MODEL BANKABLE SCHEME ON PIG FARMING

NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

1
 Animal Husbandry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Piggery

Significance of Pig farming

The share of income of all farmers from cultivation rose marginally from 45.8% in 2002-
03 to 47.9% in 2012-13, yet share of receipts from livestock farming increased perceptibly
from 4.3% to 11.9% over the same period. So, to double the incomes of farmers it is
important to facilitate capital formation under the animal husbandry sector. Besides, the
challenges faced by our country in securing the food as well as nutritional security to fast
growing population need an integrated approach for livestock farming.

Among the various livestock species, piggery is the most potential source of meat
production and more efficient feed converters after the broiler. Apart from providing
meat, it is also a source of bristles and manure. Pig farming will provide employment
opportunities to seasonally employed rural farmers and supplementary income to
improve their living standards. The advantages of the pig farming are:

1. The pig has got highest feed conversion efficiency i.e. they produce more live
weight gain from a given weight of feed than any other class of meat producing
animals except broilers.
2. The pig can utilize wide variety of feed stuffs viz. grains, forages, damaged feeds
and garbage and convert them into valuable nutritious meat. However, feeding of
damaged grains, garbage and other unbalanced rations may result in lower feed
efficiency.
3. They are prolific with shorter generation interval. A sow can be bred as early as 8-
9 months of age and can farrow twice a year. They produce 6-12 piglets in each
farrowing.
4. Pig farming requires small investment on buildings and equipments.
5. Pigs are known for their meat yield, which in terms of dressing percentage ranges
from 65-80% in comparison to other livestock species whose dressing yields may
not exceed 65%.
6. Pork is the most nutritious with high fat and low water content and has got better
energy value than that of other meats. It is rich in vitamins like Thiamin, Niacin
and Riboflavin.
7. Pig manure is widely used as fertilizer for agriculture farms and fish ponds.
8. Pigs store fat rapidly for which there is an increasing demand from poultry feed,
soap, paints and other chemical industries.

2
 9. Pig farming provides quick returns since the marketable weight of fatteners can
be achieved with in a period of 6-8 months.
10. There is good demand from domestic as well as export market for pig products
such as pork, bacon, ham, sausages, lard etc.

2. Scope for pig farming and its contribution to national economy

The majority of the pig population in India is of indigenous breeds (76 percent) though
population of cross-bred and exotic pigs increased by 12.7 percent from year 2003 to 2012.
The exotic breed mainly comprises Hampshire, Large White York Shire, Duroc, Landrace,
and Tamworth while some of the popular indigenous pig breeds include Ghungroo,
Niang Megha, Ankamali, Agonda Goan and Tany-Vo. The indigenous breeds are small
sized, slow growing, produce small number of litters and have low quality pork. India’s
average meat yield of indigenous breeds is around 35 Kg/animal, which is quite low in
comparison to world average of around 78 Kg/animal.

India imported exotic pigs such as Duroc, Berkshires, Hampshire, Landrace, Large White
Yorkshire, Saddleback, and Tamworth to augment the piggery production and overcome
poor performance of indigenous pig germ plasm. Research institutes also developed
different crossbred pigs by crossing local pigs with exotic breeds to produce animals of
significantly higher productivity and better characteristics.

According to the Livestock Census, 2012, published by Government of India (GOI), the
pig population declined by 7.5 percent to 10.3 million from 2007 to 2012. The decline in
population may be attributed to disease outbreaks. The eastern and north eastern regions
of the country comprise around 63 percent of the pig population. The highest pig
population is in state of Assam (1.63 million) followed by Uttar Pradesh (1.33 million),
Jharkhand (0.96 million), Bihar (0.65 million) and West Bengal (0.65 million). The state
wise pig population details are given in Annexure I.

Pork production in India is estimated at 464 thousand metric tons in FY 2014 - 15 (April -
March) (GOI), which contributes approximately 8 percent of the country’s animal protein
sources. From FY 2009-10 to 2014-15, pork production increased at a slow pace with
compound annual growth rate of 1.4 percent due to population growth. The per capita
pork consumption in India is negligible with the consumption mainly concentrated in
north-eastern states including Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura. Other Indian states with high pork
consumption include Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Goa and Kerala.

