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Commercial Pig Farming in India: A Profitable Business

Bornalee Handique*

PhD scholar, Division of Animal Nutrition

ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, UP-243122

Corresponding Author

Bornalee Handique

Email: bornalee16@gmail.com

Keywords

Pig, Farming, Business, Breed.

How to cite this article:

INTRODUCTION

s 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.

A

ABSTRACT

In India, majority of pigs are reared in traditional small-scale production systems. Besides

providing protein for human consumption, pigs are often one of the main sources of cash

income in rural areas and provide manure for cropping. Further it provides a financial

safety umbrella in distress and playing a role in cultural traditions of communities. Among

tribal communities in India, smallholder pig rearing provides for nutritional, financial

benefits as well as providing for conversion of household waste into fertilizer for

agricultural crops. Considering these fact pig farming can be considered as a profitable

business.

OPEN ACCESS

Handique, B. 2021. Commercial Pig Farming in India: A Profitable Business. Vigyan Varta 2(2):

34-38.

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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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Advantages of pig farming

Pigs transform inedible feeds, forages,

certain grain by-products obtained

from mills, meat by products, damaged

feeds and food waste into valuable

nutritious meat. Most of these feeds are

either not edible or not really palatable

to human beings.

Pig grows fast and is farrowing 10 to 12

piglets at a time. It is able of raising two

litters per year under optimal

management conditions.

The carcass yield of pig is quite high

which is 60-80% of live body weight.

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Low investment is required for

housing, feeding and for control of

disease.

The ratio of total consumable meat and

total body weight is higher in pigs.

Pig meat is higher in fat and energy and

lower in water. It is also one of the

most nourishing and tasty meat.

Pig fat also has anenormous demand in

poultry feed, paints, soap and chemical

industries and this demand is

continuously increasing.

The faeces of pigs can be used as a

manure to maintain soil fertility.

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

Class of

animals

Covered

floor

area per

animal

(m2)

Open-

yard

area

per

animal

(m2)

Water

required

(litres)

Boar 6.25-7.5 8.8-

12.0

45.5

Farrowing 7.5-9 8.8-

12.0

18-22

Weaner 0.96-1.8 8.8-12 3.5-4

Dry sow 1.8-2.7 1.4-1.8 4.5-5

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

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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 anti-

nutritional 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.

Contagious diseases: Hog cholera, foot

and mouth disease etc.

Parasitic diseases: Ascaris, Tapeworm

etc.

Skin disease: Examithama, hair loss

etc.

Diseases of reproductive Organs:

Metritis, Brucellosis etc.

Diseases of digestive Tracts:

Stomatitis, Diarrhoea, Dysentery,

constipation etc.

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.

CONCLUSIONS

Commercial pig farming in India is really a

profitable business and the social scenario of

pig farming business has shifted greatly. But

there is need for strengthening the pork

marketing mechanisms at the local level to the

marketing channels and integrate production

programme with slaughter houses to ensure

better sustainability. Piggery has the potential

to have a positive impact on the livelihood of

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millions of resource poor, under-privileged,

landless and marginal farmers.

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Patr, M.K.,Begum, S. and Deka, B.C. (2014).

Problems and Prospects of Traditional

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