WAKISO – On Monday, Gudie Leisure Farm hosted its fourth cottage industry business event -the Piggery Cottage Industry Symposium to enlighten would-be and existing investors about the opportunities in the value chain as well as emerging developments and their implications.
At the event, many were astonished by different pig leather products showcased by Agnes Kitumba – Managing Director, Arise Collections, manufacturers of leather items.
She told the press that over the years, a pig has been a marginalized animal due to societal beliefs but it has got so many opportunities.
Many Ugandans and probably the rest of the continent think that pig has no skin but Ms. Kitumba notes that just like goats, sheep and other animals, pigs have skins and can produce very good quality leather products.
“Yes, pigs have skin and we are delighted to partner with Gudie Leisure Farm to show young people different leather products that can be got from pigs. The leather value chain globally is about $250 billion annually and the pig is 11% of that. So we want our youth to know that despite the enormous opportunities that are there on the food chain, we can make gloves, bags, shoes, jackets, and many other products all from pig leather.”
She, however, decried that pig leather isn’t readily available in Uganda and the skins they use currently are from China and Canada because in Uganda there is no pig skin leather ternary to turn.
She urged the government to share the value chains involved with the pig.
Prof. Gudula Naiga Basaza, Founder and Managing Director of Gudie Leisure Farm said the country would earn much from the animal but the challenge is on the feeding.
“We have realized that several farmers do not feed pigs well, reason why we find a pig of 9 months looking like a piglet. We are training farmers on low-cost feeds to be able to get nutrients at a cheaper cost [because] feeds take 80% of what you need for your animal (pig).”
According to her, a well-fed pig grows quickly and has a capacity of weighing 50kilos and above at 3 months and the best time to sell it is not beyond 6 months and it should be over 100 kilograms.
As per the 2022 census, Uganda has 4.7 million pigs but Prof. Gudula says a number of are crossbreed which are not growing so fast.
She encouraged the youth to engage in the value chain as core to livelihoods especially value-added pig by-products that offer at the regional and international level.
She reported that Gudie Leisure Farm has been able to build a network of about 70,000 Youth Agripreneur Champions from across 33 districts who are ready to participate in the value chain, several of whom have been trained at the Company’s Incubation Center and are already investing in it.
Ms. Christine Nakazzi, Head of Animal Resources Programme, NARO, Mukono noted that the piggery business is very affordable but to make it more profitable, modern methods have to be employed.
“We have advanced use of Artificial Insemination other than natural mating which reduces the cost of keeping a male pig but also promotes good breeds through our research.”
“We are also working with other government agencies to create awareness on African swine fever, a disease that is negatively impacting pig rearing. The disease is viral and has no medicine, so we are creating awareness around signs, and how to manage and control it from spreading from one farm to another,” she added.
She also urged farmers to strategize reducing feeding costs such as using sweet potato silage which cuts on relying on commercial feeds but also embrace proper housing for pigs.
Nakazzi noted that aflatoxins have also been a big challenge to animals – thereby urging farmers to use aflatoxin binders to eradicate this.
“Because of the nature of the feeds we give pigs, you find that maize brands form over 50% of the entire formulation but the wet processing (maize processing) makes maize prone to infections by fungus which results in aflatoxin – dangerous to pigs. We recommend that farmers always integrate aflatoxin binders – additives that we can buy from feed outlets, and mix them with feeds to remove those toxins.”
