Commercial Pig Farming under Stall-Fed Condition in India

Commercial Pig Farming under Stall-Fed Condition in India

As per 20th livestock census, India’s pig population is 9.06 million which amounts to about 2% of the country’s entire livestock. The total pigs in the country have decreased by 12.03% over the previous census. Highest share of country’s pig population was found in Assam (2.1 million) followed by Jharkhand (1.28 million), Meghalaya (0.71 million) and West Bengal (0.54 million). In India commercial pig farming for meat production is one of the best and profitable businesses.

There are numerous pig breeds are available throughout the world but for pig farming we can choose the local breeds which are easily available and adopted in our area. A few years back, pig farming had a bad picture in the social order (only socially back warded down-trodden class Indian people have used to raise pigs since the time immemorial and they were not respectable people). At present the scenario has changed tremendously and commercial pig farming in India is no more confined to lower class masses. Now-a-days people are conscious about the economic value of pigs like other domestic stock animals.

Pigs are the most common and preferred livestock species in India and reared by the weaker section as well as the unemployed youth of the total population of the country. Traditionally, the tribal populations are rearing pigs.  Besides, the non-tribal has now been taken up pig farming as primary source of income.   The production system in the villages is very traditional, mainly based on indigenous local pigs with feeding systems primarily based on jungle forages and kitchen waste.

Feeding of balanced concentrate feed to pigs is popular now a days, the concentrates readily available in the market. Some farmers buy a couple of feed ingredients, maize, wheat bran or rice polish, from the local feed stall and fed it to pigs with additional farm and kitchen waste. However, they hardly buy any protein rich feed ingredients or mineral and vitamin mixture. This is possibly because pig producers lack knowledge of pig nutrition together with financial constraints.

These traditional feeds provide inadequate nutrition to support acceptable growth rates and to maintain good health. In addition collecting forages is a major cause of forest degradation. Also, collection of forages and fuel wood places an enormous burden on women who are traditionally responsible for these activities.

Commercial Pig Farming in Punjab, India for meat production is one of the best and profitable business ideas for the Indian people. Some breeds of pig are very suitable for commercial meat production according to the weather and climate of India. A few years back, pig farming had a bad image in the society (only socially lower class people used to raise pigs since the immemorial time). But at present the scenario has changed tremendously. Now people are conscious about the economic value of pigs like other domestic livestock animals. Higher class and educated people also started commercial pig farming business in a modern and scientific manner. However, the advantages and required steps for starting commercial pig farming in Punjab are as following:

Advantages of Pig Farming:

• Pig grows faster than any other animals. They have higher feed conversion efficiency. That means, they have a great feed to meat converting ratio (FCR 1:3 to 1:5)). They can convert all types of inedible feeds, forages, certain grains by-product obtained from mills, damaged feeds, meat by-products, garbage etc. into valuable, nutritious and delicious meat.
• Pig becomes mature earlier than other animals. A sow can be bred for first time at the age of 8-9 months. It can farrow twice a year and in each farrowing it gives birth of 8-12 piglets.
• Setting up pig farming business is easy and it requires little capital/investment for building houses and buying equipment.
• The dressing percentage of pig is around 70 percent.
• Pig meat is also one of the most nutritious and tasty meat. It is higher in fat and energy.
• Pig manure is a great and widely used fertilizer. You can use this manure for both crop production and in pond for fish farming.
• Pig fat also has a huge demand in poultry feed, paints, soap and chemical industries, and this demand is continuously increasing.
• A pig becomes suitable for slaughtering purpose at the age of 7-9 months and it reaches marketable weight of 70-100 kg.
• Pig meat has a good domestic demand. We can also earn good income by exporting pig products like bacon, ham, lard, pork, sausages etc. to the foreign countries.
• Pig farming business can be a great income opportunities for the small and landless farmers, unemployed educated or uneducated young people and for the rural women.

Why pig farming?

• Pig farming provides higher benefits than any other livestock farming and agriculture farming due to faster growth of body weight.
• Under stall fed conditions, it is more beneficial than extensive pig production farming system. Sale of finisher pigs between 6-9 months age, weighing 60-90 Kg will generate profit of around 1800-2500/sow/month. One acre of land (good irrigated) is sufficient for 20-25 pigs and space for pig shelter.
• It’s farming mainly for meat purpose and some extent for hairs.
• Pig farming system creates jobs for unemployed educated youths.
• Pig serves well as scavengers of by-products.
• Fluctuations in prices of market hogs are less during the year.
• It is equally suitable profession for women entrepreneurs, as it does not involve any heavy workload.

