Profiting from pig farming

Piggery has become big business in Malawi, with pork selling fast in communities that are generally opposed to it.

For instance, in 1990s, one would never try pork business in Liwonde, Machinga. Patrick Misomali, from Chikwawa, lived in the Eastern Region town in 1996 when he had to travel to Zomba just to buy pork.

“When I returned to Liwonde, a man stopped and asked me what I was carrying in a black plastic bag. Upon hearing that it was pork, he grabbed the carrier plastic bag and threw it away,” he recalls.

Misomali remembers being told that Liwonde was not a pork-eating area.

“I felt powerless and was advised to just leave the matter as police allegedly feared him too,” he says.

But not any longer. Today pork is openly sold in Liwonde. The first selling point was close to a four-way junction where the road branches to Ntaja in the district. The pork sellers have now shifted close to Liwonde Community Ground.

“It is good business, far better than goat business. We are assured of many customers,” says one of them disguised as Amidu for fear of a religious backlash.

When he started selling pork, he used to brave long travels in search of pigs. But now he buys from nearby villages as many people rear them.

Amidu says some people thought to be opposed to pork actually eat the meat as a delicacy.

Misheck Shaibu, who fries pork on a massive pan, locally called chiwaya, said he realises a profit twice what the butchers charge for a kilogramme.

“I used to roast goat meat, but many people were asking for pork. I changed the business and it worked. I am now able to feed my family,” he says,

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources associate professor of agribusiness management and Dean of Faculty of Development Studies Joseph Dzanja is not surprised with the growing appetite for pork business in the Eastern Region.

He says the supply is ever-growing due to improved breeds that bring high yield.

“Even the local breed is good although many people do not properly look after them. The free range system is not ideal in piggery. Pigs need to be controlled and housed in a good kraal,” he says.

Dznja says many people are attracted to piggery as pigs bear six or more piglets unlike goats which can only deliver twins.

“Pigs multiply a lot within a short period and this gives farmers an opportunity to have more money in their pockets,” Dzanja says.

Some farmers in Mwakhiwa Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Jenala in Phalombe rear animals for financial benefits.

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) through its programme called Strengthening Community Resilience to Climate Change, gave them goats to fulfil their dreams.

However, in goats, the farmers saw a business that is too slow for profit-making. They swiftly switched to pigs for fast sales and more money.

According to Mtendere Farmer Field School (FFS) chairperson Patrick Mandawala, they enquired and were advised to start piggery.

“FAO gave us K830 000 which we used to build a kraal and bought pigs. What we want is that when they multiply, we should sell them so that the money realised is used to assist our families,” he says.

Few months later, The Nation followed up on the progress of the business. Mandawala said a miracle had just happened.

“Two pigs have delivered nine piglets each. In total, we have 18. The third one is expected to deliver soon. We knew that pigs give birth to a high number of piglets, but we did not expect the number to be that big,” he says.

Mwayiwathu FFS in Gobede Village, T/A Symon in the district is another place where piggery is hot agribusiness.

The group’s secretary Meria Mwazaonga, also acknowledged receiving K830 000 from FAO which, she says, was used to set up the piggery business.

“People come here almost every day looking for pigs. We believe that if we can take this [piggery] route, things will be different because we will have money in our pockets,” she says.

The project, funded by the European Union and implemented by FAO in partnership with the government, aims at building resilience of vulnerable communities to climate change and change through sound safety measures and productive investment. It blends disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, addressing multiple threats to livelihoods in the short and long-term.

FAO regional coordinator for the South, Innocent Kaponya, says the project ensures that people have nutritious food and income for their survival.

It is being implemented in Blantyre, Zomba, Neno and Phalombe districts.