Pig farming or piggery as it is fondly called is one of the most lucrative farming practices in Nigeria due to some obvious facts; Pigs feed basically on anything, feeds are cheap and readily available. 90% of their feed composition is waste (both industrial and domestic waste).

how to set up piggery farm in Nigeria

In addition the demand for pig meat (pork) in Nigeria is generally high because pork meat is one of the major sources of protein in Nigeria.

One of the major reasons why piggery easy to run and manage, which makes it more profitable is you can also plant your pigs feed, thereby saving feed cost significantly.

The common practice in breeding pigs in Nigeria is a closed system or in a controlled environment where pigs are breed in pens.

Normally it takes between 7 to 12 (seven to twelve) months for pigs to grow to from piglets to maturity. One good thing about piggery is you can start with a very little capital, as low as Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200,000) and still make profit.

No wonder in 2014, The Lagos State Government through the ministry of Agriculture said the state has the potential of generating over Two Billion Dollars ($2,000,000,000) approximately six hundred billion Naira(N600,000,000) yearly from pig farming.

The biggest pig farm in sub Saharan Africa is currently in Lagos and it is situated at Oke Aro farm estate. There are over 3,000 pig farmers in that farm and it is managed by the Lagos State Government. It allows purchasing and rentals of pens.

setting up a pig farming piggery business Nigeria


ADVANTAGES OF PIG FARMING

High number offspring : Pigs generally give birth to high number of piglets up to 20 piglets in one litter. Averagely a pig gives birth to between 6 to 10 piglets, and they can farrow twice in a year. Meaning every year you should get an average of about 12 piglets.
Cheap to run and maintain: Running a piggery business is very cheap to run and maintain as you can easily source for their feeds around by getting waste products from markets, fastfoods, factories and other industrial waste.
It is very profitable: Pig farming is very profitable, A mature pigs sells for between Twenty Two Thousand naira (N22,000) to about Thirty Thousand Naira (N30,000) or more depending on the weight. Imagine producing just 100 pigs yearly. That’s roughly about Two million two hundred thousand naira (N2,200,000) to about Three Million Naira (N3,000,000) yearly.
Feeds can easily be sources: Pig feeds are affordable and can easily be sourced.
The market is readily available: The market is readily available, selling your pigs would not be an issue, the issue you might have might be meeting demands as pig farmers are not currently meeting the demands of the market at the moment.


PIG FARMING TERMINOLOGIES

Here are terminologies you should get familiar with when going into pig farming:

Pen: This is where the pigs live, a place where you breed them is called pen.

Pig, hog or swine: This is the general name used to address the species

Piglet: These are young pigs between the ages of 1 day to about 8 weeks. These pigs are still sucking from their mother.

Weaners: These are pigs between the ages of 8 weeks (2 months) and about 16 weeks (4 months) These are pigs that has just been weaned or separated from their monthers.

Boar: male pig of breeding age

Castrated pig: A male pig that the scrotum has been removed

Growers: A young male or female pig between the ages of 3 months to about 6 months

Gilt: young female pig that has not yet been mated, or farrow

Sow: breeding female pig

Pork: Pig meat

Farrow: Process of a giving birth to piglets
POPULAR PIG BREEDS IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria the popular pig breeds are ; the local breeds (they usually not as massive as the foreign breed, they come in white, black or brown color) foreign breeds includes American Yorkshire, Duroc, Landrace, Hampshire, large white, Hampshire, camborough etc
HOW TO SET UP PIG FARMING IN NIGERIA

Before you set up a pig farm, you need to understand the business in terms of the technical knowhow and basic understanding of the business. To set-up a successful pig farm or piggery business, you need to have an indepth understanding of the business. Here are the following things you need to know or put in place:

Knowledge of the business: Before setting up a business you need to understand the business or have a little knowledge of the business in terms of breeds, costs, feeding formulation, medications, best practices etc. This will enable you maximize profit and fully prepared for any future challenges
Breeding Site: One of the most important factors in piggery is the breeding site or the pig farm. Currently there are two main piggery estates in Nigeria and they are both in Lagos State, Nigeria. There is one at Oke Aro and another is at Gberigbe in Ikorodu. This doesn’t mean you cannot have your own private pig farm outside this location. But the good thing about these locations is, it allows you start small and gives you the flexibility to rent a small room between N1,500 and N2,500 and big rooms from as low as N3,000. But if you are considering massive farms, you could purchase land in rural setting. You could get a land from as low as N100,000 per acre to start your farm.
Build Standard Pens: Pens are where you will breed your pigs, you therefore need to build the pens in such a way that It will allow you to accommodate all your animals and also give room for expansion in the future.

This is one area where you have to pay good attention as a wrong plan may lead to disaster in the future. You need to plan your pen in such a way where it will accommodate all the animals you intend to breed and to prevent overcrowding, also you have to factor in special places for inpigs or inglits to farrow.

Buy Good Breeds: One of the most important factors in piggery after feed is the pig breeds. Some breeds are generally known to grow bigger, faster and larger than their counterparts under the same feeding and environmental conditions. The popular breeds in Nigeria are the local breeds and foreign breeds which includes large white, duroc, Yorkshire, landrace , camborough etc
Feeding: In piggery, feeding takes approximately 70% of the total cost of production. The feed components consist of PKC (palm kernel cake), maize, cassava, cassava peel, cassava meal, rice shaft , spent grains , waste etc
Maintain a Standard and healthy Environment: Though pigs are very rugged animals, One of the ways to be safe is to keep a clean and healthy environment for your pigs to breeds, build standard drainage system to ensure free flow of animal waste.
Train or Employ Experienced Workers: Another important factor in piggery is the attendants that works in the farm premises. The need to be trained or experienced in this field.
Employ the Service of a veterinary Doctor: You can’t run a successful pig business without employing the service of a veterinary doctor.





Please before you venture into piggery , please visit other pig farms, meet with professionals, ask questions, google sometimes can be your best option. Always consult experts and Feel free to ask any question and we will be glad to answer your questions.

leksmedia:


How to start a piggery farm in Nigeria

phillings247:
pls jero 247 can u post d pics of d 2000 capacity farm nd how much does it cost to set up a pen of dat capacity

tozin10000:
am into piggery business before in oke aro farm ,like 6years back with about 25 grower,I rent a pen then before the own of the pen later said he want to sell his pen ,I had to sold all my animals so that the end ,but I still love to do it again,if I see someone that can put me through

contactmorak:
Thanks for this post i love the business and if i have no other source of income, i would definitely choose pig farming. But for busy individuals like us, can u let someone manage it for u without being cheated? Pls i need answers.

jero247:
nice write up, I just finished constructing a 2000 capacity pig pen somewhere in Karu near Abuja now in the process of stocking the challenge is where to get good breeds all the places I have been taken to had mostly the local breeds only. I need to know if you have a place where we can get the improved breed. thanks