Out of all agricultural businesses that are currently blooming in Nigeria, pig farming is one of the most overlooked ones. Beginners worry that it requires too much effort and go for cucumber farming, cassava farming, or poultry farming instead.
However, with some essential knowledge and a big desire to achieve success in this field, you can become an accomplished pig farmer sooner than you hoped. Check out our complete guide to commercial pig farming in Nigeria right now!
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1. Why you should do pig farming
Pig farming in Nigeria has a number of benefits over other businesses and even other farming ventures; some of those benefits are quite obvious, while some may surprise you. Here are the main reasons for you to go into pig farming.
- Easily scalable business: you can start with a tiny pig farm and turn it into a giant piggery gradually as you acquire more money.
- Low feeding costs: unlike other farm animals, pigs are not as sensitive about food, which is why you can save a significant amount of money by giving them cheap foods.
- Short reproduction time: a female pig, or so, is able to give birth to over 10 piglets twice a year, which is faster than many farm animals.
- Suitable weather conditions: thanks to its unique geographic location, Nigeria is an ideal way to breed pigs all year round.
- Popular protein: pork is one of the most popular meats in Nigeria, which means you will never struggle with selling your product, either in bulk or to individual buyers.
2. Pig farming business plan
Before you move on to actually building the farm and buying piglets, it’s important to know how much money you’re going to spend, which steps you need to take, and how much profit you expect to receive. All of this information should be put into your business plan for starting a pig business in Nigeria.
A business plan should include all possible expenses on your way to your own pig farm. That includes land, buying the piglets, housing, feeding the pigs, veterinary care, transportation costs, salaries for employees, and additional supplies needed for piggery farming in Nigeria.
All in all, the cost of starting a pig farm in Nigeria will obviously heavily depend on the desired size of your farm and a number of pigs you own. So does the profit of pig farming – an average piglet sells for ₦5,000-10,000, while a pregnant sow sells for about ₦45,000.
3. How to start pig farming business
If you’re wondering how to start a pig farm, you should know that it’s a rather complex process that takes a lot of preparation. Even though you can start a farm with no prior farming experience, there is a lot to learn both for beginners and experienced agricultural workers. Here are the steps you’ll need to take in order to learn the pig farming for beginners.
- Buy the land. You can start with a small land plot, but the larger your land is, the more pigs you will be able to acquire in the future and the better living conditions each pig will get.
- Build the housing. Pigpen, which is the most common pig housing, need to be spacious, safe, and hygienic. Your pig farm design should also include a pool for the pigs to swim and clean themselves in.
- Get the piglets. When you go shopping for baby pigs, pay attention to their state: look for pigs that behave well, are lively and calm, have clean and healthy skin, and went through the required vaccination.
- Find the workers. For every 100 pigs on your farm, there should be at least 5 workers, who will feed, clean, and oversee the pigs. You should also find a respected veterinarian for maintaining the health of the pigs.
- Prepare the food. As we’ve said earlier, pigs are the least demanding farm animals when it comes to food – you can easily get away with feeding them with whatever you eat – just make sure the food has the right balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein.
4. Challenges of pig rearing for beginners
Like any business, pig farming has its own challenges and risks that you should take into account while mapping out your business. As a pig farmer, you are most likely to encounter the following challenges:
- Diseases and pests that can sometimes result in the death of a large number of pigs.
- Issues with the reproduction of the stock.
- Low-quality food and contaminated water.
- Overcrowded pens and the improper living conditions of the pigs.
- Lack of marketing and inability to sell the pigs for a decent price.
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