From year 2010 to 2015 pork imports increased at a CAGR of 11 percent on steady
demand in hotel, restaurant and institutional sector as well in high-end retail segment.

3
Pork imports increased to 527 metric tons during 2014-15, recording 28 per cent growth
over the previous year. Major suppliers of pork meat to India are Belgium, Sri Lanka,
Spain, Italy, and Netherland. Indian exports of pork and pork products are negligible.

Generally, pigs are fed concentrated feed with other locally available agro byproducts,
tuber crops like sweet potato, tapioca, vegetables and kitchen waste. The major
challenges that affect the growth of pork sector include lack of sufficient breeder farms,
deficiency of feed and fodder resources, diseases like classical swine fever, porcine
reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), and porcine rotavirus, limited
availability of vaccines, and insufficient slaughter and processing facilities across the
country.

The pig farming constitutes the livelihood of rural poor belonging to the lowest socio-
economic strata and they have no means to undertake scientific pig farming with

4
improved foundation stock, proper housing, feeding and management. Therefore,
suitable schemes to popularize the scientific pig breeding cum rearing of meat producing
animals with adequate financial provisions are necessary to modernize the Indian pig
industry and to improve the productivity of small sized rural pig farms.

Financial assistance available from banks / NABARD for pig farming

NABARD is an apex institution for all matters relating to policy, planning, and operations in the
field of agriculture credit. It serves as refinance agency for the ground level institutions / banks
providing investment and production credit for various activities under agriculture and allied
sectors for ensuring integrated rural development. For undertaking the pig farming on scientific
lines, loan from banks with refinance facility from NABARD is available. For obtaining bank loan
the farmers / entrepreneurs should apply to the nearest branch of a Commercial, Co-operative
or Regional Rural Bank in the prescribed application form, which is available in the branches of
financing bank. Necessary help or guidance can be obtained from the technical officer attached
to or the manager of the bank in preparing the project report, which is a prerequisite for sanction
of the loan. For piggery development schemes with very large outlays, detailed project reports
will have to be prepared. The items such as land development, construction of sheds and other
civil structures, purchase of the breeding stock, equipment, feed cost up to the point of income
generation are normally considered under bank loan. Other items of investment will be
considered on need basis after providing the satisfactory information justifying the need for such
items. The cost of land is not considered for loan. However, if the land is purchased for setting
up the piggery farm exclusively, it can be considered as beneficiaries’ margin money.

Project Formulation

In case of commercial piggery units, the project normally should include information on
land, livestock markets, availability of water, feed, veterinary aid, breeding facilities,
marketing aspects, training facilities, experience of the farmer and the type of assistance
available from State Government. The project should also include information on the
number, breed and types of animals to be purchased, production performance and cost
of other relevant input and output. Based on this, the total cost of the project, margin
money to be provided by the beneficiary, requirement of bank loan, estimated annual
expenditure, income, profit and loss statement, repayment period, etc. can be worked out
and included in the project cost.

Requirements of a good project

A format prepared by NABARD for formulation of piggery project is given in Annexure II. The
project formulated should be submitted to the nearest branch of bank. The bank will examine the
project for its technical feasibility, economic viability and bankability.

a. Technical Feasibility - This would briefly include:

1. Nearness of the selected area to financing bank's branch.

5
 2. Availability of good quality animals in nearby livestock markets/ breeding farms.
3. Source and availability of training facilities.
4. Availability of concentrate feeds and kitchen/ hotel/ vegetable market waste and broken
grains.
5. Availability of medicines, vaccines, veterinary services, etc.
6. Availability of veterinary aid / breeding centres and marketing facilities near the project
area.
7. Reasonability of various production and reproduction parameters.

b. Economic Viability - This would briefly include:

1. Input cost for feeds, veterinary aid, insurance, labour charges, etc.
2. Output costs i.e. sale price of fatteners, piglets and culled animals.
3. Income-expenditure statement and annual gross surplus.
4. Cash flow analysis.

c. Bankability:
1. Repayment schedule (i.e. repayment of principal loan amount and interest.)

Other documents such as loan application forms, security aspects, margin money requirements etc. are also
examined. A field visit to the project area is undertaken for conducting a techno- economic feasibility study
for appraisal of the project. The economics of two model projects on pig farming viz., (i) Small pig farm –
3Sows and one boar and (ii) Pig breeding farm – 20 Sows and 4 boars are given in Annexures III and IV.

