
- Total cost of feed consumed (205×150)= #30,750
Therefore Total cost of production = total cost of feed + other costs = 30,750 + 1500 = #32,250
- Resultant pork = 80% of 50kg = 35kg
- Cost price per kg of pork = 32,250÷ 35 = #806.25
- Selling price of pork per kg = #1,100
- Profit per kg of pork = selling price of pork per kg – cost price per kg of pork = 1100 – 806.25 = #293.75
Therefore, you make #293.75 for every kg of pork meat!!
HOW CAN MORE PROFIT BE MADE?
While the above illustrations were ensured to be real as obtainable in pig farming. More profit can be made in the following ways:
- Ensuring improved housing to provide convenience to pigs to facilitate better growth.
- Employing good breeding practice by avoiding inbreeding and ensuring selection of best animals in the herd for breeding.
- Provision of good and well-balanced feed to your stock to ensure availability of nutrients for fast growth.
- Ensure a good disease control measure, to reduce cost through reduced medication (drugs) and to facilitate the animal’s utilization of nutrients for growth.
- Push to expand production, so as to enjoy more flexibility with economies of scale for production at lesser cost.
Culled from: Agric Income