Farmers feeding pigs with commercial or formulated meals are making up to 34 per cent more profit than those who resort to kitchen and other wastes with the hope of cutting down production costs.
Commercial and locally formulated meals served in the required rations give high quality pork besides controlling the growth rate of the pigs. Pork processor are importing pig meat to upgrade the local low quality produce.
A grade one kilo of pork fetches Sh215, excluding bonuses, while a similar quantity of rank five earns Sh160 in major markets like Farmers Choice.
Eldoret-based micro-fund Agrofrontiers Co-founder Evans Kimosop said strict adherence to outlined feeding routine has enabled them to deliver grade one pork to Farmers Choice.
The micro-fund owns Kanes Farm. The farm as at November 2016, had a stock of 240 pigs. The model of the micro-fund is pooling funds from friends and investing in agribusiness- the pig farm being the first project.
Te pig project is earning them more money unlike two years ago, when they started the agribusiness group and invested in a poultry project that saw them loss over 700 chickens.
Kanes Farm delivers 5-10 pigs every month to Farmers Choice, which is one of the region’s biggest pork processor.
At first, the group relied on commercial meals, which cost them about Sh30 per kilo. The group is growing four-months maturing maize to upscale production of their own meal to reduce costs.
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Sunflower and cotton seeds are among the ingredients of in the formulation. This has reduced the cost per kilo to Sh23. Kimosop said that by next year, the cost will come down to Sh17 thus translating to improved returns.
With the cost of raising a pig to maturity at about Sh10,000, the group makes at a profit of Sh5,000 from each pig at the end of six-seven months.
At least 28 sows are expected to givebirth t internals to increase the population to more than 300 by 2017.
The group hopes to venture into value addition to increase returns instead of selling the pigs for pork.
Agrofrontiers have a majority stake with Kennedy Kipchumba being the invested farmer with a shareholding stake at Kanes Farm.