In the agriculture sector, compared to cattle, goats, chicken or fish the idea of pig rearing to supplement income has not been able to gain popularity.
“Piggery is a promising source of generating income but probably the mindset among farmers that pigs are dirty by nature and smell bad could be a reason for many not opting for it,” says Dr. Saju George, Programme Coordinator and Head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Gonikoppal, Kodagu.
VisitorsBut Ms. Suchitra Surendra from Kodagu district, growing coffee based integrated farming system in her 2.5 acre land, was bold enough to try this venture and today the farmer is well known in the region as an expert in piggery and her pig rearing unit draws a number of visitors — both farmers and scientists — to interact and know more about her success.
Initially, Ms. Surendra was growing only coffee, black pepper, coorg orange, cardamom and paddy. Slowly she entered into piggery enterprise after realising its potential.
She started the enterprise in 2010-11 with two pairs of exotic Yorkshire breed. During the same year she came in contact with the Gonikoppal KVK, in one of the off-campus training programmes conducted in her village.
With guidance of the KVK staff, she increased the animal strength to 10 female and two male pigs of Yorkshire, Duroc and Hampshire breeds.
But it was not a smooth flow for her as she regularly faced difficulties in managing the animals.
Poor growth, low litters, early piglet mortality were some of the often recurring problems she faced.
She started attending training programmes and was in regular touch with animal experts at the KVK. The advisory services from them helped her in the effective management of animal health, production and sustainability of the unit.
Beneficiary programmeUnder a beneficiary demonstration programme she was given a pair of Duroc breed for upgradation of the local breed.
During the year 2013 Ms. Surendra could sell more than 40 Yorkshire piglets at Rs. 4,000 a piglet, 80 Duroc piglets at Rs. 4,500 a piglet and about 2,000 kg of dressed pork at Rs.150 a kg.
The farmer earned a net profit of Rs. 5.3 lakh from her piggery component alone in two years.
Piglets are now being sold to neighbouring farmers, members of several SHGs (Self Help Groups) and also to farmers from neighbouring districts.
The animals are being housed in low-cost structures made of locally available stone pillar, stone slabs, etc.
Apart from selling live piglets, she also supplies dressed pork for various social functions in the district.
FeedingFor feeding the animals her entire family collects waste from hotels, resorts, hostels, vegetables, chicken stalls etc, boils it and adds lime and salt before feeding it to the animals to prevent food poisoning.
“Each adult animal is given about 5-8 kg of hotel waste and 0.5 kg of balanced pig feed daily for optimum growth. The shed washes are collected in nearby pits located 500 ft away and are allowed to decompose for a year and later pumped as organic manure to the coffee and paddy fields,” says Ms. Suchitra.
For hotel waste collection she spends about Rs.1 per kg of waste as transport and collection charges a day. By this practice, she is able to save the major expenditure towards the piggery feed cost and thereby she is able to get more profit compared to other livestock enterprises. The hotels are also able to dispose of the food waste in an environment-friendly way.
“The piggery enterprise changed her socio-economic status in a short period of four years. Now she owns a car, auto and well-furnished home. Her children go to a private English medium school.
The constant interest and support from her family encouraged her to expand the unit to at least 50 Yorkshire and Duroc breeds today,” explains Dr. Saju.
Her vast practical experience in the field of piggery enterprise is being effectively utilised by KVK and other line departments during the farmers’ training, seminars and Krishi Melas for the benefit of others interested in taking this up as a vocation.
Ms. Surendra was conferred the award of Best Woman Piggery Entrepreneur-2011-12 by the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru.
Labour intensiveThe maintenance of piggery unit is highly skilled and labour intensive. Only farmers with good entrepreneurial skills can succeed in this coffee-based mixed farming system.
For more details contact : , Ms. Suchitra Surendra, Kannangala village, Virajpet Taluk, Kodagu Dist, Karnataka- 099010 70302 and Dr. Saju George : Mob: 09945035707, email: iihrkvkgk@yahoo.co.in, Programme Coordinator and Head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Indian Institute of Horticultural Reasearch (IIHR), Gonikoppal, Kodagu