Inputs for pig farming:

1. Land requirement – One acre of land is required for running a pig farm with capacity of 20-25 pigs including pig shelter.
2. Shelter – Suitable pig housing or shelter is very important for pig farming business. It should be comfort and durable.
3. Germplasm – pig germplasm should be purchased from authentic source otherwise it affects the performance of farm. Pure germplasm should be free from all types of diseases.
4. Feed of pigs consists of feed concentrate. Feed for pigs should be of good quality and there should not be contamination with microorganism and fungus. Poor feed quality may affect health of pigs and their performance.
5. Equipments and implements: it should be of good quality materials and durable. Sufficient number of feeder and waterer should be available at pig farm, so that fighting among animals may be avoided.
6. Veterinary Medicines: Some common veterinary medicines should always be available at farm round the clock. In emergency, a farmer should consult a veterinary doctor before the use of medicines. Expired medicine should be dumped with proper precautions.
7. Vaccines: Vaccines should be purchased from authentic source. Vaccines should be stored as per manufacturer’s guideline.

Pig production in North-East India ————–

In the states of North-East India, almost every household has a small piggery farm. There is a huge demand for pigs because people of this state prefer pork as compare other meats. Majority of the pigs in this hilly region are reared in intensive production system and fed with homemade cooked feed (kitchen waste and locally available plants). Pig rearing under a low-input production system in the Nagaland State of India where nonconventional feed resources contribute majority of the feedstuffs offered to the animals. Small land holders in Nagaland are adopting more profitable and less labour intensive backyard pig production to increase cash returns and accumulate capital in banks. In Mizoram and Sikkim, it has been observed that crossbred pigs were preferred for better growth performance, higher weight gain, larger litter size and greater back fat thickness.

Indigenous breeds of pigs in India ————–

There are several indigenous breeds of pigs in our country. Some of them are listed below:

1. Ghungroo – Pigs of this breed are found along Indo-Nepal border, Jaipalguri and Cooch Behar in West Bengal and North Assam. Animals are mostly black coloured with typical Bull dog face appearance.

2. Jovaka – Pigs of this breed is found in Mizoram and Manipur. Animals have small, compact body with long legs and weigh around 40 -50 kg at maturity.

3. Ankamali – This breed inhabits states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Typical characteristics of this breed include black to brown coat colour, small, body with long legs and mature body weight of 40 to 50 kg. 4. Desi – It is found in all states of India. Animals have brown to black coat colour, small, compact body with long legs and weigh around 40 to 80 kg at maturity.

Exotic breeds of pigs ————-

1. Large white Yorkshire – It is mostly used exotic breed in India. White coat colour with occasional black pigmented spots, erect ears, snout of medium length and dished face are unique characteristics of this breed. Mature body weight ranges from 300 to 500 kg.
2. 2. Middle White Yorkshire – Typical characteristics of this breed include white coat colour, long muscular neck and long back with a mature body ranging from 270 to 360 kg.
3. 3. Landrace –This breed is typically white coloured with black skin spots. They have a long body, large drooping ears and long snout. Mature body weight ranges from 250-350 kg
4. 4. Berkshire – Black coloured with white patches on feet, snout and tail. Small head, face depressed in middle and saucer shaped body with flexible ribs are typical characteristics of this breed. Mature body weight ranges from 280-350 kg.
5. 5. Hampshire – Animals are black with white strip across forelegs to shoulder. Typical characteristics include small and erect ears, small and compact body. Sows have good mothering ability.

 How to Start Pig Farming in India ————

To start commercial pig farming you must have proper knowledge regarding pig farming.

For successful pig farming you have to go through some step-by-step process.

• Selection of suitable land Choosing a suitable land or place is very important and foremost step in start pig farming.
• Following points keep in mind while selecting the land:
• § Ensure availability of sufficient amount of clean and refreshing water in your selected field.
• § Select a calm and noise free area.
• § Attempt to select or purchase land in rural region. Because land and labour are easily set up in rural areas within very cheap rate
• . § Consider the facility of making a browsing place for your pigs.
• § A suitable market near your farm area will be very helpful. You will be able to trade your wares and buy necessary commodities, vaccines and medicines.
• A good shipping system with the market will be very efficient.
• § While selecting land considers the status of veterinary services in your chosen area.
• Selection of pig breed After choosing a desirable land, it’s time to buy some highly productive pig breeds. In our country most of the pig farmers are raising low productive small sized pigs. As a result they are not getting desired production. For commercial pig farming should be rare highly meat productive pig breeds.
• Housing of pig For successful pig farming a better housing and all necessary equipment are very important. Housing not only provides protection but also hold them safe from inclement weather, leeches and various cases of pig diseases. There must be proper ventilation system. Make proper facility for keeping the boar, farrowing, weaner and dry sow separated from each other.