Sanction of bank loan and its disbursement

After ensuring technical feasibility and economic viability, the project is sanctioned by
the bank. The loan is disbursed in stages against creation of specific assets such as
construction of sheds, purchase of equipments and pigs. The end use of the fund is
verified and constant follow-up is done by the bank.

Lending terms – General

Unit cost: Each Regional Office (RO) of NABARD has constituted a State Level Unit Cost
Committee under the chairmanship of RO-in-charge of NABARD and with the members from
developmental agencies, commercial banks and cooperative banks to review the unit cost of
various investments. The same is circulated among the banks for their guidance.
Margin Money: Borrower has to contribute minimum 10% of the project cost as margin money.

Interest Rate for ultimate borrower: Banks are free to decide the rate of interest within the overall
RBI guidelines. However, for working out the financial viability and bankability of the model
project we have assumed the rate of interest as 12% p.a.

Security: Security will be as per RBI guidelines issued from time to time.

6
Repayment Period of Loan: Repayment period depends upon the gross surplus in the project.
The loans will be repaid in suitable half yearly / annual installments usually within a period of
six years with a grace period of one year.
Insurance: Pigs should be insured annually or on long term master policy, wherever it is
applicable.

Package of management practices recommended for commercial pig farming

Modern and well established scientific principles, practices and skills should be used to
obtain maximum economic benefits from pig farming. Some of the major norms and
recommended practices are given hereunder:
I. Housing management:
1. Construct shed on dry and properly raised ground.
2. Avoid water-logging, marshy and heavy rainfall areas.
3. The side walls of the sheds should be 4-5 ft. high and remaining height should be
fitted with GI pipes or wooden poles.
4. The walls should be plastered to make them damp proof.
5. The roof should be at least 8-10 ft. high.
6. The pig stys should be well ventilated.
7. The floor should be pucca/hard, even, non-slippery, impervious, well sloped (3
cm per metre) and properly drained to remain dry and clean.
8. A feed trough space of 6-12 inches per pig should be provided.
9. The corners of feed troughs, drains and walls should be rounded for easy cleaning.
10. Provide adequate open space for each animal i.e. double the covered area
11. Provide proper shade and cool drinking water in summer.
12. Dispose of dung and urine properly.
13. Individual pens for boars/lactating sows should be constructed.
14. The dry sows/fatteners can be housed in group pens.
15. Give adequate space for the animals.

II. Selection of breeding stock:

1. Immediately after release of the loan, purchase the stock from a reliable breeder or
from nearest livestock market.
2. For commercial pig farming upgraded / cross bred or exotic stock in good health
should be selected.
3. While selecting a gilt or sow primary aim should be to secure a female that will
produce large survivable litter and which can attain marketable weight at an age
of six months or less. This can be done with the help of pedigree
records/Veterinarian / Bank's technical officer.

7
 4. Purchase animals which are ready to be bred.
5. Identify the newly purchased animal by giving suitable identification mark (ear
notching or tattooing).
6. Vaccinate the newly purchased animals against diseases.
7. Keep the newly purchased animal under observations for a period of about two
weeks and then mix with the other animals.
8. Purchase a minimum economical unit as suggested.
9. Purchase animals in two batches at the interval of three months.
10. Follow judicious culling and replacement of animals in a herd.
11. Cull the old animals after 10-12 farrowings.

III. Feeding management:

1. Feed the animals with best feeds.
2. Give adequate concentrates in the ration.
3. Provide adequate vitamins and minerals.
4. Provide adequate clean water.
5. Give adequate exercise to the animals.
6. The feeding of the piglets is more critical and high quality and more fortified diets
are needed for feeding them.
7. Feeding of the sows during pregnancy is utmost important for increased litter size.
8. The feed requirements of lactating sow varies with the size of the litter, weight,
size and age of sow.
9. Commercial pig farming should aim at the exploitation of nonconventional feed
resources viz., waste from Kitchen/hotel/ cold storage/warehouses, in replacing
the balanced rations to minimize the cost of production.
10. The feeding regime adopted should take care of all the nutrient requirements of
various categories of pigs.

