The Mountain Journal
As consumer demand for pork continue to
rise, beneficiaries of Wezesha Kirinyaga pig project launched by Governor
Anne Waiguru last year are upbeat of good earnings.
The beneficiaries drawn from 20 farmers
groups says piglets given by the county government have grown to maturity
besides the sows giving birth and are now ready for selling.
Pork demand has been growing stronger in
the wake of increased health awareness campaigns to reduce consumption of red
meat.
The demand for pork is driving pork prices
higher and the farmers groups are hoping to tap into this.
The pig project was launched by Governor
Waiguru as part of Wezesha Kirinyaga economic program that focuses on
diversification of agricultural activities with an aim of increasing household
incomes.
Twenty farmers groups were each given a
pregnant sow and 15 weaner pigs. They were also provided with free pig feeds
for the first two months of the project.
The new litter will now form the new stock
with some groups intending to raise them for meat production while other groups
want to venture into selling piglets to other farmers within their
localities.
Simon Macharia, a member of Kangu Thayu
self-help group in Gichugu says that the project has been running smoothly and
their sow has already given birth and once they start selling the pigs, the
money will go a long way in expanding the group project as well as to
individual members with the aim of uplifting their standards of living.
Loise Kimani from Kiangima Gwiteithia
Youth group in Kirinyaga Central said that the pig project has enabled the
members to effectively carry out an income generating activity.
She thanked the county government for the
initiative and urged the youth to form such empowerment groups.
Moses Murimi, the Chairman of Kirimunge
Shiners Group said that even though most members previously did not have the
knowledge to rear pigs, they were taken through training and they are now
competent in matters pig rearing.
He said that the project will take them
far, observing that that the Duroc pig variety that was given to them is a
profitable one since they are fast maturing and in no time they will be
selling their pigs.
Mr Murimi added that the project will help the youth earn an
income as a group and as individuals, saying that besides selling the mature
pigs, they will also use the project for breeding and sell piglets to other
farmers.
each pig is expected to fetch between Ksh. 17,000 and Ksh. 20,000 depending on
its weight.
Housing Census and statistics from from the State Department of Livestock,
small-scale farmers make 70% of all pig farmers.
There are 595,631 pigs in
Kenya that give a pork production of 14,440MT with a value of KES 3.8 billion
annually. The number of pigs slaughtered increased by 7.8% from 2018 to reach
388,200.
The current per capita consumption of pork
stands at 0.4 kg, against the recommended 0.8 kg by WHO, projecting that an
estimated 19,033 MT of pork is required to meet the current demand.
By 2030,
the projected demand based on the recommended consumption per capita stands at
53,160 MT. The projected population of pigs by 2030 is 1,171,175.
Ms Waiguru said that apart from the
farmers earning income from sale of the pigs, there will be many women and
youth working in pig transportation business, pork eateries as well as
transportation of pig feeds among other support activities.
groups that have been funded by the county government under the Wezesha
Kirinyaga program to undertake various agricultural value chain projects such
as poultry keeping, fish, tomato, dairy and avocado farming as well as bee
keeping.
Waiguru said that that the program
provides farmers, among them women and youth with alternative livelihoods that
will lead to more income and better standards of living.
She noted that the Wezesha projects are
not only in support of the county’s economic development agenda but will also
contribute to the achievement of the food security goal of the Big Four Agenda.
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