 Feeding of pigs———–

Feed alone represents more than 75% of total cost of production in pig farming. Development, production and animal health depend on feeding high quality and nutritious feed. Therefore, select most economical ingredients for preparing pig feed. The basic components of pig feed are oat, grains, corn, wheat, rice, sorghum and other millets. You can add just about protein supplements like oil cakes, fish meal and meat meal. Add all types of mineral and vitamin supplements. Keep the different aged pigs separately and feed them according to their age and weight. Along with feeding nutritious food, constantly serve them a sufficient amount of clean and refreshing water. Many farmers are unable to support costly feeding ingredients due to high cost of feed ingredients. Therefore, you can use unconventional feeds in order to reduce the feed cost. The alternatibe feeds for pig are colocasia, steamed flakeed rice byproduct, water hyacinth, bakery byproducts, suger beet, sweet potato, banana tree, tea waste, crab meal, snail meal, hatchery byproduct meal etc. The unconventional feeds can be used which are available in large quantities at cheaper rate, however presence of one or other antinutritional factors like tannin, gossypol, oxalic acid, phytic acid reduce the productivity of animals by hampering digestibility of nutrients. Food demand varies according to the age and body weight of pigs.

Breeding of pigs————

Breeding processes are very gentle and uncomplicated. Generally, both male and female pigs become suitable for breeding within their 8 months of age. The heat period of female pig length for 2 to 3 days. First day during the heat period of gilts is the best time to breed and second day is best for sow. A sow become suitable for breeding again after 2 to 10 days of weaning. The gestation period of pigs is not more than 115 days. A sow can give birth of piglets twice a year and about 8 to 12 piglets each time.

Moost common diseases in pigs  ———

Infecteous diseases:

Tuberculosis, anthrax, dysentery, swine plague etc. Ø Contagious diseases: Hog cholera, foot and mouth disease etc Ø Parasitic diseases: Ascaris, Tapeworm etc. Ø Skin disease: Examithama, hair loss etc. Ø Diseases of reproductive Organs: Metritis, Brucellosis etc. Ø Diseases of digestive Tracts: Stomatitis, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, constipation etc. Ø Miscellaneous Diseases: Rheumatism, Crippling, Ricket etc. Diseases could be prevented by segregation, quarantine, personal hygiene, keeping the grazing place free of parasites, vaccination and medication for cure. Anaemia in piglets Anaemia is a common nutritional disease in piglets. Suckling pigs are highly susceptible for iron deficiency. Piglets kept in confinement to concrete stalls are more susceptible due to their non accesssibility to greens or soil. This condition can be prevented and cured by supplying iron either orally or by injection. Oral administration consists of spraying or swabbing the sow’s udder with a saturated solution of ferrous sulphate (0.5 kg of ferrous sulphate in 10 liters of hot water). This solution must be applied daily from birth until the piglets start eating creep feed. Intra muscular injection of iron dextran compounds at 4th and 14th day after birth is the more efficient method of preventing anaemia

 Government Support Agencies:

• NABARD provides financial help along with subsidy through commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks, State Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks. NABARD provides subsidy under Entrepreneurship Development and Employment Generation (EDEG).
• Public sector Insurance Companies provide subsidy on premium rates for pigs purchased under IRDP (Integrated Rural Development Programme) scheme. These animals can also be insured for long term periods (3-5 years).
• NSFDC (National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation), New Delhi provides financial help to SC farmers in acquiring technical knowledge in pig.
• State Animal Husbandry Department provides subsidy for rearing pigs (20+4).

Prevailing Economics of Pig Farming 11 adult (10 Sows + 1 Boar)

Insurance:

Insurance of the animals can be carried out at 4 % premium of the total cost of the animals per annum. It protects the farmers during calamities or financial loss. Different companies which provide insurance assistance to the farmers for their animals.

 DR SUJAN SINGH,LUDHIANA

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