IV. Protection against Diseases:

1. Be on the alert for signs of illness such as reduced feed intake, fever, abnormal
discharge or unusual behaviour.
2. Consult the nearest veterinary aid centre for help if illness is suspected.
3. Protect the animals against common diseases.
4. In case of outbreak of contagious diseases, immediately segregate the sick and the
healthy animals and take necessary disease control measures.
5. Deworm the animals regularly.
6. Examine the faeces of adult animals to detect eggs of internal parasites and treat
the animals with suitable drugs.
7. Wash the animals from time to time to promote sanitation.
8. Strictly follow the recommended vaccine schedule.
8
V. Breeding care:
1. Pigs are highly prolific in nature and two farrowings in a year should be planned
by adopting optimal management conditions
2. For every 10 sows one boar must be maintained for maximum fertility.
3. Breed the animals when it is in peak heat period (i.e. 12 to 24 hours of heat).

VI. Care during Pregnancy:

Give special attention to pregnant sows one week before farrowing by providing
adequate space, feed, water, etc. The sows as well as farrowing pens should be disinfected
3-4 days before the expected date of farrowing and the sows should be placed in the
farrowing pen after bedding it properly.

VII. Care of Piglets:

1. Take care of new born piglets by providing guard rails.
2. Treat / disinfect the navel cord with tincture of iodine as soon as it is cut with a
sharp knife.
3. Feed on mother’s milk for first 6-8 weeks along with creep feed.
4. Protect the piglets against extreme weather conditions, particularly during the first
two months.
5. Needle teeth should be clipped shortly after birth.
6. Vaccinate the piglets as per recommended vaccination schedule.
7. Supplementation of Iron to prevent piglet anemia is necessary.
8. The piglets meant for sale as breeder stock must be reared properly.
9. Male piglets not selected for breeding should be castrated preferably at the age of
3-4 weeks which will prevent the boar odour in the cooked meat thus it enables
production of quality meat.
10. Additional feed requirements of lactating sow must be ensured for proper nursing
of all the piglets born.

VIII. Marketing:
The marketable products of the pig farms include the piglets as breeding stock, piglets as
fatteners, marketable fatteners and culls. The marketing avenues for the above products
are like satellite fattening farms / breeding cum rearing farms and pork consumption
centres. In order to promote the consumption of pork it should be supplied to the
consumers in an attractive form. Therefore availability of slaughtering facilities has to be
ensured to convert the fatteners into wholesome pork and their products. The sale of
piglets at 2-3 months of age will yield quick returns and enables the pig farmer to
concentrate their efforts on maximizing the productivity of breeder stock. The other
marketing strategy can be rearing of piglets up to marketing age for their sale as fatteners.
Based on the market demand appropriate marketing strategy must be adopted in
consultation with the local animal husbandry department officials.
9
Annexure –I State wise pig population in India (Livestock Census, 2012)
Sr. No State / UT Pig Population ( number)
Crossbred & Indigenous Total
Exotic
1 Andaman & Nicobar 10823 25098 35921
2 Andhra Pradesh 26351 368011 394362
3 Arunachal Pradesh 37369 318976 356345
4 Assam 613668 1022354 1636022
5 Bihar 24182 625531 649713
6 Chandigarh 109 26 135
7 Chhattisgarh 22143 416916 439059
8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 0 0 0
9 Daman & Diu 0 14 14
10 Goa 5956 37611 43567
11 Gujarat 885 3394 4279
12 Haryana 49792 77153 126945
13 Himachal Pradesh 1943 3090 5033
14 Jammu & Kashmir 878 1543 2421
15 Jharkhand 41742 920625 962367
16 Karnataka 43524 261274 304798
17 Kerala 50817 4965 55782
18 Lakshadweep 0 0 0
19 Madhya Pradesh 13538 161715 175253
20 Maharashtra 37455 288301 325756
21 Manipur 182546 94669 277215
22 Meghalaya 133623 409758 543381
23 Mizoram 212952 32286 245238
24 Nagaland 380719 122969 503688
25 NCT of Delhi 8581 67765 763436
26 Odisha 4264 276052 280316
27 Pondicherry 476 534 1010
28 Punjab 17756 14465 32221
29 Rajasthan 21065 216589 237674
30 Sikkim 27456 2451 29907
31 Tamil Nadu 30793 153190 183983
32 Tripura 213643 148891 362534
33 Uttar Pradesh 181951 1152441 1334392
34 Uttarakhand 7222 12685 19907
35 West Bengal 52147 595964 648111
Total 2456389 7837306 10293695

10
Annexure II

Format for submission of project

Commercial Pig farming

1. GENERAL
i Name of the bank
Address of the
controlling office
ii sponsoring scheme
Nature and objectives
iii of the project
Details of proposed
iv investments
S.No. Investment No. of units Amount (Rs.)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

v Specification of the scheme area

S.No. District Block Village
a)
b)
c)

vi Names of bank's the financing branches

S.No. Name of the branch District
a)
b)
c)

11
vii Status of beneficiary/ies :
(Partnership/Company/Corporation/ Co-
operative Society/Others)

viii In case of area based schemes, coverage of

borrowers in weaker sections (landless
labourers, small, medium & large farmers
as per NABARD's norms, SC/ST, etc.)

Details of borrowers profile (Not

ix applicable to area based schemes)
a Capability
b Experience
c Financial soundness
Technical/Other
d special Qualifications
Technical/Managerial
Staff and adequacy
e thereof

TECHNICAL
2 ASPECTS
a Animals
i Proposed Breed
ii Age of the animal
Arrangements for
vaccination,
identification and
iii health certificate
iv Insurance
Cost of
v Boar/Sows/Pigs

Production
b parameters
Age at first
i Farrowing
ii Farrowing interval

12
 Farrowing
iii percentage
Number of piglets
iv produced
Mortality of
v adults/young ones
Age at which piglets
vi / fatteners are sold
Body weight of
vii animals

Herd projection-For
big units only (with
c all assumptions
d Housing
i Type of housing
Floor space – adults
ii / piglets / fatteners
iii Cost of construction
Other civil structures
iv (for commercial units

e Equipment needed
i Water troughs
ii Feeding troughs
iii Other equipments

Comments on
f technical feasibility
Government
g restrictions, if any

FINANCIAL
3 ASPECTS
i. Unit Cost
S.No. Name of investment Size of unit Unit cost with Whether approved state lev
component unit cost committee
wise breakup
(Rs.)
13
 a)
b)
c)
Total

Down
payment/margin/sub
sidy (Indicate
source& extent of
ii. subsidy
Year - wise physical & financial
iii. programme

S. Particulars Year
No. 1 2 3
a Investment
b No. of units
c Unit cost
d Total outlay (Rs.)
e Margin
f Bank loan (Rs.)
Refinance assistance
g (Rs.)

Financial viability ( comment on the cash flow projection on a farm model / unit and enclos
iv particulars
S. Particulars Item of investment
No. 1 2
Internal Rate of
a Return (IRR)
Benefit Cost Ratio
b (BCR)
Net Present Worth
c (NPW)

v Financial position of the borrowers (to be furnished in case of corporate bodies/partnershi

firms
14
a Profitability ratio
i GP ratio
ii NP ratio
b Debt equity ratio
c Whether Income tax
& other tax
obligations are paid
up to date
d Whether audit is up
to date (enclose
copies of audited
financial statements
for the last three
years)

vi Lending Terms
a Rate of interest
b Grace period
c Repayment period
d Nature of Security
e Availability of
Government
guarantee wherever
necessary

INFRASTRUCTURA
4 L FACILITIES
Availability of
a animals
i Source
ii Place of purchase
iii Distance
Type of
arrangements for
iv purchase
Availability in
v required numbers

b Feeding
15
 i Type of feeds
ii Source
iii Cost/animal/year

Breeding /
c Veterinary services
i Source
ii Place
iii Distance
Type of services
iv available
v Availability of staff
vi Cost/animal/year

d Marketing
Source for piglets, fatteners and culled
i animals
ii Place
iii Distance
Price realized (Rs.per
iv animal or Kg)
- Culls
- Piglets
- Fatteners
- Pork etc.

e Other aspects
Source of technical
i guidance
ii Training facilities
- Source
- Periodicity
- Duration
Other Government
iii support

Supervision and
f Monitoring

16
 arrangements
available with bank

DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this model project are advisory in nature.
NABARD assume no financial liability for anyone using this
project report for any purpose. The actual costs and returns will
have to be taken on a case by case basis considering the specific
requirements of projects.

17